Pick a domain that grows with you

Say you're starting a cupcake bakery downtown. sarahs-cupcakes-downtown.com sounds specific and "SEO-friendly." It also locks you out of muffins, weddings, and the second location.

Go broader: sarahsbakery.com. A domain you'll still be proud of in three years is worth more than one that ranks for a single keyword today.

Pick a name your business can grow into, not one it has to grow out of.

Say the name out loud. Can a friend type it correctly from hearing it once? If the answer involves "no, it's the number 4" or "with a hyphen" — keep looking.

Customers still default to .com when they're guessing your URL. Other TLDs are fine if your brand is unusual enough that people will type it directly — but for most small businesses, .com is worth the extra effort and the extra dollars.

Before you commit, search the name in your country's trademark database. You don't need legal review for a small local business — but a 30-second search saves you a brand pivot later.

Good domains evaporate. If you've found one that passes the breadth test, the mouth test, and isn't a trademark headache — register it the same day. Domain regret is real; sitting on a perfect name for "a week to think" almost always ends with it gone.