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By Tanya Swithins
The domain name for your business is your online identity. You
should be very careful about choosing a domain name that is
memorable, scores quite well with search engine listings, has
a
trust factor attached to it, and commands a brand value. A
domain name is quite important for your business
correspondences and emails. A long one can cause problems in
communication, especially if the domain name seems complex.
Here are some tips in choosing a well-meaning domain name that
captures the essence of your brand image or business:
1. Keyword oriented or a unique domain name? If your website
is
going to have a crucial role to play in your business, then it
is important to have an adequately researched keyword
incorporated within the brand name. Use the most searched-for
term in search engine queries, within your domain name. Prior
to launching your online business, you should do some research
through website tools to find out which keywords register the
most number of traffic during a month. For example, if you
want
to make a website based on advising people, you will find that
the keyword help is normally typed in the search engine query
window a lot more frequently than the word aid. If your domain
name includes targeted keywords, than you will get higher
rankings in the search engines like Google and Yahoo. You
should bear in mind that, apart from having the targeted
keyword in your domain name, you should also have keywords in
other parts of your site as well.
2. Use a company name only if you are famous: That is right.
If
your company name overwhelms the basic product name, then by
all
means go for the company name as your domain name. For
example,
people normally use the term Xerox rather than photocopy and
if
you are Xerox, then you should go for Xerox as a domain name
because of the sheer popularity of the brand name. This is
usually not the case, so using a keyword-rich domain name is a
better move for most people. To be on the right side of
balancing your business well, you should buy a set of two
domain names, one that represents your business/brand name,
and
another that represents keywords or key phrases.
3. Keep your domain name short: The shorter your domain name,
the more memorable it is. If your domain name has an every-day
lingo, the better it is! More often than not, you may find
that
a simple two-word domain name is already taken. The
alternative
in this case, is to put a hyphen (-) to your targeted keyword
and then add the other word. SEO experts are of the belief
that
hyphenating two or more words makes a long domain name more
search engine friendly. The flip side is that people do not
tend to write words with hyphens naturally, and there is a
chance that if someone has recommended your site to a friend,
the friend may find himself going to a competitor’s site. So
one has to understand and undergo a lot of study while
choosing
a domain name. After all, it is one prominent thing that can
dictate the flow of your business. Also, you should avoid
putting numbers like 4 instead of for in your domain name. It
will only lead to confusion.
4. Dot.com only: If you intend to have a website for
commercial
or business reasons, then by all means go for a website which
ends in extension .com. The domain name companies will market
other options like .org, .us, .net, etc. However, by all means
try stick to .com for better mass appeal.
5. Register similar domain names: If you believe that in the
future you are going to have a huge amount of people visiting
your website through word-of-mouth advertising, then you
should
consider registering similar domain names that direct to your
main URL (e.g. www.datinginformation.com and
www.datinginfo.com). There are cyber-squatters who register
domain names in the hope that they will be selling them for a
profit to someone who really needs that domain name. Before
they do this, you should register the domain names if you
think
that such a possibility can occur.
6. Be patient: You should not choose a domain name in minutes
merely just to get it done and over with. A hasty decision may
cost you a lot. It is better to invest time in research and
arrive at the right kind of domain name. You should also
discuss the comprehensibility and usage of the domain name
with
friends, neighbors and well wishers to find how simple and
commonplace it really is.
About The Author: Tanya Swithins, Website:
www.pecdesigns.com Bio: Tanya writes for PEC Designs, a
manchester web design agency.
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