7 Tips To Choosing The Domain Name That Will Catapult Your Business Into An Empire
Your domain name is your business name on the Internet.
This is a decision that will affect search engine optimization as well as
your return customer traffic.
Your domain name will also affect anchor text of inbound links and your
search engine rankings.
Some companies have chosen to brand themselves with names that have nothing
to do with their business i.e. Yahoo, Google, Amazon, and eBay. It's not
that they don't understand search engine rankings but that they have deep
pockets for advertising to help their customers remember their name.
Here are 7 tips to help you choose a domain name making you more memorable
to your customers and search engines alike.
1. Keep your name as short as possible. People remember
names of their favorite websites. If your domain name is short and
memorable you have a better chance of return traffic. Advertising your name
offline becomes easier when it's something people can remember without
writing down.
2. Be clear about the direction of your web business. When
you start your business you may have an idea to sell widgets but as your
business grows you may find that widgets, wickets and wonkets all sell well.
Your domain name should be able to grow with your business.
3. Try to include 2 keywords in your domain name. When you
design your domain name you should include at least one, if not two,
keywords in the name. This helps to improve your search engine ranking and
organic search traffic. Search engines will place a higher value to a site
that sells widgets, has widgets in the name and has content that is
optimized for widgets. The assumption is widgets will be the focus of your
site and therefore provide valuable content to the searcher.
4. Include the location in the name if you are marketing
and selling in only one specific location. Are you a realtor selling
exclusively in Chicago?
ChicagoExampleRealEstate.com,
XYZExampleRealEstate-Chicago.com,
YourExampleXYZRealEstateInChicago.com all have the keyword Real Estate and
the location. However, if you sell widgets in Chicago but ship around the
world you won't put Chicago in the domain name. People searching for
widgets will pass over your site if they believe, from your name, that you
sell only in Chicago.
5. Avoid trademarked names. You've heard the stories of
the little guy who buys a name the big company wants. He sells the name and
spends the rest of his days retired on a private island. Those days are
gone. Now the big companies are calling their lawyers. TheBestOnEbay.com
or MicrosoftRox.com are just not good ideas.
6. Look legitimate and buy the variations. Avoid
purchasing .biz, .tv, or .ws as your main site. The most respect is given
to sites on .com, .net, and .org. On the other hand once you have a .com
that you intend to grow you should also buy the other extensions and
potentially even the .biz, .tv and .ws. Redirect those sites to your
primary site. This way if a customer can't remember the extension he'll get
to your site anyway. The new kid on the block is .mobi. This is the
extension used for mobile devices and sites providing services on the mobile
web.
Opened for general registration on September 26, 2006 and sponsored by a
consortium of companies including Microsoft, Google and Nokia this extension
has already sparked criticism.
7. Ask for advice. You'd be surprised at how many times a
domain names sounds absolutely brilliant at 1 am when you purchase it.
However, in the light of day, when you've asked some of your friends, it
makes no sense at all. Ask your friends, relatives and head over to a
webmaster forum.
You'll get great advice, learn a few things you didn't know and see your
business from a new set of eyes.
These simple tips will help you establish a solid foundation for your
Internet business and send you targeted qualified customers.
Jo Han Mok is a #1 bestselling author and frequent featured speaker at
Internet Marketing bootcamps and conferences.
Visit his website for a simple step-by-step plan to profit online in 21 days
or less!
http://www.SuperFastProfit.com
