Your domain name is the URL for your fishing charter website (yourguideservice.com), and choosing the right one is crucial – as it’s how your audience finds and remembers you. It helps you stand out among competition, and when done right, can even boost your rankings on Google. However, depending on your business name and guide saturation in your area, it can be hard to find one that’s unique and still checks the boxes.
What should the URL be for my fishing charter website?
These tips apply to fishing charters, guides, fly shops, lodges – anyone running paid fishing trips.
Follow the guidelines below to nail the perfect domain name for your site:
1.) Always use a .com website extension.
It’s no question that .com is the universal standard for web addresses, so stay in that lane. Even if the name you want is taken with .com or other options are cheaper, alternatives come across unprofessional and untrustworthy.
2.) Keep it simple & easy to type.
Think about the ways you might use the URL in the future. Business cards, clothing, and stickers are all common ways guides promote their businesses, so try keeping your domain name simple to read and type. Avoid slang, hyphens, numbers, or doubled letters.
3.) “Match the Hatch” with location or intent keywords.
Domain names like “saltycaptdan.com” are fine, but they certainly aren’t doing you any favors in the eyes of Google and overall search engine optimization. Consider using your city or state, or reference your home body of water in your URL to help Google understand what searches to rank your site for. As a similar strategy, include relevant keywords – like flyfishing, charter, guideservice, etc. – so Google knows to show you when someone searches using those same words.
4.) Google it before you buy it.
This one sounds like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised. Obviously you want to make sure it’s not already taken, but do your research and see what shows in Google search results when you type in your business name. If your domain name is different from your business name, search your domain name written out – like “salty capt dan” from the saltycaptdan.com example above – and see what else shows up. You’ll want to know about any competition or potential confusion with a different business with a similar name.
What’s next? Purchase a fishing website hosting plan.
A hosting plan is what connects your website to the internet. Everyone needs one, but not all are created equal. Here are the recommend fishing website hosting plans that we see working best for our clients.
