There are some domain names that are very short and some that are very long and then those that are in between. It can be hard to know which to choose.

Long Domain Names

The main advantage of a long domain name is that it can give a good explanation of what your website is about. It may be able to fit in your brand name and a bit of what the company does. It may be able to include some good SEO terms as well. It means that when people see it, they will immediately get a feel of what to expect from the website. It means that search engines will like it because it is likely to have terms in it that will match the website content, which help with things like domain authority and page rank.

However, there is a big disadvantage with a long domain name as well. It can be hard to remember or hard to type. If it is long, there is more chance of a typo being made if someone is typing the name in directly. This may mean they go to the wring site or go nowhere. This can be extremely irritating to the customer. Having to type in a long domain can be annoying enough but once it is done incorrectly a few times, they may give up altogether. Hopefully, they will save it to their favorites or their browser will remember it once they have typed the first part of it, but this is not guaranteed.

Short Domain Names

A short domain name is very memorable, which is good. It is quick and easy to type and means that people are more likely to have a go at putting it in themselves, rather than using a search engine to find a site. This could put you at a big advantage over your customers. There are many successful companies with short domain names.

The problem with a short domain name is that there is not much space to put anything much detail. You may just have your brand name or a word that describes your business. This is not necessarily enough to get you recognized. It will work once you become a more recognizable brand but initially it may not be enough to get people to want to click on you.

Choosing the length of domain name can be difficult. However, the fact that most well-known websites have a short domain name, may make it tempting to go for something short and snappy. Hopefully you can choose a name that will stand out and encourage people to visit. It can be difficult to do this, but it is possible and worth some thought. It can even be worth asking current customers their thoughts or even having two websites with long and short domains and seeing which is the most popular. It may be more expensive but could be a well worth piece of research for you.

Rachel is a passionate blogger who loves to write on latest in SEO. She occasionally writes for Name Perfection, a company specializing in brandable domain name.