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URL Suggestions -- Domain Tips For New Website

So you've come up with a new concept for a website or your trying to marketing your existing business online, and you need to come up with a domain name. Should I be a .com, .net, .biz? What should I name site? You think of the perfect domain, only to find out it's taken. You get the idea. It's the foundation of your e-business model, so you need to get it right, (or at least close). Here's some tips to get you started in the right direction:

Domain Tips For New Website

Dot Com, Dot Net, Dot Biz -- What Suffix should I get?

The correct use for each domain suffix has been blurred by the lack of available domains. The "dot com" is still a preferable suffix if you're involved any aspect of e-commerce. Outside of e-commerce, the other domains are acceptable and work well. You're on a "dot net" right now. The "dot net" suffix was initially set up for internet service providers, but many are now using the "dot net" for social networks. For the most part, the root of the domain is more important than the suffix. If you can get a "dot com" with the preferred root, then go with that. The "dot biz" and "dot net" with the preferred root are excellent fall backs.

The name of your site/product and your domain don't have to match -- Get a domain with keywords that are being search for.

There's no rule that states your domain and website must be the same. It may be your preference, and that's fine too. If your existing business is already well branded and recognized, (i.e. potential visitors will type it into a search engine) then you may want to get a domain similar to your business name. Otherwise, if you're looking to get you site ranking well in with the Search Engines, you should build your domain name around popular search terms that describe your website. The SEO Book Keyword Tool is a great resource to see how often a keyword or phase is searched per day. It does take some time and additional effort to rank at the top of the search engine results for a popular keyword, but having the proper keywords in your domain will expedite the process.

For example, a car dealer in Utah was looking to market their business online. Instead of using Fairway Auto Sales, the business name, in the domain, we determined which "car terms" were being search the most often. With this information, we constructed the domain myutahcardealer.com. Of course, utahcardealer.com was taken, so we added the "my" in-front of it, which also helps to brand a personal touch. Depending on which search engine you use, the site ranks on the first page for "Fairway Auto Sales", and it's ranking for the "car terms" we identified.

Purchase an existing domain or website

If you've been searching for domain names on websites like godaddy.com or register.com, you'll see suggested domains that are for sale. This is not a bad approach if you're set on a domain name and the price is in your budget. Before you buy a domain check to see how it's been used in the past on the Wayback Machine , see what's currently hosted on the domain, and check the links to the domain by typing "link:www.[Enter Domain]" (i.e. link:www.digitalmediastream.net). Generally the more links to the site the better; however make sure the links are from a variety of sites and they are quality sites.

In some cases, if a website exists on a domain you're interested in, you may want to contact the owner of the website and make an offer to buy the site. You can find the owners information by using whois.net or find contact information on the site. There are millions of websites out there, and often times owners have given up on the site, yet it's still hosted and content is displayed. By purchasing a dormant site, you're getting existing links, an existing domain and possibly content. These components will help with Search Engine Positioning once you revamp the site.

Building and Branding the Domain

Your domain is what you make of it. If you're online promoting your site online. The tips above will help get you started in the right direction. Content is King. If you're providing valuable, relevant and fresh information, you're website will begin to get more and more traffic. This will take months if you're starting out with newly registered domain. That's why it's important to get the keywords that describe your site in the domain name, and be open to paid advertising to promote your website until you begin to get traffic from natural (non-paid) search.

If you're promoting your site offline, with traditional media sources, it's important to have a domain that is easily remembered, and a length that can fit on your marketing material. A long, keyword rich domain will help with your positioning on Search Engine Page Results, but may not be easily identifiable for your offline marketing audience. If your primarily targeting your call to action from print, radio or television advertisements, try out your domain on some friends or colleagues or us and see what sticks in their heads.

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