The Psychology of Domain Name Length

Domain names are the address used to find a business online. Factors like brevity, brandability, memorability, and keyword inclusion determine a great domain name. Although a shorter domain is more beneficial, success can be attained with a longer domain name too.

When you decide to move your business online, one thing you cannot escape is the task of choosing a domain name. During this period, you will come across different opinions on the type of domain that will best suit your brand.

Because domain names contribute a lot to user experience, search engine optimization (SEO), and website performance, you’re caught between choosing a short catchy domain name or a longer domain that includes relevant keywords.

But then, ideal domain names aren’t exactly cheap or easy to come by, and before you go spending money on one, it would be nice to understand deeply, the impact domain name length has on your website’s performance.

In the rest of this piece, we will be looking at what makes a great domain, a head-to-head battle between long and short domains, and how domain name length affects SEO. but before then, here’s a reminder of what a domain name is.

What are Domain Names?

Domain names are unique and easy-to-remember web addresses that users type into a browser to locate your website. It is like an online equivalent of a physical address.

Just like owning a shop in the physical world, when the address is simple and memorable, customers will be able to find your business with ease. The same rule applies on the internet, hence the reason why domain names are so important in your bid to establish an online presence.

A domain name consists of the website name and a top-level domain (TLD) like .com, .org, or .net. For example, businessdomains.com is the domain name of this website. But then, what makes a domain name great? Let’s find out!

What Makes a Domain Name Great?

There are good domains and there are bad ones, but what makes a domain name special typically revolves around these things.

Brandable

Aside from being the address to your website, a domain name is the face of your business online. So when a domain name is catchy, simple, and memorable, users can easily remember and connect to your business. Over time, your domain becomes a brand in the niche you operate in.

A good example is apple.com, this isn’t a website about selling apples, but because the domain has become a brand, everyone knows they sell phones, tablets, e.t.c 

Pronounceable

Despite the fact most users type in a web address into a search engine, there has been a rise in people using AI assistants like Siri to carry out voice searches. Aside from this, when your domain name passes the radio test, it typically means it can be spelt correctly.

This reduces the chances of users misspelling your web address and ending up somewhere else. For example, cars.com can be easily pronounced, chances are, you won’t find anyone misspelling the domain name.

Brevity

When a domain name is simple and short, users can remember and memorize it easily. This helps to establish a connection and ultimately build trust between your website and the user.

Popular Top-Level-Domain (TLD)

Users find it easier to trust a domain name with a TLD they know. When you see a web address with a .com, .org, or .net, you feel a sense of security when you click. With trust comes more traffic and success.

Instantly Intuitive

A great domain name should be able to give the user an idea of what a website is all about. This helps drive only relevant traffic to your business. For instance, no one needs to tell you that travel.com is a website about the travel industry.

Includes Keywords

If a domain name contains a generic keyword to your industry, it could be ideal. But do not make the mistake of stuffing the web address with keywords, it will have the opposite effect on your website,

Google could flag it as spam and users are weary of keyword-stuffed domain names.

For example, GoDaddy.com looks more professional and legitimate than BuyGoDaddyDomains.com.

No Legal Issues

A great domain shouldn’t be confused with another domain name or have any trademark infringements. Before you set about buying one, make sure to check the domain does not violate any brand’s trademark rights.

Now that we know what makes a great domain name, what is the ideal length of a domain name?

What is the Ideal Domain Name Length?

When it comes down to it, choosing a shorter domain is more advisable. Typically, we recommend a domain name that is between 6-14 characters in length. This doesn’t include the “https://www” or .com or .net part.

But the problem is that short and ideal domains are extremely difficult to find, and unless you’re willing to spend big, you might not get a good domain name. This unfortunate scenario keeps pushing people further and further into choosing longer domain names.

What you don’t realise is that a long domain doesn’t affect your website negatively, neither does it result in a penalty for you. But where you take the significant hit is the overall user experience.

When your web address is too long, users find it difficult to memorize it, so unless your website is extremely useful to them, chances are they won’t remember it next time. Aside from that, users perceive a long domain name as unprofessional, spammy, and shady.

As of 2023, over 56% of all web traffic comes from mobile phones, and with many of those users typing and not looking, trying to type a long domain name isn’t a pleasant experience. You’ll find them looking for websites with shorter domain names to visit.

But before we rule out long domain names, let’s look at the pros and cons of both of them.

Benefits of Short Domain Names

Memorable

Because people tend to forget things easily, having a short catchy, and simple domain name can be a huge asset. By limiting your domain name to a few characters, users won’t find it easy to remember and locate your business online.

