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<\/p>\nIf you\u2019re thinking about building a personal or business website, one of the first things you\u2019ll have to decide is what domain name to use. Your domain name is the address at which people will find you on the Internet\u2014it likely won\u2019t make or break your website, but getting the right one sure can help.<\/p>\n
Yes, you will likely find that most of the good short names have been taken. That will require you to use some extra creativity when coming up with yours. If you can, avoid putting in special characters like hyphens, which users who are trying to remember your URL can never seem to remember.<\/p>\n
Google and other search engines show some preference for results from sources located closer to the person doing the search. If location is important to you, then you may want to put in a location-based keyword such as your city or county in your URL.<\/p>\n
Unless you want your domain to consist entirely of your brand name, consider adding something about what you do in your domain name. This can help with your SEO rankings.<\/p>\n
Many businesses these days are getting creative with domain endings like .ly or .ty, but unless you have a specific idea of what you want to do, you\u2019re probably best off sticking with the traditional .ca for your first site.<\/p>\n
When selecting a domain name, it\u2019s important to make sure that there are no other domain names that are too similar to yours, which could potentially lead to confusion and fewer visitors to your site.<\/p>\n
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It\u2019s just as important to check that the domain name you choose isn\u2019t trademarked by another company. If you\u2019re based in Canada, go here to do a trademark search. On the flip side of this, when you\u2019ve found a great domain name for your site, you may want to trademark it.<\/p>\n
When you\u2019ve taken the time to choose a great domain name, you\u2019ll want to protect it from others who may try to copy it. Since domains are so affordable, some businesses choose to buy similar names to prevent others from being able to buy them. As a side benefit, owning these similar domain names means you can redirect them to your main site in case a visitor misspells your main URL to one of these alternatives.<\/p>\n
While using precise keywords is good for SEO, consider that businesses sometimes shift what they do over time. Ideally, you don\u2019t want a domain name that will limit you if you decide to pivot within your industry a couple of years down the road.<\/p>\n
These days, websites and social media accounts work in a symbiotic relationship. You might be able to come up with the perfect domain name, but what is it worth if someone already has a Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook account with the same name? It will only lead to more confusion. So, try to choose a domain name that is available across the most popular social media platforms, and reserve those social accounts at the same time that you purchase your domain name.<\/p>\n
Moving a domain name from one provider to another isn\u2019t too complicated, but if you can avoid this, you might as well. So, as you\u2019re doing your planning, try to purchase your domain name at the same place you\u2019ll be purchasing the hosting for your website.<\/p>\n
Why are we Canada’s leading domain name registrar? It\u2019s simple: we offer all the same features as our competitors\u2014including domain privacy, full DNS record control, domain forwarding, our excellent support, and much much more\u2014at only a fraction of the price of others. In fact, we offers the lowest prices on Canadian domain names – guaranteed! Our price for .ca domains is $10.99 per year, regardless of the number of years you register for. This price is the same for registrations, renewals, and transfers.<\/p>\n