Don’t you ever want to lose your domain name again?
Thousands of business owners make avoidable mistakes when registering new domains every year.
As a result, they lose their precious domain names for good, and along with them goes the traffic, money and reputation they’ve invested into building.
In fact, recent data shows that there are now over 368 million domains on the web. And yet, there are still so many avoidable domain mistakes websites keep falling into year after year.
Why?
Because most people think it doesn’t matter that much. They think it’s just “point, click, pay” and that’s it.
Wrong.
A single domain registration mistake could ruin all your branding and SEO progress.
If domain registration isn’t properly planned, it can become an expensive and long-term disaster.
In this domain name registration guide, we’ll explore the most dangerous domain mistakes businesses often overlook and how to avoid them at all cost.
Domain registration is more than just choosing a random web address.
Here’s why it matters: Your domain name is the cornerstone of your entire online presence. It influences SEO rankings, brand trust and customer findability online.
The Domain Name is like the physical address of your online store. If your customers don’t remember, spell, or trust it– you lose them.
Every successful business needs a domain that commands trust.
Why?
Because research shows that 47% of users rank memorability as the most important domain name factor. The domain is often the first thing people see when they land on your site, so it immediately conveys your business credibility.
Choosing the right domain name also tells search engines you’re a relevant, authoritative business in your niche.
This significantly improves your SEO and chances of ranking higher.
Here’s something many business owners don’t realize…
Choosing the wrong domain extension sends your visitors to your competition. If you register a .net or .org and the .com version is also available, your customers will naturally type the .com one first.
Now let’s discuss the domain registration mistakes to avoid. Here are the deadly domain mistakes to watch out for.
Complicated domain names that are difficult to spell or remember are the number one domain mistake.
Here’s an example. You run a restaurant named “Quick & Spicy Food”. When it comes to the time to register a domain name for the business you choose “qspfood.com” “Thinking you are being clever and getting all of the words in”.
Your customers will never figure out the abbreviation you chose.
Keep it simple. If you have to explain your domain name over the phone and have someone spell it back to you. It’s too complicated.
The names that require explanation have a habit of becoming dead links very quickly.
Not all domain extensions are the same. Most sites and visitors have a preference when it comes to extensions.
The truth is: The .com extension still has the most trust level globally. But if you are a business targeting the local region, using country-specific domains like .sg, Singapore for example, will help with local SEO.
If businesses are trying to register .com.sg domain names, they are making a smart market-specific extension decision. The .com.sg immediately lets both search engines and customers know you are relevant in Singapore.
Failure to do trademark checks on the domain name you are registering could lead to a lifetime of legal problems.
When you are about to register a domain name, search to make sure nobody else has trademark rights in that name. If they do, they can force you to give up that domain, even if you bought it first.
Always search:
Numbers and Hyphens don’t belong in a domain name.
Here’s why: When a customer hears the name they will not know if you mean 2 or two or to. The same goes for hyphens, people can forget about them or do not remember their placement.
Avoid using Numbers and Hyphens, use letters only.
Recent reports estimate 25% of all domain names do not get renewed.
This is a large number of domains lost by businesses due to sheer human negligence.
When domains expire, competitors may snatch it, your website shuts down, emails stop working, and years of SEO progress is lost.
Planning to renew in advance and setup calendar reminders and auto-renew 30 days in advance.
Domain Registrars do not all offer the same services and security.
The problem is that some cheap registrars have hidden costs, terrible customer service and low-security options. There are even registrars that just go out of business, and leave their customers in limbo.
Always choose Registrars with track records and proven reliability. Transparent pricing and strong security are a must-have. Look for two-factor authentication features.
When you register a domain, your personal information will be made public in the WHOIS database. Unless you elect for privacy protection during registration.
This can lead to:
Privacy Protection should always be turned on to protect your personal details.
Now you know the don’ts. Let’s discuss the dos when registering domains.
The .com extension is still the top domain. It’s globally recognized and trusted by most internet users.
Consider these options as alternatives to the top level domain:
Smart website owners register multiple variations of their domains.
Here’s the strategy: Register common misspellings, different extensions and similar variations. Then setup redirects to your main domain.
Don’t box yourself in with overly specific domain names.
Example: BookReviews.com is fine if you just plan to cover books. But what if you want to expand into movies or other products? Choose a name that allows for business expansion.
Looking for advanced domain management strategies? Here are pro tips for squeezing the most out of your domains.
Enable two-factor authentication on your domain management account.
Use a business email for contact, not a personal Gmail address.
This protects you in the event you lose access to your email account. If someone else gets access to that, they also get your domain.
Pay attention to similar domain registrations in your niche. Setup Google Alerts and monitoring for your brand, domain variations, and industry related terms.
Save all information relating to domain registrations. Include logins, credentials and registration documents. Save them in a safe location and share access with other people responsible for your digital assets.
Domain registration mistakes can ruin years of work in a moment. The companies who win online treat domains as strategic business assets to be managed properly.
Here are the key takeaways:
Don’t have time to do this domain management process properly?
Many people outsource this critical business function to professional domain management companies. Let them do the tech work while you concentrate on growing the business.
Domain name registration and management done properly will reap big rewards in higher SEO, customer trust and saved from huge mistakes. So start taking action and solidify your digital foundation today.
