The generic equivalent of your product or service
Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2025 6:35 am
When registering a domain it’s always a great idea to see if the generic equivalent of your product or service is available to purchase. As mentioned above this will help with search engine rankings as most people look for the generic equivalent i.e. hamburger as opposed to your brand i.e. McDonalds™. If you also use this address when asking people to link to your website, this will give search engines a better idea that your website is about the product or service within the domain name. For example, if I was a florist in Manly, I would look for the domain name .
Look at old domains
Sometimes looking at old and expired domains can help you get your site ranked better in search engines. For example, an old domain may have several hundred links to it. Pointing this old domain to your website may increase the speed of your website getting crawled and indexed and may help in search engine rankings. (More on this topic in the Search Engine Optimisation section.)
Different countries
If selling internationally, buy that country’s extension if possible.
Make it memorable
Sayings or combinations of words that infuse themselves into our language and become colloquial are part of our everyday life therefore, these types of addresses can usually be recalled without raster to vector conversion servicehaving to think. See example below. (Note – this is only an example designed to help you choose your own domain name that best suits your company type and industry.)
Example: Richards Lawncare & Garden Services Pty Ltd
Whilst this address may not reflect the company name, it’s a saying that permeates its way through every household in the Australian summer and can be easily recalled by almost everyone. With savvy marketing efforts, this name could be easy for your visitors to remember.
Is your domain already registered?
Many people think the registration of your business and company name automatically restricts the online equivalent from being registered. This is incorrect. Domain names are issued on a ‘first come first served’ basis so it makes sense to get in quickly and register the best possible name for your business. To check if the domain name you want to register is available, go t.
What to do if your domain name is already registered
If you feel that there is no alternative name that suits your business and you want to register a similar name to one that is taken, there are some variations that might be available. For example:
try adding a hyphen to the name
try adding a combination of hyphens
abbreviate or use acronyms
This method should be used as a last resort as there are still plenty of domain names available for the creative site owner.
I have my domain name – now what?
Make sure you keep the details of your domain name registrar. These are the people you will need to deal with for all your domain name issues including pointing your domain name to your website when it is created and re-registering your domain name. It’s worth pointing out that you don’t actually own a domain name. You license its
use for a set period. This is very important to remember because if your registration lapses, someone else can rightfully register your old domain name.
Look at old domains
Sometimes looking at old and expired domains can help you get your site ranked better in search engines. For example, an old domain may have several hundred links to it. Pointing this old domain to your website may increase the speed of your website getting crawled and indexed and may help in search engine rankings. (More on this topic in the Search Engine Optimisation section.)
Different countries
If selling internationally, buy that country’s extension if possible.
Make it memorable
Sayings or combinations of words that infuse themselves into our language and become colloquial are part of our everyday life therefore, these types of addresses can usually be recalled without raster to vector conversion servicehaving to think. See example below. (Note – this is only an example designed to help you choose your own domain name that best suits your company type and industry.)
Example: Richards Lawncare & Garden Services Pty Ltd
Whilst this address may not reflect the company name, it’s a saying that permeates its way through every household in the Australian summer and can be easily recalled by almost everyone. With savvy marketing efforts, this name could be easy for your visitors to remember.
Is your domain already registered?
Many people think the registration of your business and company name automatically restricts the online equivalent from being registered. This is incorrect. Domain names are issued on a ‘first come first served’ basis so it makes sense to get in quickly and register the best possible name for your business. To check if the domain name you want to register is available, go t.
What to do if your domain name is already registered
If you feel that there is no alternative name that suits your business and you want to register a similar name to one that is taken, there are some variations that might be available. For example:
try adding a hyphen to the name
try adding a combination of hyphens
abbreviate or use acronyms
This method should be used as a last resort as there are still plenty of domain names available for the creative site owner.
I have my domain name – now what?
Make sure you keep the details of your domain name registrar. These are the people you will need to deal with for all your domain name issues including pointing your domain name to your website when it is created and re-registering your domain name. It’s worth pointing out that you don’t actually own a domain name. You license its
use for a set period. This is very important to remember because if your registration lapses, someone else can rightfully register your old domain name.