Choosing a Domain Name
Selecting the right name for your domain can be one of the most important things that you do. We’ll help you understand why choosing a domain name is so important and help you make the right selection.
When selecting a domain name you really have one of three options.
Option #1
Choose a keyword rich domain name.
When I mention the term keyword rich domain name, I’m essentially talking about including the target keyword in your domain name. This means selecting a primary search engine keyword or keyword phrase and either using it as your domain name or part of your domain name.
If the primary search engine keyword phrase you are trying to target is “plasma televisions” you’d rank best with that exact keyword phrase in the domain. The ideal domain would be plasmatelevisions.com or plasmatelevisions.net. You’ll find that a .com or .net will also rank better than a .org, .info, .me, etc
Option #2
Choose a catchy domain name
If you decide to go with a catchy domain name you’re basically aiming for something your visitor can remember. If you’re trying to target marketing as your niche you may want to consider something like marketingwizards.com even though wizards really has nothing to do with marketing it’s a keyword that your visitor will probably remember if they choose to visit your site again in the future. This also comes in handy if they’re talking with their friends and decide to bring up the name of your website during conversation.
If you choose domain name that is has dashes, numbers, or even a .net instead of a .com it is easy for someone trying to visit your domain to get lost. For example, if their friend told them that they got all this great marketing information from marketingwizards.com but they actually visited marketingwizards.net or marketing-wizards.com. You can see how easily it is for your domain name to be butchered when presented via word of mouth.
Option #3
Choose a short domain name
Selecting a short domain name makes it so the searcher has to type fewer characters in to their browser thus eliminating opportunities for mistakes. A great example of a short domain name is Hulu.com. If you’ve ever visited the site it’s basically a redirect to online streams of popular tv shows that you can watch online. As you can already tell the keyword Hulu has nothing to do with watching tv shows online or any of the other keywords the site may want to target but it is short, catchy and easy to remember.
Purchasing short domain names with few characters can difficult to obtain or quite expensive as more domain names are purchased daily.
Things to Consider
1. Dashes in a keyword rich domain
Example: high-traffic-keyword
I’ve seen plenty of domains rank well with dashes but many seo experts agree it can be much more difficult than a domain that has the exact keyword without the dashes.
2. Using numbers in your domain
Example: 1freecreditreport.com
Even though you have nearly the entire keyword you’re trying to target in the domain it’s usually not a good idea to include numbers in your domain. Both search engines and searchers in general don’t favor domain names that are keyword rich but butchered with the insertion of unnecessary numbers.
3. Think twice about a domain that’s not .com or .net
Example: sellmyhomefast.info
Is the keyword rich domain name you’ve chosen really going to bring enough traffic on the main keyword or keyword phrase you’re targeting? If it is you can go with a .org or .info but remember that if you’re targeting a commercial venture it’s more difficult to get ranked for popular keywords using a .org or .info than it is when you go with a .com or .net.
