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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.
If
you are interested in designing and optimizing your own website, check out
my do
it yourself search engine optimization page. This new
service is working well for clients on a budget.
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. |
