Domain names
Your domain name is the [name].com, [name].net, or [name].org, etc.
that people use for their website. bartdirks.com is one of mine.
Choosing the right domain name can mean the difference between
success and failure in the online marketplace
You can choose to go for a domain name that people
easily can remember and associate with the business you are doing
(like microsoft.com) or you can choose a domain name that consists of
your main keywords for example usedcomputers.com or onlinedating.com.
Some people think that it is better to have a domain that people would
directly type in the address bar. For some domain names this is
correct, like brand domain names (e.g. bmw.com, apple.com, adidas.com,
etc.). But ask yourself how many times people will 'guess' your domain
name when typing it in the address bar?
If you are in a certain business with a relative
high competition (in my example 'used computers') then always go for
the keywords domain name.
When people use a search engine to find a business like you, they will
type keywords in the search bar. If your domain name consists one or
more keywords (or even an exact match), then your site will have an
advantage above sites that doesn't have exact keyword domain names. In
fact Google places a relevancy bonus on your site. (*).
E.g. if you google for "used computers" then the
first (organic) result is "www.usedcomputer.com" and somewhere
else you see www.usedcomputershop.com, see what I mean?
Of course there are other factors that will determine your ranking,
but exact domain words will give your site extra boost.
As an example I created not long ago a site
about so-called SEO nightmares. Yes, they do exists :-).
I registered this site with the name:
seonightmares.com It's not a big site and it is not very
well known. But if you type "SEO nightmares" in Google or Yahoo, I
probably will be on the top. This is an example why exact keyword
domain names are so powerful.
Some tips on choosing a domain name:
-
Use a .com. It's the name everyone associates with
the Internet.
-
Use the fewest letters possible to describe what
you do.
-
Do not use numbers in your domain name
-
Avoid using hyphens. Your (Google) relevance bonus
will not count when your keywords are separated with hyphens.
-
Check your preferred domain name at
http://www.whois.net/ to see if it is still available.
-
Register your domain name at a web host (you also
need a web host) sometimes it's much cheaper for a combination account
(domain name plus web host service, like
godaddy.com) and sometimes your domain name is for free when
register at a web host (like
webmasters.com)
If you want to learn more details about
choosing the right domain name, then I suggest you strongly to
become a member of the SEOBook Training Centre. Among the ever
growing list of topics, you can read very good advice about choosing
the right domain name.
(*) Looking at my domain name, you probably are
curious why I used my name (bartdirks.com) as a domain name.
This has two reasons:
-
This site is not for commercial
purposes, I don't have products to sell (except through some ads).
-
This site is started as an informal information
site for some overseas friends who needed help on building a website.
Today, the information I publish has grown and I decided to make it
available for any one who is interested. If it was possible, I would
consider to change it into basicseoguide.com. Currently I do pretty
well in Google so I have no intention to change this. And perhaps I
will use my own name.com for other purposes too. Therefore I will keep
it as it is.
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