Choose a Website Domain

If you are starting a business your website domain is a critical step in your business & brand creation. It can be quite overwhelming so how do you choose a website domain?

When working with a new client it is my suggestion for them to think of lots of name ideas and then check the domain availability before you settle on a name.

Rushing and picking any old website domain won’t do your business any favours

Rebranding a business because you rushed in and bought a not-so-great domain name is not only a headache it’s costly too

How do I choose?

I suggest using a thesaurus & a website Domain name generator such as Namemesh.com. This is my top tip for finding domains & business names that will work for your brand but may not have sprung to mind automatically

Use Google search to find competing sites using the same name or something similar.  

For example, you wouldn’t use Available Angels as an Escort Agency Name as there is already a directory using that name so it would cause confusion. So that would be a bad website domain & brand choice

Consider your words and how they are viewed in the industry. There are a lot of derogatory terms and slang so double check these terms as you don’t want to end up stuck with something that offends people.  

Your Brand and domain choice

To create a brand, I am a big believer in finding your niche & working to your strengths rather than trying to appeal to everyone. Nobody is amazing at everything so niching works in helping those looking for you, to find you and your unique brand.

Let’s use Agency Atlantic as an example

My first Escort Agency was named ‘Atlantic Companions’. We chose Atlantic Companions for a few reasons:

Atlantic fit the brief

When doing reference and screening checks saying ‘it’s Sarah @ Atlantic’ would not raise an eyebrow, whereas if we were called Pink Pussy it would be a different story.

Domain Considerations

There are lots of things to consider when finding a website domain to suit your brand

If possible your name should convey your business & brand

I created a late-night agency in Sydney years ago. I named it Late Night Babes. It was a late-night Escort agency so its name said exactly what it did

I created an Escort Management Business that I called Atlantic Escort Management.  Atlantic was a known brand with a good reputation so by keeping Atlantic I could capitalise on that.

Agency Atlantic Digital which is using Atlantic + Digital means we didn’t start as an unknown Digital Agency in the sea of Digital Agencies when Atlantic is a known brand that has been around for almost 20 years.  Plus as we still do a few tours we can have 1 website containing all the services we offer

Finding your perfect domain name

Finding a brand name & domain that ticks all the boxes can seem impossible but it’s not really that difficult if you think a little outside the box.

With this in mind, I suggest trying to find a domain name that ticks most of the boxes…

Choose .com or a country-specific domain

A top-level domain (TLD) is the last part of a domain — they are the letters directly after the dot in the Internet address. Most often, it’s best to go with the most recognised TLD in the world… “.com”.

.com allows you to add domain privacy so no prying eyes can see your name on Whois records.  If you are Australian, a .com.au is more trustworthy (you must have an ABN to be able to buy one) it is not possible to hide your whois information so for privacy reasons .com is usually best.

Country specific TLDs are great for local businesses working in a specific country: i.e. .com.au, .net.au, .co.nz. These show that the business is local and can also assist with the website’s Google rankings in those specific countries.  

Trust is a ranking factor for Google so having a domain with a legal business entity attached is very trustworthy :)

You can view a full list of the TLDs on Wikipedia

If you can’t find the name you want with a .com or a .com.au there are plenty of other options like .co or .agency that you can use.

Shorter Domain names are best

Long domains are easy to forget plus spelling errors can occur.  If possible make your domain name short, sweet and memorable. Whilst single word domains may seem like a good idea, sometimes they can make your site hard to find. 

I recommend you aim to choose 2 or 3 words that describe your business and give a clear

Avoid Abbreviations 

These are hard to remember and can set you up for failure.  I remember working on a website many moons ago which was bestescort4u – Clients were always forgetting it was 4U not ‘for your’ which bought up an entirely different site

Avoid using abbreviations or unusual spellings of words that customers could easily misspell.

An abbreviation can be useful if you have a super long business name.  I had AAsydneyEscorts.com when I had a separate site for Agency Atlantic Sydney Escort Agency.  Also, I remember Bond & Mayfair London Escort Agency used BMint.com (they had numerous URLs including BondandMayfair.co.uk but the short one was easy to remember)

Sound like a brand

A great Domain allows potential customers to look at the domain name and understand what the business is offering.  For example, you don’t want BDSMBabes.com if you are a GFE Escort Agency based in Sydney.

Make it easy to remember and easy to spell

A good domain name is easy for a customer to type directly to their browser.  Names that are easy to remember are usually short, represent the brand, and avoid hyphens, numbers or words that can be misspelled

Avoid the awkward

Do the words look legible & nice when put together and are not embarrassing?

I remember buying a gorgeous ring in Mykonos from a store called ‘Ark of Art’.   

Lovely jewellery, friendly owner, nice shop name, however, the URL was arkofart – Arko Fart….

It’s a memorable name but not for the right reasons.   

My younger brother finds it hilarious and if I wear the ring I bought he will hysterically laugh and make fun of me; ‘you have your arko fart ring on’ hahaha

Is it discreet & will a client be comfortable saying it?

Say the domain out aloud and also say it with an accent.  Some clients will not want to phone a business where they cannot pronounce the name.  They do not want to be embarrassed when they phone. I find some Independent Escorts try too hard to be unique and can end up bookings with an impossible to pronounce the name

Ask your friends and colleagues

Once you have a shortlist of 5 or more than you like, ask others what they think. Tell them over the phone or in person, see how they go with spelling it. Also, give them the URL so they can write it down. They may notice things you haven’t notice. Also if they struggle with the URL, clients will struggle too so it’s not a great choice

My Favourite Tools and Services

Namecheap the best place to purchase a domain
NameMesh helps you generate ideas and shows you the available domain names
Namecheckr once you have a domain name; you can check what socials are available for that name
Siteground for Website Hosting for escort websites

Website Domain Checklist

If you need help with your business or brand; Agency Atlantic offers business mentoring, coaching and consulting services

I hope you found my website domain post helpful

Until next time