In essence, you want a domain that can reach your audience, stick to their minds, but not at the expense of an unreasonable price. Here are some tips to purchase a cheap domain that can meet your needs.
#1 Start with Lengthening it Out But Not Too Much
Longer the domain names, the cheaper they are, but you should know the reason. The shorter domain names that represent a globally used word or a phrase usually indicate that the website is an authority when it comes to that particular word. Since they act as “umbrella” terms, short domains cost money. If you are targeting a specific audience which is a subset of the majority, feel free to lengthen the domain name. The traffic that comes to you will be limited, but that traffic will be “targeted” to the real potential buyers of your service. A dedicated audience like that would be more valuable than a lot of visitors just passing through. You can choose a reasonably long name in this case for a cheap domain.
Additionally, use of additive terms can generate great domain names for you. Addition of a positive adjective (which is short), use of numbers and hyphens can be tricks to increase the domain length by just one character. The price, on the other hand, will drop from premium to a few bucks. But one specific point to remember is not to use a mixture of numbers and letters as you would in a password. Imagine a domain name like a passcode? Who would bother to remember it?
Add number, letters, hyphens or adjectives, but don’t make the domain hard to remember.
#2 Other Top Level Domain Choices
Recently, with the new rules and regulations, a lot of TLDs have been added to the traditional .com, .org and country specific top level domains. Although most people still go for traditional options, many websites with new TLDs have become successful. There is a wide range of interesting domains to choose from for business, education, and lifestyle related niches.
#3 Do some window shopping!
You might have a favorite domain name provider. You might have chosen it for the customer service, technical efficiency or some other factor. But if you are on a low budget, why not drop in some other places too? To name a few, Go Daddy, 1 and 1, and even Google provide domains at competitively low prices. All of them do not offer the same price, but it doesn’t hurt to compare and select, especially if you are on a budget. However, keep in mind to read some honest reviews by previous buyers. Cheap is good but not at the expense of a non-functioning website due to an abysmal domain name service.
Another important reminder is to check for seasonal and affiliate discounts. You will be amazed to find how these discounts can save a lot of money.
#4 Beware of the fees
A domain purchase does not come up just with the name itself. There are many charges added for many “hypothetical” services at the checkout. A good way to cut the expenses is to begin with just the domain subscription and leave everything out. Then, take the additional services one by one and decide for yourself. For example, the IP protection for your WhoIs data may be necessary if your business is big and might be at risk. However, some of the services are just futile.
You can add a service later on if you think it is necessary, so there is no need to fret.
#5 A used name? Not a bad choice.
Sometimes the domain you are looking for is already in someone’s basket. But if it is not put to good use, if it is just pending with no hosting or a website, you can ask the domain name provider to be your friendly broker. Sometimes, you might get a good bargain out of it.
As you can see, getting a cheap domain is not that difficult. You must be tactful and just need to have some common sense.
Featured Image: Depositphotos/© tashatuvango
