Starting a small business venture in Canada means you have to make some important decisions early on in the process. For example, if your business needs a physical presence in your local market, the location of the business is one of the most important factors to consider. The online equivalent of physical location is the domain name you choose for your business, and it is just as important! A domain name generator can help you pick the right domain name and get you online quickly.
Whether you plan to sell online or not, you need a website, even if it’s just a static site to post your address, hours, and basic branding and marketing messages. The domain name is the main identifying feature of your online business presence. It’s one of the keys to making sure customers can find you when they look for whatever service or product you offer.
Domain name SEO and keyword compatibility
You want your domain name to be many things at once: descriptive, memorable, short, catchy, and unique. You can spend a lot of time on this, brainstorming at your kitchen table or surveying family and friends, and still not be sure you have the best possible solution. After all, the name should support search engine optimization (SEO) as one of its main functions, and this is not something your spouse or best friend is likely to know offhand.
SEO is based in part on the primary keywords potential customers will use for online searches in your target market. Having a primary keyword in the domain name that makes up the URL for your website provides a boost in search results. If you’re worried all the good keyword-based domain names are already taken, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. With more new domain extensions becoming available all the time (.org, .net, .biz, .club, and many others, plus all the country extensions: .ca, .au, .ru, and so on), you can be sure of finding an available domain name that is affordable and meets your needs.
Also, the owner of the domain you want might be willing to sell it. You can do a quick WhoIs lookup search, find their contact details and send them an offer.
Fortunately, there’s a straightforward way to go about picking the right name for the right reasons. First, you need to identify the keyword or keywords that best describe your business. Then you can use one or more domain name generators to find a selection of available domain names that fit with your product or service. There are several popular domain generators available, including the five described below, to help you make the right choice.
Related: What is a domain name?
What's a domain name generator?
A domain name generator aims for a particular result -- a domain name that is optimized for humans and search engines to find you on the internet. Different domain name generators have different strengths and features; you may want to try out more than one as you go through your own search process.
What are the top domain name generators?
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GoDaddy Domain Generator
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Bust A Name
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Domain Name Soup
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NameStall
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Wordoid
Let's take a look at these in more detail.
GoDaddy Domain Generator
One of the world’s largest full-service web-hosting providers, GoDaddy offers a straightforward but powerful domain name generator tool that links directly to pricing and availability information. The suggestion tool can be customized to select for specific extensions only, as well as for budget limits.
Try it now!
Bust A Name
A versatile and powerful application, BustAName lets you add and combine a list of keywords one at a time. It creates possible domain name combinations according to the specifications you set on the control panel. Additionally, BustAName checks whether names are available for registration or not. Finally, it also offers a couple of short, handy instructional videos to show how to get the most out of the BustAName tools.
Domain Name Soup
This is another very well-equipped name search tool. It works with one keyword at a time, but makes several categories of name listings based on your chosen keyword, with different extensions shown as well. It also shows which name and extension combinations are available as it generates the results.
NameStall
This is a highly capable name generator with a wide range of tools for coming up with everything from domain names to brand names to high-paying keywords for ad campaign designs. All name suggestions include availability information. You might spend a bit more time with NameStall, but it will be time well spent if you want thorough research.
Wordoid
One of the simpler tools to jump right in and use effectively, Wordoid still offers good controls for setting up the tool to match your preferences. It comes up with some very legit-sounding word variations, and it produces long lists of useful suggestions with availability indicated for each one.
Final tips and next steps
There are several rules of thumb to keep in mind as you consider different potential names:
- Make it simple to spell, to avoid missing out on searches because of typos.
- Avoid hyphens and numbers that can be missed or misunderstood when spoken.
- Try for a catchy hook or memorable idea that stands out in the crowd.
- Use a descriptive domain extension (i.e., geographic or niche) if .com is taken.
- Less is more – it’s easier to remember and spell shorter names.
Once you have chosen the name that satisfies all your criteria, the next step is to choose a web-hosting service and create the content pages that will represent your business online.
The domain name is independent of the hosting services, so, if you change from one hosting service to another in the future, the domain can be moved too.
It's worthwhile to spend the time needed to get these first steps done right, because they can stay with you for the long haul.
Domain name and setup advice from an SEO expert
It’s natural for business owners to seek expert support for website issues when they know the online part of the business isn’t working as well as it should. A less obvious but more effective choice is to get help with the website at the very beginning. You can always save valuable time and trouble and learn from an SEO expert. That way, from the outset the website is optimized for searchability, simplicity, and security with proven strategic and technical SEO skills.
A successful website launch lays the groundwork for an ongoing relationship to support any SEO maintenance or expansion issues that may come up as your business grows. This will also provide a trusted resource for the best SEO tips to help you stay ahead of your competition and prosper in the constantly evolving world of search and internet marketing.
