Selecting the right business name is one of the hardest, most important things you have to do when starting your first company. However, choosing the most suitable domain name for your new business is just as important; sometimes, even more so. This is something you have to remember when you start making plans for your first company formation in one of UAE's free zones. Your Domain Name and Online Performance When you put some thought into the domain name for your business, you will have an easier time establishing a good reputation for your company online. This can affect how people will think of your business. Your domain name can help customers see you for the professional and industry expert that you are. Your website name will also impact your search engine optimization or SEO efforts. SEO is a crucial element of your overall marketing campaign. You want your website to be found on the top of search engines when people look for your products or services online. Having the right domain name is a good start that can help you as you work on your SEO campaign. It will also play a key role in your branding efforts. Lastly, your website name allows your customers to know and connect with you more easily. If your domain is too hard to find, online users wont be able to find your business quickly. This can cause you to lose potential customers who will likely connect with and buy from your competitors that they find first online. Selecting a Domain Name That Dominates If you are starting your first business in Dubai, you can come up with the perfect domain name by following these tips: Think of a domain name that reflects what you do. Your website and email address are essential tools that help you make a great first impression. Having the right domain name can help you with this. By having a website that closely matches your business name, you make it easier for people to know exactly who you are and what you offer. You leave little room for them to guess what your company is all about. Also, keep in mind that having different domain and business names could be confusing. When customers see a list of search results and emails, they might find it hard to identify which business is yours if your domain name doesnt match your business name. Choosing a domain name that conveys what your business is all about is an excellent start to narrowing down your best options. Try to insert your main keyword in the domain name. Aside from using or including your company name in the domain name, you will do well to try adding one of your main keywords in it. When you add a keyword in your domain name, you tell the search engines what your website is all about. Combined with high-quality content and good user experience, your domain name will help your site rank higher on Google and other search engines. List down at least five terms and expressions that best describe your business. To make your domain name stand out in the right way, combine these terms with the other keywords youve chosen. Ensure it is unique. Having a unique domain name is crucial to ensure that your business stands out and remains in peoples minds. Unfortunately, with millions of existing websites, this can be a tough task. If your domain name is highly similar to that of another website, you will find yourself in a lot of trouble. You might find yourself facing copyright infringement issues. Additionally, you may be accused of copying another website, which will do nothing good for your reputation. To narrow down your options of possible unique domain names, research other blogs in your niche and find out what domain names they are using. Also, a simple trick is to avoid choosing domain names that are plural, hyphenated, or misspelled versions of an already established website. Keep the domain name short and memorable. Although you want a brand-able and unique domain name, dont forget to keep it short, straightforward, and memorable. Try to come up with a catchy business name that can capture the potential customers attention and hold it instantly. It should sound, look, and feel fresh and exciting, trendy, fun, and easy to pronounce. Additionally, it has to be memorable and timeless or future proof so it will still sound fresh and appealing even after being in use for several years. If your business name is a bit long, you can keep it short and straightforward by using an acronym or its initials as your domain name. It is the best solution, especially if you want consumers to know and remember your products or services with their initials. To know if your domain name is catchy and memorable, run it by your friends and family. Ask them if they like it and what they think about it. The next day, ask them if they recall the name. If they remember it, it is a good sign that you have a winning website name. Choose .com as your extension. Lastly, although you can pick from among .org, .co, or .net, you will do well to use the most common extension which is .com. This extension is widely used, and thus, easier to remember. There is also lower risk that people will input the wrong website or be directed to another website. Although this may not sound important, a .com extension also helps with your brand identity and recognition, and at the same time, makes it look more trustworthy and authoritative. Additionally, .com is also a renowned SEO fodder and draws in heavy web traffic. In case you cant get a .com extension for now, choose another well-known one, such as .org or .net. However, you have to plan to get a .com extension in the future. Opening your first business in the UAE can be a time-consuming process. If you need help establishing your company here, consider getting help from a provider of business setup services that can guide you from start to finish. Providers of business setup services can also assist you with choosing the right domain name and register it in the UAE. Knowing when to get support for establishing your business and taking up the additional training or learning coursescan help you get on the right track to finding success in the UAE. AUTHOR BIO: Naresh Manchanda is a Partner at MBG Corporate Services, an international organization supporting clients across Asia, Europe and the Middle East and providing sustainable solutions and strategies that drive business transformation. Established in 2002 and headquartered in Singapore, MBG is a 450-strong member team that operates out of Europe, the Middle East and Asia, providing Legal, Risk, M&A, Tax, Strategy, Technology and Audit Services.