Choosing a Right Domain Name by www.vipwh.com
Paras Shah
Chief Technology Officer
VIP PowerNet, Inc.
Ph: (713)787-6501
Email: paras@vippowernet.com
http://www.thehostingguide.
com
Domain names are no longer a web address these days. Many
profitable companies have been built around their domain name
making it the brand and the company. Choosing the right domain
should be as important as naming your product. Given that
status, here are some pointers how to find a name that will see
you through it all.
Branding vs. Keywords:
This is probably the most difficult to determine. Yet, should
be the first place to start because the rest of the
considerations will one way or another relate to this. There are
two schools of thought. One group believes you should have your
keywords in the domain so that search engines pick up on the
keywords and rank you better. To what extent this really affects
your search engine ranking is not clearly known or proven.
Consider why you are putting the website up in the first place.
Most likely it’s for your customers or visitors. So choose a
domain that also puts your audience first.
The other group believes a webmaster should go for brand. Most
successful companies start off with a brand, including online
companies. Brands make the product memorable, create
differentiation and encourage loyalty. In the early days of the
Internet, everyone wanted a generic domain like
searchengine.com, books.com, auctions.com and the likes. Today,
very few of those are truly successful sites that rival Goggle,
Amazon and eBay.
A branded domain also ensures consistency throughout your
marketing efforts. As one web user describes, “Every time the
company tells me to visit their generic website, they lose the
opportunity to reinforce their brand name in my mind”.
Whether you use keywords or brand for your domain depends much
on what you aim to do. If you plan to build a business or
website that is going to have staying power, branded domains are
a better choice. It might not be easy or cheap to build a brand
but there are no shortcuts when it comes to branding either.
It’s a slow process that can be very rewarding if done right.
Don’t choose a domain simply because of its keywords. First
class content, links in and clever optimization are more
important to good ranking than anything else. Having said that,
a brand name made up of keywords could be best, and you would
have the best of both worlds – literally. Take
CancerComforts.com. Owner Kathy Browning chose the domain
because of its keywords. But apart from being keyword rich,
CancerComforts.com is also very marketable and can be a strong
brand.
If you are building a resource website, a website for affiliate
programs or one that’s temporary in nature, keyword rich and
generic domains would be a better choice. Finally, there is no
harm in buying both branded and keyword domains that point to
the same site. Just make sure you only use one for submissions,
directory listings, link exchanges and promotion. This way you
build your link popularity.
You should also, make sure the site title or name matches your
domain. If your domain is ExtremeBiking.com and your site name
is Smith Brothers Biking Tours this makes visitors and directory
editors wonder if this is the correct website. It also causes
confusion. People who know you tend to look for a domain that
reflects your brand and not extreme biking. If you have yet to
establish a company name or a site name, it might be a good idea
to name it after you find a domain name. This is sensible,
consistent marketing.
Company Name:
This is the most common because in today’s increasingly small
and competitive world, businesses tend to have rather creative
and catchy names. On the other hand, if your business name is
very nondescript such as The Smith Brothers, you might want to
take the approach that combines part of your company name and a
keyword. Although the importance of brand name was emphasized
earlier, here the situation is slightly different.
Non-descriptive company names aren’t particularly helpful to
audiences. Someone looking for you would find it difficult to
differentiate your company and the other company with a similar
name. In this case, keywords tied to your name are worth
considering.
Domain Length:
Short domains are supposed to be best but it’s increasingly
difficult to find one without paying someone a lot of money to
take over the domain. There are alternatives though, such as
expired domains which we will explore a little later on.
Just because a domain is a little longer doesn’t make it bad.
For example, TrashToTreasure.com is meaningful, to the point and
memorable even though it is rather long. On the other hand,
ThisIsAnExampleOfAVeryLongDomain.com is too long, difficult to
remember and prone to errors. The other extreme is needless
abbreviation. TTT.com is meaningless because TrashToTreasure.com
works much butter. Aim for some balance while taking into
account ease of use.
.Com, .Net, .Info:
Most people will agree a .com is best. A web user told us,
“Whenever I can’t remember the domain name but I know the site
name, brand or company, I’ll try for a .com first”. If you have
no good .com alternative, start with .net and .org first. Also,
be sure to consistently promote your website as a .net or .org
whatever you may choose.
Hyphens, Suffixes and Prefixes:
Hyphens aren’t necessarily evil especially if it’s in your
brand name or is the correct way to write a word. However, they
are difficult to remember, type and prone to user input
mistakes. Avoid them as much as you can.
Suffixes and prefixes are i’s, e’s, the’s and numbers usually
suggested by domain search tools when your desired domain is
unavailable. If you choose such a domain, be very consistent in
your promotion. Promote the domain as a whole, do not leave out
the suffix or prefix. You might also want to avoid domains with
very little difference between them. These are usually between
plurals and singulars. Aim for singular names whenever possible.
For example, petfood.com and petfoods.com; if petfood.com is
taken resist the temptation to opt for petfoods.com because
people tend to leave out the s.
Can You Say It?
This isn’t always a top consideration but it makes sense you
should have a domain name that can be verbally communicated.
Take your list of chosen domains and tell it to someone. Does it
confuse them? Do you find yourself having to constantly repeat
it or spell it? If that is so, move on or go back to the drawing
board.
Copyrights and Trademarks:
In this day and age, many companies particularly those with
strong brand names are increasingly protective of their
trademarks. Avoid the trouble and expense of a lawsuit by
spending some time to research your chosen name. Start by
looking up the name with the United States Patent and Trademark
Office (http://www.uspto.gov/) and your state’s trademark
database.
Expiring Domains:
Anyone who has looked for a domain name finds out soon enough
more than half the desired names are taken. If you cannot find a
suitable one despite numerous searches, why not explore expired
domains? Expired domains are those whose original registrant
fails to renew commonly are due to website closings or companies
going out of business. Within the list of expired domains are
some real gems. There are many services that allow you to
monitor expired and soon to expire domains for a fee. Before you
sign up for them, a good place to start researching for free is
DeletedDomains.com.
Some believe recently expired domains with good traffic and
rankings allow you to benefit from someone else’s hard work and
give your site a head start. Theoretically, that may be true.
Realistically, you shouldn’t expect that to last. People
consistently return to a website for a reason. If your topic is
very different from the original site, visitors will stop coming
back because the information or resource they previously had
access to be no longer there. If you assume such a domain and
want to convert as many visitors as possible, make sure your
content is very closely related or similar to that of the old
site. You might want to also check that the old site has
completely ceased operations. If the previous site still exists
under a different domain, loyalists eventually find their way
back there; Word gets around among them and could create a
negative image on the old domain that’s now yours.
Ownership:
When you do register as domain, have it registered under your
name or your company. If you are registering through your host,
remember a lot can happen within a short space of time.
Companies go out of business or you change hosts, scams,
scandals and more. Making sure you own the domain reduces the
risk of losing your domain name in the future. Check your host’s
domain registration policy. If there are unnecessary expenses to
transfer your domain, try to register it yourself instead.
Registering a domain is a very simple and straightforward
affair. Some good registrars to try are Enom and GoDaddy.
Finally, when you do find the best available domain, get it
immediately. Any delays no matter how minor may cost you.
Finding the right domain is not easy. It takes a lot of
brainstorming, patience and creativity. Once you find it, don’t
let it slip.