The
skinny on domain names
Choosing a domain name is something that is often done when
a hosting account is set up simply because this is the first
time we are truly faced with making this choice. But honestly
this is not the ideal time to settle on a domain name. It
is much wiser to obtain your domain name well before this
point, and even buy it in the very early stages of your endeavors.
In fact, it is really smart to get your domain well before
you start your web site or your business for that matter for
several reasons. You don't want to treat an important decision
like this like an after thought when you are purchasing hosting.
It can cause you some real heartbreak if you get heavily
involved in developing your business and your web site before
you have procured your domain name. Finding out your domain
is not available and then having to retrofit your entire site
and business to the domain you were forced to choose can create
a lot of extra work for you. If you have not gotten your domain
name already I would highly encourage you to do so right away,
but before you do keep reading this page to make sure you
are choosing a strong domain name.
You may have a domain name in mind already. Great, just don't
get too attached to it yet. It may not be available or it
may not be the best choice for your site. You'll want to give
your domain some real consideration before you settle on it.
I do offer some great tips on this page for choosing a domain,
but there is much more information on this in my book "How
Ordinary People Make Extraordinary Money Online".
I just thought I should say something about domain names on
this page since it is usually at this point (setting up our
hosting) that most indivials find themselves committing to
a domain name.
My first tip for choosing a domain is make
your domain name the name of your web site. This may
seem obvious enough to most of you, but you might just be
surprised how many people don't think of this. Doing this
simply makes it easier for your visitors to find your site
quickly and easily. Having a domain name and a web site name
that are different requires your customers to remember two
things. Making your domain and your web site name the same
means they only have to remember one thing. This is a bigger
deal than you might think it is.
Your domain/site name should contain your brand name first
and foremost, and then keywords if necessary to make your
domain unique. Stay away from obscure acronyms. People don't
recall acronyms very well.
Domain Length
There is much disagreement on what the appropriate length
for a domain name should be. Even though domains can be up
to 67 characters long, many feel as though shorter domains
are preferable over longer ones. Why? Several reasons, such
as there is less of a chance of typos when typing up a short
domain name.
Others however feel that longer domain names are more effective
since these are actually spelled out versions of the shorter
acronym type domain names. Some believe these spelled out
versions are easier to remember acurately than their acronym
versions. Long domain names that have your site keywords in
them also have an advantage in that they perform better in
many of the search engines. Search engines give preference
to domain names that have keywords in them on searches for
those keywords. It adds relevance to the search in their view.
Most of the arguments over domain length are purely academic.
It is increasingly difficult to get short meaningful domain
names. Most of the meaningful short domain names have been
purchased and are no longer available. If you manage to get
a short domain name though, the key is to make sure it is
a meaningful combination of characters and not an obscure
one that will be difficult or less likely to be recalled.
So, which type of domain do I recommend? I'd go
for the shorter name if you can get a meaningful one, but
don't get your hopes up. I don't have a problem with the longer
names, but I would probably avoid extremely long names pushing
the 67 character limit. Aside from the obvious problem that
people might not be able to remember such a long name or type
it out without a typo, it would also be a chore to type it
out. It would also be a pain for you to include it in the
title on your web page.
Hyphenated domains
There are both advantages and disadvantages to choosing a
hyphenated domain name, but this actually depends on your
individual application and goals.
Disadvantages include:
1) Hyphens are easy to forget when typing out a domain name.
Your customer could end up at your competition's site.
2) Hyphens are typically forgotten when a verbal referral
for your site is given. Hyphens are often omitted when a site's
domain is spoken verbally.
3) Hypens are a bit of a pain in the butt to type.
Advantages include:
1) Hyphens can help search engines discern the keywords in
your domain better, helping your pages turn up more prominently
in the search engine results. This can produce more web site
traffic.
2) The hyphenated form of the domain you want may still be
available when the non-hyphenated form may not. This may help
you get closer to the domain you originally wanted.
From my standpoint, hyphens are more good than bad since
gaining traffic from the seach engines is something I advocate
greatly. If you are planning to market primarily via the search
engines, hyphens can be a big plus. If you are planning on
more traditional advertising approaches like print, radio,
or T.V ads, then you will probably want to avoid hyphens.
In these situations hyphens can lead to a lot of missed opportunities.
.com, .net, .biz, or .org?
This is one of the most often asked questions when it comes
to choosing a domain name. Often when you go to obtain a new
domain name and the one you want is taken, the domain search
offers alternatives. Sometimes these are alright to choose,
but sometimes they can be a huge mistake. Many times the suggested
offerings can include a "my" or "the"
in the domain name. Other times they can simply have a different
TLD (Top Level Domain, e.g. .com, .net, .biz, .org). While
.com is preferable in that most see it as the default TLD,
from a search engine marketing standpoint the TLD makes very
little difference in my opinion. The TLD's .net or .biz are
just fine. I would stay away from more obsure TLD's with the
exception of country codes, but only use country codes when
your site is geographically specific.
On the other hand, becareful when considering suggestions
for the Secondary Domain (the part of the domain to the left
of the dot). You need to be picky about this part of your
domain. I would not recommend including additives such as
"the" or "my". Every element of your domain
needs to contribute to the substance of your domain. "The"
and "my" do not. Your domain needs to first and
foremost contain your brand. Beyond that, I would only add
related keywords.
So, what if you cannot get your first
choice for a domain name? Don't panic. There are creative
ways to get around this. If you have an existing brand name
that you're known for, you'll obviously not want to ditch
that name just because you couldn't get the domain name. After
all, it took you a lot of time and money to establish that
name. You might simply want to try to buy over the domain
name from the current owner, but once the owner knows someone
else wants what he has, then it may all of the sudden go up
in value, if you know what I mean. If you are interested in
doing this, then check the "whois" information for
the domain, and contact that person listed to see if they're
willing to sell it. Expect them to want to charge a higher
fee than you'd normally get when buying new domains (that
is, assuming they want to sell it in the first place).
If the owner's asking price is not realistic for you or they
aren't interested in selling at all, don't get too upset about
it. It's not worth it. It just is what it is. Simply go to
plan "B", which is alter the domain slightly so
that it is something that unique and isn't already taken.
If you're just starting out, you might prefer this route for
two main reasons: 1) You have more flexibility when it comes
to brand identity, and 2) it is a far less expensive alternative
than trying to obtain an already owned domain name. Preparing
yourself for the likelyhood of having to name your website
(or business) after the domain after you've acquired it will
spare you a lot of heartache. Once you've acquired your domain
name, then you are free to name your site and business with
confidence. I know this seems a bit like putting the cart
before the horse, but that's the reality if you don't want
to lose out on the Internet. It's not really a big deal to
not be able to get the domain you originally wanted. It's
more and more common everyday.
Unclear about how to develop a powerful
domain name?
Information overload? No problem. We'll make it simple for
you: Start with your brand/business name. See if your brand/business
name is available with a .com or other TLD. If not, add a
keyword to it and try again. Still no luck? Add another keyword
and try again. Try different combinations. You will eventually
find one that works. Not sure what a good keyword is? Check
out our Developing
Keywords page.
Choosing a domain with either your USP
and/or a primary keyword embedded in it is a really good idea,
whenever it is possible. This only increases your performance
in the search engines.
If you purchased a domain name before reading this information,
don't fret. Domains are inexpensive, so you simply can purchase
another one. This may be a tremendous help to you later on
when you are working on getting traffic to your web site.
We discuss this more in our Delivery
section of our book. For now, remain open to the possibility.
As if I haven't given you enough to consider, there is one
more recent issue to factor into the timing of your domain
selection and aquisition is the "Google Sandbox"
dynamic. Make sure to check out the "Google
Sandbox" page of this web site for more on this subject.
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