A domain name needs to be spot on for many reasons: to help establish your online estate agency presence, build your brand, and for clients and potential clients to find and remember you. It’s often the first thing that will be seen, and as a reflection of your identity, it’s significant.

There’s a lot to think about. Does it tie in with your brand? Does it have to name your brand name exactly? Should it contain keywords?

While there are millions of domain names already registered – which can make finding your own a little trickier – there are things you can do that will help you arrive at the one that’s right for your estate agency.

Let’s look at how to pick a domain name for your website.

What is a domain name?

In effect, it is your estate agency’s website address. A memorable URL should direct clients and potential clients to your business online, thus growing traffic and leads.

Tips for picking a domain name

If you’ve been thinking about how to pick a domain name for your estate agency, the chances are you’ve asked yourself many questions. Things like “How do I choose my own domain name?” and “Should I use a domain name generator?”.

The tips below should provide some guidance:

The dos

• Keep it succinct, simple and in line with your brand
  It’s about keeping it easy for people to remember so long domain names aren’t the way to go – they’re highly likely to reduce traffic. Our experience tells us that 6-13 characters is ideal.
   
• Choose your extension carefully
  Whilst .com is often viewed as best practice – partly because it’s so recognised and partly down to its credibility – it might not be available. If not, no problem. There are other options, such as: .co.uk which works really well for the UK market (note we have our very own .co.uk extension), .uk, .net and other property-related ones, for example, .estate or .property. If you’re purchasing an extension, the non .com ones could cost way less.
   
• Use keywords if possible
  Research high-traffic keywords in the estate agency sector and if possible, make them form (either fully or part of) your domain name. One that clearly outlines your knowhow and leans into commonly searched terms will make it so potential clients can find you more easily.
   
• Consider scalability as the business grows
  Opt for a domain name that will grow with your agency. It’s possible to change it at a later stage but not ideal from a branding perspective. Nor a search engine optimisation (SEO) perspective, as an older, established domain name that’s recognised by Google as having high-quality content is easier to rank. The more time you’ve spent building authority via your domain, the more you stand to lose. The easiest way to protect this authority is by picking a domain name that will stand the test of time.  
   
• Be mindful of domain renewal options
  Before using a registrar offering inexpensive initial domain costs, check their rates for renewing them. It’s wise to look over the renewal terms generally, just to be sure you don’t stand to lose your domain down the line.  
   
• Buy multiple domain names
  As soon as you have your first domain, it’s almost certainly worth buying other similar ones. It will help protect your brand and make it so you don’t lose any potential business due to common mis-spellings.

The don’ts

• Avoid using certain characters, such as numbers and hyphens. 
  That is unless they’re integral to your brand.
   
• Keyword stuffing impacts your brand’s readability and ranking
  As long domain names don’t tend to work, if you’ve too many keywords, pick only one or two to combine for a standout name.  
   
• Challenging to remember unique spellings aren’t so clever
  For the very same reasons, avoid them. If they’re too clever, chances are they’ll be confusing and won’t work well.
   
• Don’t forget to check for trademarks
  Watch out for these to prevent any potential issues down the line.
   
• And don’t forget to check availability on social media 
  For brand building and consistency, use the same name for the domain and profiles on your social media accounts. Familiarity means your brand is easier to spot, whatever the platform. And link your social accounts to your website as this will increase client engagement.

FAQs

Is .com or .co.uk better?
Whilst debatable, .com is generally considered the best approach. Though, we know that .co.uk or .uk can work supremely well for UK estate agents.

What makes a good estate domain name? 
It needs to be remarkable, have staying power, and be short and easy to remember.

How do I choose a domain name for SEO?
Use one or two primary estate sector keywords to form your domain name, if possible. The name must be right. The keywords may or may not be fitting. By getting creative, you just might hit on something, so it’s absolutely worth a try.

Should I use a domain name generator? 
It will all depend on you and your business needs. You may already have ideas in mind. If not, there are many tools out there that can help inspire you. Alternatively, you could turn to an estate-savvy creative team to produce your name for you.

Why do domain names matter for estate agents?
Estate agency domain names are crucial for brand recognition and heightened online visibility. The right name will aid credibility and SEO.

Can I change my domain once it is registered?
Whilst you can, it’s advisable not to, so aim to choose a domain name that can grow as the business does.