Are you struggling when it comes to choosing the best domain for yourself or your project? How do you know you’ve chosen the best domain? In the age of the Internet, the majority of your audience will get their first impression of your organization online. Finding the right type of domain is crucial to reaching your audience. It’s exciting to start something new, but before you go searching for the best web hosting company, you need to know what you’re building.

Figuring out the right domain is a little more complicated than simply adding “.com” to the end of your business’s name. How do you know a .com is even the best domain for your website? There are top-tier domains associated with countries, education, government, and even the deep web. Know what your domain says about your business before you make any final decisions.

Domains by Region

Let’s look at country domains first. While residents of a particular country can often take advantage of their country’s domain to draw local business, (.au is possibly the most successful example of this), it may not be the best domain name, unless you plan to restrict your business to that country. Even if your intended audience is local, a country is not a very specific area. How many U.S. based companies actually use .us as their domain? Besides, most businesses with an online presence prefer an international audience. Even if you aren’t ready to sell to other countries, an international audience still brings attention to your business and prepares you for future expansion.

An exception to this rule is a business trying to draw people (often tourists) interested in a particular country. If you want to go on a vacation to a specific country, a company with the domain name containing the name of that specific country will catch your attention faster than the generic domain. Those who need especially patriotic websites, such as tribute sites, or companies wanting to attract government contracts, might also consider national domains.

Domains by Purpose

Specialized institutions like universities and government organizations take advantage of special types of domain names such as .edu and .gov. However, the vast majority of businesses and organizations receive service by the original top-tier domains. Domains that tell visitors what your website is about are a huge advantage. Even if you don’t qualify for one of the special domains listed above, choosing the right domain can still give you an advantage. Anyone can register a .com, .org, or .net domain, but keep in mind what these originally stood for. Once upon a time, .com was for businesses, .org was for non-profit organizations, and .net was for portal websites that hosted links to other websites.

These days, .net has fallen out of favor. It appears from time to time, but it isn’t very common. There are still plenty of .org websites, but many non-profits use .com domains. Why do they do this? People remember .com. Although it isn’t shockingly original, .com has become the go-to domain for essentially any kind of website. If someone forgets the name of your website, they will probably try looking it up by entering your company name and .com. Each domain has its advantages, but .com is the most popular and the easiest to remember.

Your Best Domain

If you can specialize, do it. If you can’t specialize, make your website memorable. After all, the Internet is all about communication. Once you’ve figured out which domain is the best fit for your website, you can get busy finding the best web hosting services.

If you’re working on choosing the best domain, or already know the best domain for you, you can register it right now at GlowHost.