Winning Strategies for Online Success!
The domain name you choose for your web site plays a part in your web site’s SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and thus can have an impact on your google page rankings.
Let’s consider the domain ReaLifeWebDesigns.com. Notice it includes the keywords “web,” “design, “ or “webdesigns. “ Assuming all other SEO items being equal, this gives a slight edge over a web site in the same field with a domain not containing these keywords.
Before the web site became better know, “ReaLife” was not a good keyword because no one knew to include that in the search query. Now that the web site has some popularity, this keyword pair helps when users search specifically for this company.
Do your best to have your most powerful keyword first, keeping in-mind that your ultimate clients are human, not machine. For example, BakeryBobs.xxx may rank a bit better with google than BobsBakery.xxx for those searching for any bakery in their town. However the domain does not flow well and your customers may not remember it. BobsBakery.xxx flows better for the humans than BakeryBobs.xxx does and could rank better for those searching specifically for Bob’s Bakery. GardenPlantSale.xxx, on the other hand, flows well for the humans and gives a ranking edge for garden plants.
How many keywords constitute a good domain? I suggest three maximum, unless the words are very long, then two. Four keywords may work depending upon the situation. For example, PetSittingSouthBay.com uses four keywords. “Pet” and “Sitting” are first and second and are the main objective of the web site. “South” and “Bay” make it four total, however “Pet” is short and those living in the area hear the name so often that it becomes “SouthBay” instead of “South” “Bay.”
One keyword is great, but so many of the one-keyword domains have already been registered. Sometimes the single keyword domains expire and are not renewed. Add yourself to a notification list (under Domain Names - Domain Backordering if you feel strongly about grabbing up a specific domain.
Have the domain be specific enough that it tells your clients who you are, but not so long that they loose interest before entering the entire name in the address box of their browser or, worse yet, they forget the correct spelling. BobsTastyBakery.xxx is easy to remember, but BobsTastyBakeryAtSevenStreetAndMain.xxx is a bit much.
Acronyms may also be forgotten, however they often fit better on business cards. If this is a consideration, register two domains i.e. BobsTastyBakery.xxx and BTB.xxx. Print the acronym on the business card, then use a 301 Redirect to point the short domain to the full domain name on the web. Or, setup separate hosting accounts for each domain and use them for complimentary purposes.
Research the keywords you are considering for your domain to see if any of them are often misspelled. If yes, either find an alternate keyword or register both spellings of the domain. Again, use a 301 redirect from the misspelled domain to the correctly spelled domain.
Hyphens can be useful if the domain that matches your business name have already been registered. Maybe Bob’s Bakery in the next town or state has already registered the domain. Bobs-Bakery.xxx is a possible solution. In this case, be sure to include the full address of your company on each page of your web site so a user in your town can find your web site and not the web site of the other guy. Keep in-mind you may loose some traffic to the other web site when users forget to include the hyphen.
Visit http://services.rlwd.biz to:
Posted on June 26, 2009 | Permalink | Join email list
MAIN MENU