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Choosing a domain name is
the very first task for starting a new web because
without a domain name you can't get your website on the
internet. If you are going to have to choose one,
it might as well be a great one? Of course.
Great
domain names are often as
short as possible, represent your organization name or
cause so that the name is somewhat intuitive to your
viewers. You should avoid words
that have multiple spellings, like won.org versus one.org.
But getting a short domain name with only 4 or 5 letters
can be difficult, they are mostly taken.
Use of
hyphens sometimes helps, but makes the domain name less
intuitive. On the other hand, hyphenated words in
domain names are more easily read for what they are by
search engine spiders and robots, and that can be a small advantage if you choose the right domain naming
strategy.
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Search Engine Rankings & Your Domain Name
The
domain name you choose can influence your search engine
rankings slightly, especially on Google.
Google's 2005 patent specification reveals a lot of
information about possible ways Google might use your
domain name to determine the ranking of your site.
The Google patent mentions specific types of information
relating to how a document is hosted within a computer
network that may influence the ranking of a web site.
For example, Google tries to determine the legitimacy of
a domain name.
According to Google, valuable domains are often paid for
several years in advance while doorway or throwaway
domain names are rarely used for more than a year. To
determine the value of a domain, Google records the
following information:
- The length of the
domain registration (one year or several years)
- The address of the web
site owner, the admin and the technical contact
information
- The stability of the
host company where the web resides once you get it
online
- The number of pages in
a web site (web sites must have more than one page)
Google also claims that they have a list of known bad
contact information, name servers and IP addresses that
help them to find out whether a spammer is running a
domain or if the registrant of the domain name is an
alias rather than a real company or real person.
In
addition, the patent specification claims that Google
might check the information of a name server in several
ways. For example, good name servers might have a mix of
different domain names from different registrars.
Bad name servers might host mainly adult or doorway
domains, bulk-domains from a single registrar or domains
with many commercial words.
In
other words, if your website lives in a bad
neighborhood, Google will know it. Thus,
choosing a legitimate Hosting company with high
standards for what kinds of webs they host is very
important.
Great Domain Naming Strategy
- Great domain names
should be short, if possible
- Great domain names
should intuitive and memorable in some way,
representative of your company or organization, your
cause, service or product
- Avoid using words with
multiple spellings or pronunciations, like one
versus won, or for versus fore versus four
Choosing a great domain name is, in part, a marketing
exercise to develop a good strategy for your domain
name. Branding is more important than any other
factor.
Search engine algorithm research presently reveals that
a keyword rich domain name adds small
points to your overall score for your rankings,
especially with Google.
A
Little Humor Here
Search
engine research indicates that
keyword rich domains don't make
a great deal of difference with ranking
potential, maybe 1 to 2
points out of 100.
There are
some SEO experts who advise against using
hyphenated domain names, but depending on your
domain name, this advise may be ill advised?
Read the domain names below!
Who Represents,
a database for agencies to the rich and famous:
www.whorepresents.com
Experts Exchange,
a knowledge base where programmers can exchange
advice and views:
www.expertsexchange.com
Looking for
a great writing pen? Look no further than
Pen
Island:
www.penisland.net
Need a therapist?
Make the best choice at
Therapist Finder
www.therapistfinder.com
Mole Station Native Nursery,
based in
New South Wales, Australia:
www.molestationnursery.com
New to
Milano and you need
electricity? Why not sign up on-line with
Power-Gen
in Italy?
www.powergenitalia.com
(web is now offline, sorry)
Maybe hyphenated domain names aren't so bad
after all? If you
missed the humor read the domain names slowly out
loud one syllable at a time. This is a good
reason why you should NOT let some English as
a second language person choose your domain name for
you?
Great Domain Names
Buying or Selling
Read my
Free Domain Name Appraisal Tips
12
things you need to know for how to place a value on a domain
name. If you are serious about appraising the monetary
value of a domain name
get professional
advice.
If you
are considering purchasing an existing domain name from an
auction site, a broker of from the actual owner, before you
do, go do this:
- Go
to
http://www.whois.sc and check to see if the domain
name is in the blacklist. You do not want a domain
name that is or has been in the blacklist.
- Go
to
http://www.archive.org and search for the archived
files of any webs previously online for the domain name.
If you see any previous association with porn, hate,
violence, etc. you do not want this domain.
If you
are interested in purchasing a domain name and need
help,
please contact us. |
