Another good tip for successful web experience.. enjoy it!
Choosing A Good
Domain Name:
Choosing a domain name for your site is one of the most
important steps towards creating the perfect internet presence. If you run an
on-line business, picking a name that will be marketable and achieve success in
search engine placement is paramount. Many factors must be considered when
choosing a good domain name. This article summarizes all the different things
to consider before making that final registration step!
Short and Sweet:
Domain names can be really long or really short (1 - 67 characters). In general, it is
far better to choose a domain name that is short in length. The shorter your
domain name, the easier it will be for people remember. Remembering a domain
name is very important from a marketability perspective. As visitors reach your
site and enjoy using it, they will likely tell people about it. And those
people may tell others, etc. As with any business, word of mouth is the most
powerful marketing tool to drive traffic to your site (and it's free too!). If
your site is long and difficult to pronounce, people will not remember the name
of the site and unless they bookmark the link, they may never return.
Consider Alternatives:
Unless a visitor reaches your site through a bookmark or a
link from another site, they have typed in your domain name. Most people on the
internet are terrible typists and misspell words constantly. If your domain
name is easy to misspell, you should think about alternate domain names to
purchase. For example, if your site will be called "MikesTools.com",
you should also consider buying "MikeTools.com" and "MikeTool.com".
You should also secure the different top level domain names besides the one you
will use for marketing purposes ("MikesTools.net",
"MikesTools.org", etc.) You should also check to see if there are
existing sites based on the misspelled version of the domain name you are considering.
"MikesTools.com" may be available, but "MikesTool.com" may
be home to a graphic aldut content site. You would hate for a visitor to walk
away thinking you were hosting something they did not expect.
Also consider domain names that may not include the name of
your company, but rather what your company provides. For example, if the name
of your company is Mike's Tools, you may want to consider domain names that
target what you sell. For example: "buyhammers.com" or
"hammer-and-nail.com". Even though these example alternative domain
names do not include the name of your company, it provides an avenue for
visitors from your target markets. Remember that you can own multiple domain
names, all of which can point to a single domain. For example, you could register
"buyhammers.com", "hammer-and-nail.com", and
"mikestools.com" and have "buyhammers.com" and
"hammer-and-nail.com" point to "mikestools.com".
Hyphens: Your Friend
and Enemy:
Domain name availability has become more and more scant over
the years. Many single word domain names have been scooped up which it makes it
more and more difficult to find a domain name that you like and is available.
When selecting a domain name, you have the option of including hyphens as part
of the name. Hyphens help because it allows you to clearly separate multiple
words in a domain name, making it less likely that a person will accidentally
misspell the name. For example, people are more likely to misspell
"domainnamecenter.com" than they are "domain-name-center.com".
Having words crunched together makes it hard on the eyes, increasing the
likelihood of a misspelling. On the other hand, hyphens make your domain name
longer. The longer the domain name, the easier it is for people to forget it
altogether. Also, if someone recommends a site to someone else, they may forget
to mention that each word in the domain name is separated by a hyphen. If do
you choose to leverage hyphens, limit the number of words between the hyphens
to three. Another advantage to using hyphens is that search engines are able to
pick up each unique word in the domain name as key words, thus helping to make
your site more visible in search engine results.
Dot What?
There are many top level domain names available today
including .com, .net, .org, and .biz. In most cases, the more unusual the top
level domain, the more available domain names are available. However, the .com
top level domain is far and away the most commonly used domain on the internet,
driven by the fact that it was the first domain extension put to use
commercially and has received incredible media attention. If you cannot lay
your hands on a .com domain name, look for a .net domain name, which is the
second most commercially popular domain name extension.
Long Arm of the Law:
Be very careful not to register domain names that include
trademarked names. Although internet domain name law disputes are tricky and
have few cases in existence, the risk of a legal battle is not a risk worth
taking. Even if you believe your domain name is untouchable by a business that
has trademarked a name, do not take the chance: the cost of litigation is
extremely high and unless you have deep pockets you will not likely have the
resources to defend yourself in a court of law. Even stay away from domain names
in which part of the name is trademarked: the risks are the same.
Search Engines and
Directories:
All search engines and directories are different. Each has a
unique process for being part of the results or directory listing and each has
a different way of sorting and listing domain names. Search engines and
directories are the most important on-line marketing channel, so consider how
your domain name choice affects site placement before you register the domain.
Most directories simply list links to home pages in alphabetical order. If
possible, choose a domain name with a letter of the alphabet near the beginning
("a" or "b"). For example,
"aardvark-pest-control.com" will come way above
"joes-pest-control.com". However, check the directories before you
choose a domain name. You may find that the directories you would like be in
are already cluttered with domain names beginning with the letter
"a". Search engines scan websites and sort results based on key
words. Key words are words that a person visiting a search engine actually
search on. Having key words as part of your domain name can help you get better
results.
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