Selecting a Domain Name
In the conversations, I see that many people are concerned about which domain name is the best for their site. I think that many over-think it.
In the spirit of what Kyle from WA has talked about on this subject matter, I would like to confirm that - when - and - where - you are able to have a domain name that naturally fits in some of your keywords - GREAT.
However, this should be something you spend very little time with. Below, I would like to offer some thougths on this matter. Here are some ideas to keep in mind when selecting your domain name.
It's Just a Shortcut to Your Site
Domain names are simply a convention for your visitors to easily get to your website without the fuss of typing in your IP address.
If you aren't familiar with an IP address - in geek computer literacy - it's similar to a phone number for the computer that serves up your web pages to your visitors.
Remember back in the day when you had to memorize all your friends phone numbers. I still remember my phone number from my elementary days.
Now, with cell phones and digital technology, you can look up someone address with an easy to remember name or word that corresponds to that person. - such as their name?
If your friend's name is John, would it really make any difference if it were named Bob. Would it change your friend in the slightest? NO!
Easy to Remember
It's better to make something easy to remember than long and stuffed with keywords. Here is a link to a list of the U.S. most trafficked websites. You'll notice that a very small percentage of them have any mention of keywords in their domain names. And even then, it's a stretch of the imagination. http://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries/US
Keep your names easy to remember. It doesn't matter what your content is - you can use just about anything as a domain name. Some examples:
You can use these names for anything you want. A dentist could find a way to use these names.
The key is marketing the name. The name will NEVER market itself.
Make it Marketable
So, make it marketable. Creative and easy to remember names are much better than keyword stuffed domain names. Especially in today's climate of domain name shortage, you already have a difficult time finding a domain name - so try other ideas.
* make it as short as possible
* make it humorous
* make it rhyme --> "gamename.com", "formore.com"
* absolutely make up a new word - this is excellent for marketing. Because then you own the word. If you can just get people to remember it - examples: Google, Yahoo, Bing.
Very Little Impact on Site Indexing and Ranking
The domain name has extremely little impact on ranking. If a site has 99.999% content about dogs but the domain name is "meow.com" --> the site will NOT be affected one bit.
What Impacts the Popularity of Your Website
Domain names don't affect the popularity of your site.
Your audience does, though.
Focus on building an audience by providing great content and they will come back over and over and begin to remember your domain name and publicize it for you.
Conclusion
Audience first !!!!
Recent Comments
18
What a great explanation of domain name. I wish I had read this when I first started. Totally had over thought domain name.
Thank you for sharing.
Linda
Thanks, never thought of it that way. Makes good sense. I guess I wouldn't dump my domain name after all. Very helpful!
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You just helped me make up my mind on the name. Thank you. Great article.
I'm glad this helped. I'd be really interested in knowing the domain name you selected. Of course, later, if it's not appropriate to post it now.
One of my niches is going to be on Bitcoins. So I'll just use "Bitcoin" as my domain name. hopefully its available. I also just changed my browser to Chrome. Thanks so much for the great blogs!!