How to Buy High Quality Domains +
03 May 2024
We want to level with you – buying high-quality domains can be a tricky business. Not only must you ensure that your domain is user- and SEO-friendly, you also need to think about where to purchase from, how much to pay and whether your domain should match your brand name. With so much to understand, here we walk you through how to buy domains (minus the jargon, and without the 20-step strategy). We want to level with you – buying high-quality domains can be a tricky business. Not only must you ensure that your domain is user- and SEO-friendly, you also need to think about where to purchase from, how much to pay and whether your domain should match your brand name. With so much to understand, here we walk you through how to buy domains (minus the jargon, and without the 20-step strategy).
The importance of buying value domains
Think that your choice of domain is simply a nicety – that it’d be great if it matched your business, but doesn’t really matter? Think again. Your choice of domain could and should:- Strengthen your search engine position
- Be easily recalled by your target market
- Be quick to type out
- Reinforce your brand
- Have coherence with your business/brand name
How to buy domains – Starting with a practical step-by-step
You have four options as to where you can buy your domain from:- A specialist seller – such as ourselves – we specialize in brand packages that consist of not only high-value domains but also the brand name and logo
- A hosting company
- A domain registrar
- The existing domain owner – if you’re hoping to purchase a premium domain that’s currently registered by someone else you need to have a strategy. Start with our detailed guide: mistakes to avoid when buying a premium domain.
Should I consider my host for high-quality domains?
There are three core considerations when purchasing a domain…- Cost
- Convenience
- Potential problems – such as security or quality
The cost of buying a domain
Buying a domain based on cost alone is problematic. If you’re purchasing just the domain without hosting, you may find that Top Level Domains (TLDs) aren’t cheap. You might have to settle for a .net or .me rather than a .com or .co.uk. You may also need hyphens in-between keywords; this is an issue as people can forget about the hyphen(s), and in the worst-case scenario, they could even end up on a competitor website. Considering the only cost can lead you to choose hosting that is unreliable – with frequent downtimes, lost backups and slow customer support. A further problem also relates to the pricing AFTER the first 12 months. Many hosting companies raise their fees significantly after the initial year. If you don’t cancel, the contract may automatically review. If you do cancel, you’ll face the pain of not only transferring your website but also having to either point your domain name or transferring the domain to another registrar (for which there may be a fee).The convenience of buying domains
Some argue that buying a domain name from a hosting company offers more convenience. While there’s some truth to this, the alternative of using separate companies simply requires that you ‘point’ the domain. Here’s a brief overview of the process…- Get your web host’s name servers – these will be shown in the control panel of your hosting and will look something like this: ns1.yourhostingcompany.com and ns2.yourhostingcompany.com.
- Add these name servers to your domain settings
- …
Potential problems
We’ll keep this last point simple – you’re a whole lot less likely to be dissatisfied with your domain company than you are your hosting company. There are a couple of reasons for this – first, domains are regulated by a dedicated organization – the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). This sets out standards and expectations for domain sellers. Second, in contrast to hosting, it’s incredibly rare for your domain to encounter issues, such as suddenly breaking. This means that you’re far more likely to want to move your hosting than you are your domain. Because of this disparity, choosing separate companies for your hosting and domain will mean that switching hosts is easier, and will simply involve re-pointing your domain once you make the move.Where to buy domains – The importance of reputation
When it comes to buying a domain, reputation matters. Some unscrupulous domain sellers don’t actually pass ownership of the domain to the person who’s paid for it. Unfortunately, after paying for their domain, it remains the legal property of the company they’ve paid. This means that the company in question can legally change which website the domain points to, what domain registrar maintains it, who administers it and will even be able to sell it off if they so wish. In short, all of this emphasises just how important it is to choose the right company to buy your domain name from. Researching company reputation is fast and simple – you could begin with review websites such as TrustPilot and Reviews.co.uk. As a second step, you can then Google the company name of the domain seller along with words such as “reviews”, “rip off report”, and “scam”.Pro tips to buy good domains
Finally, let’s cover some fundamental hints to buy domains…- Choose a domain that’s simple to both type and remember
- Choose a Top-Level Domain (TLD) if possible – such as .com or .co.uk
- Don’t buy a domain that’s similar to that of either a trademarked name or a competitor website
- Avoid hyphens – such as hypened-domain-name.com – they can be difficult to remember
- Avoid using numbers – these too can be difficult to remember - for example, people may struggle to recall whether a domain is: thisisone.com or www.thisis1.com
- Check whether the link is available on social media – for example, if your domain is kellymakes.com check whether www.facebook.com/kellymakes is available