Domain Name
Picking a domain name should be easy, right? Why, I'll just use my business name. Not so fast, Sparky. A good bit of thought should be given to selecting a domain name.
A Cautionary Note
Picking a domain name is like getting married. You are going to have to stick with it till the bitter end. People that use your site will come to know it by the domain name. Repeat visitors will often simply type in the domain name to get to the site, better known as "type in traffic". As an example, do you search for "Amazon" when you want to buy a book or do simply type in amazon.com? If Amazon were to change its domain name to Desert, there would be a lot of confusion. The same goes with your domain. Once you pick something, stick with it.
Your Choices
Well, the obvious choice is your business name, but it may not be the best. There are four significant issues to consider.
First, is there something about your business name that makes using it as a domain an unwise choice? This situation typically arises if you have a long business name or have plural words. "Halstatt's Rip'n Marketing Campaigns, Inc." is going to be a horrible domain name. Clients are going to find it difficult to type in such a domain name.
Double letter problems are a second issue that is entirely unique to the Internet. What if Sams Salon wants to use its business name as a domain? The "s" at the end of first word and beginning of the second can cause confusion. Is the domain name Samssalon.com or Samsalon.com? Confusing your users is a bad way to run a site.
The third issue concerns the nature of your site and search engine optimization. If you are shooting for a particular keyword phrase, you may be better off using that keyword phrase in your domain name. Google, for instance, looks at the domain name when evaluating a site. If the words in your domain name are spaced with dashes, many believe it will help in the ranking process. This is why you see so many xxx-xxxx-xxx.com domain names on the net. If your business focuses on a very specific area, strong consideration should be given to using relevant keywords in your domain name.
Finally, your domain name should end in ".com" and I don't want to hear any argument or see any rolling of the eyes. The simple fact is that when people think of sites, they always type in .com. Yes, there are other extensions and .us, .net, .biz, etc., may seem unique, but it kills your traffic. Pavlov and his dog experiments had it right. People have been mentally conditioned to type in .com, so don't select any other ending. If you do, a smart competitor will register the .com version of your name to get some free traffic. If you are really lucky, a porn site will do it!
Take a breath before you select a domain name. Like a spouse, it can be either a good or bad choice.
Halstatt Pires is with http://www.marketingtitan.com - an Internet marketing and advertising company comprised of a search engine optimization specialist providing meta tag optimization services and Internet marketing consultant providing internet marketing solutions through integrated design and programming services.
Latest News
Learn the ins and outs of buying a domain name Arizona Republic, AZ - 2, 2008 09:42 AM Answer: Your domain name is the most important part of your Web site outside your welcome page. It defines how customers find you on the ... |
 New York Times | .Tel Them Where to Find You New York Times, United States - A “land rush” period, in which anyone can buy domain names for around $150 a year, begins Feb. 3. After March 24, domain names will be available for around ... Netfirms Announces Availability of Innovative .TEL Domain Names |
Internet body to auction special domain names The Punch, Nigeria - By Jonah Iboma The Nigeria Internet Registration Association, the body in charge of the administration of the country’s top-level domain name, .ng, ... |
SnapNames.com Announces Auction Services for Deleting .mobi Domain ... PR Web (press release), WA - Founded in 2000, SnapNames operates the largest auction of expired and deleting domain names. Partnering with the world's largest and best-known registrars ... |
Domain Name Community DNF24 Launches Free Expired Domain Name Tool 7thSpace Interactive (press release), NY - Amsterdam and New York, December 2nd 2008 - Today, domain name community DNF24.COM has announced the launch of its available expired domain name service for ... |
Early Christmas: Domain Name Community DNF24 Gives Away Free ... 7thSpace Interactive (press release), NY - Amsterdam & New York - December 1st 2008 - (7thSpace.com) - Today, domain name community DNF24.COM has launched a contest, where community members can ... |
Genius Marketing: Answer Trivia on Twitter, Win Free Domain Names Mashable, CA - Domain registrar NameCheap is executing one of the latter, running a holiday trivia contest where their followers are awarded free domain registrations for ... |
Australia: Watch This (Expanding Internet Domain Name) Space: An ... Mondaq News Alerts (registration), UK - The following FocusPaper provides a broad overview of ICANN's newly proposed procedure for the introduction of additional top-level domain names to the ... |
John Motson's Free Book "Domaining Manifesto" Reveals Secrets Of ... PR Web (press release), WA - With the dire state of today's global financial market, domain names are turning out to be a very steady and reliable investment alternative as domain names ... |
Tucows Joins Ethoca-Powered Global Fraud-Fighting Community PR Web (press release), WA - Hover is the easiest way for individuals and small businesses to manage their domain names and email addresses. -- Tucows also owns a portfolio of tens of ... |
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