There are many factors that contribute to the value of a domain name. One of the most important factors is the length. When it comes to choosing the right domain name, the shorter the name, the higher the value.

The two most common ways that users arrive to websites is through search engines like Google or Bing or by directly typing the name into their web browser. Businesses do better on the Internet when users commit their domain name to memory. After the initial cost of starting a website, the costs of maintaining a website involve building SEO competition and marketing. The length of a domain name will impact the effectiveness of the SEO and help later costs of maintaining a website.

When a user goes to the address bar to enter in a url, it’s called type-in traffic. These users are not just finding a website through an ad or search engine, they know where they want to go because they remember the domain name. It’s easier for visitors to remember short, simple words like “dog” as opposed to more complex descriptions like “Canis lupus familiaris,” which is why domain names that are simpler receive much higher traffic than domains with longer names. Type-ins lead to repeat visits and more business.

Just because the domain name needs to be simple, doesn’t mean the process of choosing the right name is going to be easy. Constructing a valuable domain name that will have a good SERP takes time and effort. Check out Search Engine Land’s Periodic Table of SEO Ranking Factors, www.searchengineland.com/seotable to see what factors one needs to consider for a domain name.

The bottom line is that even if people can’t remember a particular brand or everything about a business, as long as they can remember the domain name, they can do business. Businesses can save money in their marketing budgets in the future if they choose a memorable, valuable domain at the start. The shortest domain names are definitely the most liquid assets in the domain investment world. Some of the biggest domain names are ones that consist of only two characters, like FB.com by Facebook, GM.com by General Motors and PG.com by Proctor & Gamble. Shorter domain names are also much more favorable to mobile users, which is important because the majority of web traffic is now done through mobile devices.