How to Choose a Domain Name That Attracts The Right Customers
One of the fastest ways of getting attention for your business in today’s world is to have a good online presence. And the first step to getting your business online is a good domain name.
This is one of the things that often goes overlooked - how your domain name attracts or turns away customers. Let’s look at a few tips.
1. Choose A Name That Describes Your Website
Your domain name should make it clear to your visitors what your website is about, even before they land on the site. Don’t make them guess what you’re offering.
eg. If your name is Lisa Barstow and you run a hair salon, get a domain like lisashairsalon.com instead of lisabarstow.com. Unless you already famous, or want to become famous, your own name isn’t the best option.
Also, shorter is better because it’s easier to remember. It’s also easier for them to type, with less chance of spelling mistakes.
2. Get A Domain That Includes Your Keywords
Most websites rely on the search engines to a certain degree for getting visitors. If you use your keywords in your domain name, it can help with getting ranked higher in the search results.
If you’d done the research and used these customer-specific keyword phrases in your domain name, more than likely your website will be listed on the very first page of the search engines, outranking your competitors because you had exercised due diligence where keyword-rich domain names were concerned.
There are other things you can and should do to get better rankings in the search results, but starting with a good domain sets a strong foundation. Avoid using hyphens in your domain name as well since it’s believed they can hurt your rankings. Take the time to find a good domain rather than taking a shortcut and using a couple of dashes.
3. Can You Use A Different Extension Than .com?
Well, the answer is yes and no. There’s no reason you can’t use a different extension like .net or .biz if that’s the only way you can get the domain you want. It’s not the best choice however, because everybody thinks in terms of .com. If your site uses something else, it’s going to be an uphill battle to get people to recognize your site. If someone else already owns the .com version, they’re going to get a lot of free traffic thanks to your marketing.
Another reason is when emailing, customers automatically assume every company ends with a .com extension and this can be devastating to your business if your customers’ emails keep ending up in your competitors’ database.
If you’re setting up a website for specific types of organizations, a non-profit group for example which should use .org, the best way to go is to stick with .com.
So don’t rush into picking your domain name. Research your market and find the keyword phrases that people are searching for. There are quite a few websites that let you research this information, such as Wordtracker.com and GoodKeywords.com. Putting the effort in up front will pay off in the long run.
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment