If you are planning on taking the step into the e-commerce realm, I hope these tips will help make the transition a little bit smoother!

Choose the right URL extension
When considering the right URL extension for your e-commerce website there are a number of factors to consider. Firstly, the URL extension can affect the ranking of your site in search engines, especially with the increasing influence of location to search. Therefore, when launching a site in the UK try to purchase your domain with a .co.uk URL extension. Top Level Domains (TLDs) such as .com and .co.uk are advantageous as they are more easily remembered.

Is the domain name available in social media?
You knew social media was going to be involved somewhere didn’t you? Well, unsurprisingly as with everything web based, social media plays a key role. Standard procedure when purchasing domain names is to search for its availability and it is much reported that domain names are running scarce! However, it is also advisable that before committing to a domain and business name that you search for the corresponding name on relevant social media networks. Having to register social media accounts with irrelevant numbers at the end or awkward usage of underscores will be damaging to the perception of your brand. Furthermore, the pre-registered account with the same name as your business could create misleading and damaging perceptions of your brand.

Keep your domain name simple
This point comes back to the influence of search engines in choosing domain names. In terms of usability and search engine optimisation, avoid names such as BestTipsInMakingMoneyOnline.co.uk and UrHouse.co.uk as opposed to YourHouse.co.uk. Why? Well with the first example typing in such a long domain to access a site is off putting for consumers, who will no doubt make spelling mistakes! The second example, which uses SMS style text will decrease visibility in search as higher traffic keyword search terms cannot be applied to the domain name.

Buy multiple URL extensions of your domain name
This practice is beneficial not only as a safe guard of your brand’s image but can also be an investment which secures revenues in the future. Domain names fluid nature of sales means that anybody could buy a similar domain to yours and potentially damage the reputation of your company or gain some of your custom. Harnessing multiple URL extensions for your site is therefore a worthwhile practice. Furthermore buying common typos and perhaps shorthand domain names related to your original can be effective.

Ultimately think of domain names as an investment. In purchasing your domain, be wise and careful to ensure that it will ‘work’ for you as effectively as possible. If handled correctly it will return any money spent for years to come!