SEO and domain names as a strategy
SEO and Domain names as a strategy
The starting point of finding a great domain name is to realize that you do need own your own domain name, not some byproduct of other blog systems such as cars.wordpress.com or bikes.blogger.com . Most website owners have figured this out already but a lot of bloggers haven’t. That’s because it takes a bit of work and some money. First you have to purchase the domain, then host it, pay the monthly hosting fees, install the blog, write content, build links, onsite SEO stuff, and so on. Not quite as easy as signing up for a blog service and pounding out your first blog post all in ten minutes.
If your blog is nothing more than a personal diary then the free blogging services may be all you need. But if you’re looking to build an audience, sell a few products, or make a name for yourself, buying your own domain name is a must.
Whether you’re a business, a blogger, or something in between, selecting your domain name can be a trying process. Those of you who have searched for the “perfect” domain name know what I mean. You go through dozens, if not hundreds of different options looking for just the right one. When looking for domain names for your business or blog, here are a few guidelines:
Keep it short
Short domains are the hardest to find. Unless you’re willing to shell out big bucks, give up on the dream of getting your business’ initials (i.e. ppm.com, emp.com, etc.). But that’s not to say you can’t find just the right short domain name for you. You don’t need something as short as three letters, but I wouldn’t go much longer than three words. Even though long key term keywords are just about gone, some are expiring as well. You could try getting a service like www.deleteddomains.com to find what you are looking for and you can download them everyday onto an excel spreadsheet for easy reading offline. That is what I use to find terms that I may want to use in the future. This is also a good tactic if you want to look for additional income as a domain reseller. That is beyond our scope of this topic, but wanted to throw that in there as a “lightbulb” if you want to make extra cash on the side.
Make it memorable
You want your domain name to be something that can be remembered easily. Word of mouth and your ability to make podcasts to say it on the recordings, matter. When looking to get a short domain name many people try to cut corners with abbreviations or clever spellings. The problem with that is clever spellings have to be explained when passing the site on verbally which is longer than the domain name itself. The simplest way and plenty of domains are available for them is to use hyphens between long term keywords. For example buy-my-car.com or real-estate-sales.com . With those all you have to say is the domain name, with ” Hyphens” in between the words. People nowadays understand that concept.
Use keywords if possible
It’s not always easy to find domains with your primary keywords still available, but keep looking. Just avoid the temptation to load up your your domain with all kinds of keywords.
The perfect place to shop for domain names that people have keywords and yet are cheap, is EBAY. There are many domains there that are sold way below market value, but you must do your homework. Research the domain history and make sure that it’s now blacklisted in Google.