I like to take real life examples to help explain things. Domain names and business are no different. So many businesses may ask themself, are domain names important?
Should we have a domain, a good domain, a great domain?
The easiest answer is YES! At least a good domain and if your budget allows for a Great Domain, all the better and likely chance you will do better. Every business no matter what you offer should have an online presence. This starts with your domain name which is the internet address to your website.
Let’s face it. People are Stupid and always have a lot of things on their mind. Keeping your domain name "Make Sense" is your best choice! Making simple sense with your domain will and greatly increase the memorable aspect of your name.
Last night I was watching a NASCAR race. If you didn’t think domain names were important for business, watch a race once and you will see domain name ALL OVER THE PLACE. Cars, driver suits, billboards, inside the cars, grandstands, Tshirts, Hats and just about every place you look!
Companies are not putting domain names in nearly Every TV Commercial "just for fun". Companies are not advertising with their domain names all over the place "just for fun"
Domain names are vital. Websites allow any company to give 24/7 a day, 365 days a year access from any place with an internet connection.
Social networking sites can be important, but you really need to put your main focus on Your Site.
Using a so/so domain, you hold a better chance of your intended customers to forget your domain or simply not appealing enough to get the customers full attention to show any interest.
Exact match .com domain names are 9/10 best!
A small "Butt Rub" company sponsored the #20 last night in the race drove by Brad Coleman. What was this companies name? Rudys and to top it off.. they have the Exact Match domain name to match the companies name! Rudys.com
Using Rudys.com simply makes Very Clear Sense! ButtRub.com would be interesting, but also leave a little room for typo. But or Butt. Owning both and the typo, would be nice and allow the company options for branding and different commercials.
Domain names are not the "whole package" as you will need a powerful website, attractive pricing, great customer service etc. Your Domain Name is what get’s them to you! So keep that in mind and be sure to settle for The Best you can afford that makes clear sense of your brand, company name and so on.
Leonard Britt
Only a select group of companies can acquire the category-killer .COM domain for their industry. That doesn’t mean they have to settle for a bad domain though. Another alternative is to promote their company’s products or services with multiple domains and websites. Coca Cola sells its products through many distribution channels – supermarkets, convenience stores, vending machines, restaurants, and sporting events / concerts. Why should a company limit the online marketing of their business to merely the company name .com?
Jamie Zoch
Hi Leonard,
I agree. Not everybody is going to be able to get the category-killer type .com domain. That’s why I said a “good or great domain”. A good domain can still be a .net or .org if it’s a perfect match.
Elliot
If I heard the name Rudys, I would have spelled it Rudies.com.
Leonard Britt
Jamie even a 2-3 .com or .net can be a better choice than what many companies use. Just recently I received an inquiry regarding a .COM domain which ends in “s” asking if it was for sale. The inquirer had to have looked at the Whois to obtain my email address and Whois clearly states the domain is available at SEDO and Afternic. Anyway, I responded the domain was available at SEDO and provided the link. I have the domain priced under $1000. I receive a response back, “…thanks anyway but I registered —-Z.com.” Well, they saved money upfront but it reminds me of the tax service we have seen advertised on tv with that confusing domain….
John Humphrey
Hi Jamie,
I have a mini-site set up on a plural keyword exact match domain and the singular pointing to the plural with a 301 permanent redirect. I score front page in Google for the plural but nada for the singular. Maybe it’s just that the singular keyword is more competitive but I can’t find any really good info on this and was wondering if you have any insights.
Thanks for all your great info,
JH
owen frager
GREAT POINTS!
Here on I-95 I am seeing more URLS as company names on buildings. They standout more then the billboards and for new companies are more important then the Nike Swish logos that were enough to adorn buildings in the past when the pace of business was slower and one could wait for advertising to get you known.
Bottom line it’s more competitive than ever out there and the right domain gives you an edge. So the domains that are keywords or gateways to their industries, if not acquired by THEM, will ultimately be used AGAINST them.
Damir Tankovic
You make a GREAT point Jamie.
The true $$ value of a Domain Name is in the hands of the seller and in the mind of the buyer.
Jamie Zoch
@John,
I think the only search engine that will “rank” a redirected domain is Yahoo, and a Frame would need to be used so you can set Meta Data. The problem with this, is that Google and others do not like Frames and will ding you for it. The 301 redirect is the correct thing to do, but that domain name will NOT rank in SE’s. Doing the redirect basically just covers you so you do not lose any traffic via a typo.
Jamie Zoch
@Elliot,
Good point and in this case, Rudys.com does not own Rudies.com. This would be a good cover investment to own Rudies.com by Rudys.com.
BullS
Great post.
Maybe you should ask for examples of some of the domain names that the company uses but does not reflect what they are selling.
Eg:
acs-hcs.com and acshcs.com
http://rieslingrules.com/ or pacificrimwinemakers.com and goes to pacific rim…better use of domain is PacificWinery.com or PacificWine.com or PacificRimWinery.com
They just do not get it!!!
anybody wants to broker that deal?