How to Pick the Perfect Domain [for Trades]

As a trade, you may not have thought about a domain unless someone has tried to flog you emergencyplumberliverpool.co.uk for £400 promising you’ll rank page one. We’re here to help cut through the jargon and explain how to get the perfect domain for trades.

What makes a good domain name for trades?

Your domain name is your identity on the web; for most trades, it will be their company name. However, for some, that name may be taken making the process a little bit harder. Either way, you’ll want to make sure you choose a name that not only fits your trade but is also easy for potential or returning clients to find and promote. So here’s our advice on choosing a domain as a trade!

Make sure your domain name is easy to type for clients

Finding a short easy-to-type domain name will help your customers remember you. Consider if you need to use plumbing, heating & gas in your domain or if your company name is your name with your trade behind it could you use your last name so the domain isn’t long-winded? We’d also stray away from using abbreviations (u instead of you) or uncommon spellings (xpress instead of express).

If you’re company name is ABC Plumbing & Heating Ltd, a bad domain would be abcplumbingandheatingltd.co.uk. A good example would be abcplumbers.co.uk or abcheating.co.uk.

Avoid any numbers & hyphens in your domain

People who hear your website URL aren’t sure if you’re called first class plumbing using a numeral or if it’s 1st class plumbing, so It’s usually advisable to avoid numbers for the sake of simplicity. Hyphens also make it more difficult to remember and enter your domain name. so we’d advise trades to just stay away from these!

Should I use keywords in my domain?

In the 1990s, yes but now it really doesn’t matter that’s not to say your domain shouldn’t be related to your trade at all. Google now focuses a lot more on the content of a website rather than its domain. So when you get that sketchy email selling you emergencyplumberliverpool.co.uk for £400 remember most domains shouldn’t cost you more than £10! The key when choosing a domain is making sure it’s memorable and can be easily typed out by potential or returning customers!

A local tradesman? Use your area in your domain!

Consider putting your city or location in your domain name if you do a lot of local work to make it easier for local clients to find and remember. This isn’t key and unless your company name is taken we’d stray away from this but if you’re struggling it can be a good way to get the domain name you want!

Remember only use your location if your preferred name is taken. It won’t affect how your website ranks & in some cases could make the site less memorable!

Check if your domain is free

Websites like GoDaddy or 123reg will tell you if a domain is taken if your domain is taken why not try adding your location as we’ve suggested above or add ‘ltd’ if you’re a limited company!

Using The Right Domain Extension

Extensions are suffixes, such as .com or .co.uk, at the end of web addresses. They can have specific uses, so when picking a domain make sure to choose one that works for your business. The .com domain extension is by far the most popular worldwide, but it can be tough to get a short and memorable .com domain name because it’s been around for so long which can be a pain for local trades!

However, there are loads of other domain extensions available, so why not consider something more local like .co.uk? We would say extensions are a two-horse race for trade businesses and would usually say it’s a choice between .com or .co.uk. This is not to say you couldn’t consider something like .net if you really liked it! It has no downsides but just tends to not work as well as .co.uk for local tradesmen or women. We would advise straying away from .org as this has non-profit connotations with it so wouldn’t be appropriate for most trades!

Other extensions are fine but not ideal & could make your business look less professional. Always make sure they look right and get family or friends second opinions. We’ve had trades use .uk.co which just looks wrong & unprofessional doesn’t it?

Should I choose a .com or .co.uk extension?

.com domain extensions are ideal if you are interested in attracting a more international market and visitor base, so for most trades, it’s not necessary. Further, because .com extensions have been around for a while they are typically more expensive and you may have to get more creative with your domain name to grab a good one.

.co.uk domain extensions are a perfect choice if you have a local UK-based company or are most interested in attracting UK visitors and customers which for UK based trade companies will be the case. They tend to be a little cheaper and imply personal or local service that bigger .com chains often don’t.

We would always recommend that our trades choose a .co.uk domain but if you’re interested in a .com or .net domain we can research some ideas for you!

How BUILT can give you time back!

At BUILT we take the stress out of websites for tradesmen and give you your time back not only by building you a website but by setting up your google my business, researching & purchasing a domain for Trades & completing branding work on your Facebook page.

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