Saturday, June 21, 2008

Choosing A Domain Name To Attract Targeted Customers

By Theo McLanahan

The quickest way to getting eyeballs on your business these days is by establishing an online presence and central to establishing a powerful online presence is choosing a domain name that will attract the right customers.

Unfortunately, many people overlook this important step. Let's look at a few tips for getting a domain that will attract the right customers to your site.

1. Choose A Descriptive Domain

What your website offers should be clear from the domain name. Don't make your potential visitors guess at what they'll find on your website.

For example, if your name is Veronica Smith and you own a hair salon, get a domain like veronicashairsalon.com instead of veronicasmith.com. Unless you're famous, or want to become that way, your own name isn't the best option as your domain.

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

It's becoming increasingly important for business owners to have their websites indexed and ranked well in search engines like Google.com, MSN.com and Yahoo.com. And it helps this cause tremendously if you have a keyword-rich domain name. The reason for this is simple: Your potential customers search using specific keyword phrases to find what they're looking for.

Taking the time to do some research to find your best keywords, and a domain that includes them, is important. Make sure it still meets the first criteria though - short and descriptive.

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. Do You Really Need .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.

How would you feel if you spend time and money marketing your website and some of those people wound up on your competitor's customer list instead?

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 headlong into purchasing a domain name without first taking the time to research keyword phrases that would be a perfect match for your product or service. You can perform this much needed research at websites such as www.wordtracker.com, www.keywordtumbler.com and www.goodkeywords.com. It requires some effort, but acquiring the keyword phrases that are used by prospects and incorporating them into your domain name will pay off handsomely for years to come.

About the Author:

No comments: