Choosing a Domain Name - Brand Name or keywords?
Many new marketers might feel the temptation to choose a brand name for their new domain. I do not believe that this is a wise choice. The only reasons I feel brand names are catchy is first of all, because they are easy to remember, but most of all because of what they represent. You first have to build a brand and then you give it a name!
Brand Names usually represent large companies which have developed a good reputation and have built a great amount of trust from their customers, over a long period of time; otherwise the name would mean nothing. They also spend a great deal on advertising and promotion.
When we are new and unknown to the public a brand name would mean nothing because we have not yet built up a reputation.
That's why it's best to go with keywords and content and that's why there are keyword tools to help us find keywords that people are searching for. Google is looking for relevance, and it starts with your domain name! Keyword-rich domain names are ranked more easily and quickly in Google, many times before content is even added. It actually gives you an advantage.
After this comes your content. Again you look for profitable keywords to use in the titles of your articles so you can also rank for those keywords. This is what brings traffic to your site. For brand name companies who are already known and trusted by their customers and the public at large, people do not type in Google what they are looking for; Instead they first type in the brand name or company name and then look for the products they are interested in.
Maybe later on down the road when we have learnt what it takes to build a brand and a reputation, and understand how to build trust with our customers and how to advertise and promote ourselves, even how to create our own product, then we would be ready to have our very own brand- name domain name.
Recent Comments
19
Hey Joy
Nice meeting you and thank you for your post.
Been here four months and your writings have help me see things and how I can improve on my website.
Larry
Whenever I googe, I'm after the keyword's info, otherwise I move on to the next site. As a webmaster, I want my visitors to fall into my site, get all their info,and to quote the Doors, "break on through to the other side" - the affiliate's web page. The keyword in the title definitely makes it easier to remember a good web site. I think the shorter, and concise, the better.
Hello; keyword domains have lost relevance over time, as SE algorithms are more weighed toward content and backlinks.
You should favor Branding your Name over keywords in domain.
If you have a brandable domain name...
Then add your keywords to the site title is that not just as good???
Thanks for your reply
I have decided to go with a brandable Domain with a good keyword in it...
Brand names are created, they have to start somewhere. Wealthy Affiliate as a name in 2005 was meaningless, that has become our brand through time.
When I choose a domain name, I always choose on that is brandable over one that is too focused on actual keywords.
I partly agree with you. I don't think you need to be well established to consider coming up with a brandable name for your domain The whole point is to start branding your website from the start. But the brand name must be easy to remember.
Matt Cutts leans towards a brandable domain. He explains the tradeoffs between the two in his video, and the fact that Google is reducing the ranking advantage of keyword domain names.
http://youtu.be/rAWFv43qubI
I certainly agree with you about adding keywords to your content. You would add it to your post or page title, and in the first paragraph.
A well written article. I enjoyed reading it.
~Jude
I do agree with Jude here and this training by kyle also confirms it.
https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/training/building-your-own-traffic-producing-website/your-own-domain-your-brand-traffic
Thanks for that update Jude. We can't argue with the Google webmasters. I believe this is great news for many new marketers since most of the profitable keywords are already taken, but you will still need to promote yourself for your brand name to become popular and you most certainly will have to back it up with a great product or service for it to hold out for the long term.
Thanks, judebanks...that Matt Cutts video was most helpful to me. Thinking...thinking...thinking. Working on my first domain name.
Hi Jude, thanks for the youtube link. Indeed, it does clarify things. Now, the key is to find a good brand name :)
See more comments
Before trying to build a site anytime I searched for things was more out of keyword phrases. Unless, I was looking for a particular named product/company.