Mobile Friendly

With the majority of traffic coming from mobile phones, having a short and easy-to-type domain name can help your website benefit from this huge market. For instance, a user searching for football-related news will find it easy to search goal.com on his mobile device.

Marketable

When users see your domain name, they should be able to figure out what your brand represents. Because short domains are usually catchy and simple, they easily create a sense of connection to your business that ultimately becomes the face of your brand.

For example, Nike.com is a short domain name that today has become a big footwear brand.

Easily Shared

In practical situations, shorter domains can be easily shared either through word of mouth, sharing links, or being embedded in posts. They look neater, more professional, and trustworthy.

Should you decide to print out cards with your website on them, it won’t eat up all the space left for other relevant information.

But it’s not all smooth sailing for short domain names, let’s find out what the cons are.

Drawbacks of Short Domains

Availability

Because of the benefits they give, everyone is out there looking for them. So if you set out to find one, you may not get an ideal one, particularly the ones with popular TLDs.

Cost

Should you find one that’s available, you will have to outbid plenty of people who are also trying to buy the domain. This of course means it will cost you a lot of money, especially those with high commercial value. For example, the domain name cars.com sold for $872 million in 2014.

Clarity

When a domain name is too short, it might not reflect the true nature of a business which may end up confusing the user. For instance, some people make the mistake of using their acronyms as their domain names.

Unless your acronym is essentially your brand name (eg. NASA), chances are your customers will find it hard to locate you online.

SEO

Some short domain names tend to lack keywords, this can affect your SEO efforts as the search engines find it difficult to direct relevant traffic to your website. Now let’s turn our attention to long domain names.

Benefits of Long Domain Names

Descriptive

Longer domain names can immediately tell a user what your business is all about. This helps to ensure that only the relevant traffic finds its way to your website. For example, onlinevideoconverter.com explicitly tells you what the business is all about.

Availability

Because of less competition, longer domain names are more readily available compared to the shorter and more popular domains.

Cost

Their availability and low competition make them cheaper to acquire. You can get some for a few dollars while a whole lot of them are free.

Keyword Inclusion

Because of their length, these domain names can contain specific keywords that could be beneficial to your SEO efforts. But take note that you don’t stuff the domain name with keywords, this will have the opposite effect on what you’re trying to achieve.

Drawbacks of Long Domains

Memorability

When a domain name is too long, it becomes difficult for a user to memorize it. This increases the chances of misspelling the web address or forgetting it completely.

Typing Difficulty

A long domain name might be challenging to type correctly. With many people searching from their mobile phones, the chances of making errors are high. This leads to a poor user experience which negatively impacts the performance of your website.

Less Brandable

Long domains have lesser branding and marketing capabilities as compared to shorter, catchy domain names. So if you’re looking to make your business stand out, you’re better off with a shorter domain.

Perceived Unprofessionalism

Because they are cheap, unbrandable, and available, users see longer domains as spammy and low in quality. A shorter domain just has a feel of professionalism to it.

Now that we’re familiar with both short and long domain names, does the length of a domain affect SEO? Let’s find out.

Does Domain Name Length Affect SEO?

When it comes to SEO, the major factors Google considers are website content, relevance, backlinks, user experience, and mobile-friendliness among many factors.

This means with a well-optimized site with quality content, relevant keywords, and a good user experience, you can rank well irrespective of the length of your domain name.

However, the length of your domain name can have an indirect effect on SEO. For short domain names, their memorability, brand-ability, and keywords can help users type and remember web addresses accurately. This results in higher engagement and more visibility in search engines.

On the other hand, longer domains may contain relevant keywords which may make search engines rank a website high, or their perceived spammy nature might affect user trust and click-through rates.

So the question is, how do you go about choosing the most suitable domain name length for your business?

Choosing The Right Domain Name Length

The choice of length for a domain name ultimately boils down to what you’re trying to achieve, and how much you’re willing to pay for it. In an ideal world, your domain name should convey your business, and have relevant keywords, while being as short as possible.

But with how expensive short domains are, not everyone will be able to afford them. Does this mean you won’t get a domain name? We don’t see why you shouldn’t, there are a lot of long domain names that have been successful. A few examples are internetdownloadmanager.com, leaugueoflegends.com, and teacherspaysteachers.com.

Final Thoughts

Domain names are unique strings of letters that people use to locate a website online. Factors like brevity, memorability, brand-ability, and keyword inclusion are what make a domain name great.

We learned about the benefits and drawbacks of both long and short domains. We also learned that although domain name length is not a major factor in SEO performance, there are indirect ways it can improve or harm a website’s performance.

Although shorter domains possess more advantages, you can still achieve online success with a longer domain name.