Choosing the right domain name Malaysia is crucial to ensure success in the long run. If you choose the wrong domain name, then it will be a big hassle to switch later on and you might waste all your investment in optimizing the search rankings.
That’s why it is extremely important to choose the right domain name Malaysia from the start before engaging web design company Malaysia for web development. You don’t want to operate your business and website for years, and in later stage you feel that the domain name is not right or suitable.
But before choosing a domain name Malaysia, you need to have your business or brand name ready.
Before I go detail, let’s get some picture what is domain name.
What is domain name?
In short, domain name is the name of a website. It can be any name under your personal or business. It is a piece of online real estate that you own and control completely, as long as you bought the rights to that name.
What is Top-level domain name (TLDs)?
Top level domain is the last segment of a domain name that usually comes after the final dot. The mot common example is .com in global and .com.my or .my for domain name Malaysia.
What is Second-level domain name (SLD)?
Second level domain is the domain name that comes before the top level domain. Basically the “name” of your website. For example, sonleemarketing.my – sonleemarketing is the SLD and .my is the TLD
So when you register your domain name at a domain registrar, you’re choosing both the TLD and SLD.
What is the difference between domain registrar and domain registry?
Domain registrar is what we call the “Middle Man” in layman terms. That help you reserve and register the domain names and assign IP address on it.
Domain registry are organisations that manage the top level domain (TLDs) such as .com or .my.
For example in Malaysia, the domain registrar could be Yeahhost that is my preference. I use Yeahhost to help me register Malaysia domain such as .my from the domain registry which is MYNIC Berhad – the sole administrator for web addresses that end with .my in Malaysia. MYNIC is an agency under the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia (KKMM).
4 Reasons Why Choosing Right Domain Name Malaysia is Important
- A unique and memorable name is more likely to encourage website visitors to return. And it is more impactful and memorable when you use it in offline marketing such as billboards.
- Your domain name can immediately give new visitors an idea of what your site is all about. Also give them the impression of your brand name.
- Domain names have an impact on the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. In short, it affects how you rank your website in global or locally.
- Changing your domain name after creating your site can lead to complications and it is time consuming. Also it will affect your SEO scoring. You might waste all the investment on your SEO strategy.
8 Factors to Consider When Choose Domain Name Malaysia
1. Choose your Top Level Domain carefully – .com vs .my
As mentioned above, Top Level Domain (TLDs) is the part at the back. The most common TLDs are .com .net .org .com.my .my. There are some that is not so common such as .co .xyz .biz .info.
It is usually the best to keep it to old school and stick to .com because it is the most popular and easy to remember. Avoid .co as people might having typo mistakes and typed .com instead of .co.
Of cause most of the time .com is already taken and you can’t have it.
Should I choose domain name Malaysia .com or .my?
First, you need to ask yourself where does your business operates. And does your customers come from global or only in Malaysia. For example, before you start your E-commerce business. Do you want to sell globally? Or you only want to sell locally in Malaysia.
If you plan to go global, choose .com.
If you plan to do business only in Malaysia, choose .com.my or .my.
This is the most important factor on domain because this will impact your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in the long run.
Put it in layman terms…
If someone search for specific keywords in www.google.com.my and google detected that you are in Malaysia.
Having other factors being the same, Google will choose to rank .com.my higher as compare to .com.
2. Make sure domain easy to pronounce and spell
Yes you can be cool in creating some unique names. But no matter how cool it looks spelled out, there will be a time when you have to give your website address verbally. And you want it to be easy to pronounce, easy to spell and memorable.
Word of mouth is a power advertising. You want your customer to be able to spread your website easily for you.
Also having a easy to spell and memorable domain is important in traditional marketing. Let say you have the budget for billboard advertising, you want people to be able to remember your domain in the clip of 5 seconds.
Let’s imagine someone are driving on the highway with 110 km/h, and you want them to remember your domain name. Or at least your brand name so that they can Google about it.
Google, Facebook, Instagram, Yahoo, CNN…
One big thing they have common is that they’re easy to spell.
3. Be unique and brandable
Creative, unique and brandable are always better than a generic common name.
Your domain or brand name is how visitor will find, remember and share your company. It is foundation to your brand.
A brandable domain name stands out from the competition, while a generic domain is usually stuffed with keywords and not memorable.
For example, do you know the difference between goodhealth.net or besthealth.com? Probably not, right? And it sounds so fishy.
These are those generic domains that nobody can remember. You won’t hear anyone talking about how awesome is goodhealth.com right?
You see big brands like Amway stand out because their name is short, easy to remember and it is brandable. When people hear this name, there is a trust factor there.
If you need some idea on brand name. You can check is brand name generator such as Looka.
4. Consider using keyword
Try using keywords that describe your business or the services you offer. For example, if you are doing in supplements business. You may consider tophealth.com or topsupplements.com. as your domain name Malaysia.
This keyword may help to improve your SEO.
But the cons of using keyword url is that you are tied up with the industry and you cannot diversify in future. Let’s give example on Amazon.
If they were to name it as amazonbook.com, it will be tough for them to diversify in the future. And you need to spend a lot to rebranding if you would like to change it in future.
So you might want to consider a domain name Malaysia that is flexible and keep your options open. It’s depends on your choice.
5. Keep your domain name short
While keywords are important in SEO, don’t go overboard with the domain length.
It’s better to have a domain name Malaysia that’s short and memorable.
It is recommended to keep your domain name under 15 characters. Longer domain are harder to remember. Also chances of typo mistake will be higher which results in loss of traffic.
6. Avoid hyphens and numbers
Remember your domain name should be easy to spell and remember?
Hyphens and numbers make it more difficult.
Imagine Facebook domain if it had a hyphen and numbers in there…
www.face-book-88.com
It is not easy to remember right?
So you have to keep your domain name Malaysia smooth and avoid hyphens and numbers
7. Avoid doubled letters
It’s strongly advisable to avoid using domains with doubled letters. For example, hapyzzz.com. It will be more prone to typos. Also nobody can remember how many z you have in your domain. They will be confuse. This will increase the chances of lost traffic due to typos.
8. Make sure your domain or brand name are not taken or register as trademark
Before you move forward with a specific domain name Malaysia, check to see if the name is available on social media sites. Also check if there are any trademarks already registered to the name.
To build your brand, It is best to have the same name across your domain and social networks. This builds familiarity and makes it easy for your visitors, fans, and customers to find you online.
It is easy to check with a tool like namecheckr. Search your potential domain name Malaysia or brand name. It’ll show you if it’s available throughout 56 social networks and top level domains
Conclusion on Choosing Domain Name Malaysia
Choosing the perfect and right domain name Malaysia from the start is the most important thing before you start your business. As you do not want to waste your resources on investment when you decide to change in future.
And these are the 8 factors to consider when choosing domain name Malaysia.
- Choose your Top Level Domain carefully – .com vs .my
- Make sure domain easy to pronounce and spell
- Be unique and brandable
- Consider using keyword
- Keep your domain name short
- Avoid hyphens and numbers
- Avoid doubled letters
- Make sure your domain or brand name are not taken or register as trademark
