Many people and businesses have long missed the boat when picking the right domain name to use for their online presence but this has slowly been changing in a positive direction and it appears that not only a lot more businesses are getting online, they are using what most would consider "good" domain names in the process.
I have always said that when a business ventures online they really need to really start out with two domain names. Exact match and generic. The first mistake many companies do is register and use their company name as their website. The biggest problem with this, it is very likely that nobody knows the name of the company and doesn’t know to search for that company name online. This means they can not find you.
This is where generic domain names are important and likely a much better option to start with.
A couple examples of a "good" fitting generic domain name would be the following:
Business: Computer Repair service located in Green Bay, WI named Xyz Computer Repair
Potential good domains: ComputerRepair.com, ComputerRepairGreenBay.com, GreenBayComputerRepair.com, ComputerService.com, ComputerRepairService.com
The reason these are "good" domains and the website owners best options is because people are already searching for these terms. This helps allowing people to find you and your services. The domain names make sense to people looking for the service. The keywords match what your company offers. The domain name and matching content will help you rank better for these terms. The keywords can help reduce advertising costs.
Many companies that start out have lower budgets but this really should not prevent you from starting with a good domain name because it is more important than you may think. What is the point of spending X on building a website if nobody is going to find you anyway? Your domain name will greatly help you with this!
I have watched advertising for a long time and websites in general and can honestly say that companies are picking better and better domain names all the time. Although advertising with a specific domain is a little bit different, it still seems that most of these companies are "getting it" and mainly using good, make sense domain names but it wasn’t always the case.
Call to action or catchy domain names are also being used in advertising and this is working for many as well. Most companies have a lot of competition, so sticking out is vital but it also offers a unique way to offer a specific promotion that easily allows the advertiser to direct its customers to a specific minisite or page on its site and easy tracking of the promotion with online stats.
Now is everybody hitting the nail on the head? No, but I would say things have been improving and people are selecting better and more useful domain names that actually help them.
The Fromainer
Hey Jamie
I think this is evident from the recent postings of guys like Elliot and Sully.
It’s great news that more companies “get it” these days but it is still difficult to educate the ones who don’t.
I’m trying really hard at the moment to sell some of my exact match product domains to businesses and always try to convey the benefits in terms of SEO, direct navigation and reduced advertising/marketing costs in my emails but it’s a slow process.
Still, there is hope!
Jack
You know, “mobile” domains are only going to get hotter over the next several years. I’ve been looking for the “perfect” domain for a mobile broadcast service I’m dreaming up. What do you think of these as possibilities? Any ideas for me?
1. Mobicast
2. Mobiscape
3. WireCast
4. Broadscape
5. GlobeScape
6. GlobeCast
Does anyone like any of these as a potential company name for a mobile-services business? Yes, I know, all of these .com’s are taken, but none of them are developed businesses, so I imagine the domains are for sale (darn squatters:)
Piper
@Jack,
I like #1, if you change it to “MobileCast”, I like #4, and I like #6…in that order. Good luck!
Jack
The following domains are UNREGISTERED and probably somewhat valuable:
MoodHat.com
MoodPen.com
Culling.org
You’re welcome!
The Fromainer
@Jack
Are you going to be founding the mobile broadcast service? If not then what is your strategy with these domain names?
Jack
@Fromainer,
As I said, I’m developing the concept for a mobile broadcast service. Next step is to hire actual developers for both of the major platforms (Iphone and Android).
I just don’t have a name for the biz yet. Myself and two partners are pouring in a total of $450K to launch this. We’ll search for VC funding once we get something of substance put together; likely mid-2011.
The Fromainer
@Jack
Sorry, just wasn’t sure if that’s what you meant, no mean feat! Sounds like an interesting and lucrative venture, all the very best.
Juan
Lesson take time.