Blogs, static content sites, online stores, forums, torrent sites… All these forms of websites on the Internet have one thing in common. They all need a domain name to work. A domain name online is like the brand name offline. If you were going to launch a real life business, you would consider your brand name and integrity above everything first surely. Same should apply with a domain name for your website.
So, here’s a break down in some practical methods I feel are useful when trying to pick and find the ‘right’ domain name for your website.
What do you want your website to communicate?
Just like you would consider this in real life for your brand. In terms of figuring out exactly what it is you want you, your company and your brand to say to anyone who sees it, the same needs to be established for a domain name.
Before rushing into buying a domain name simply for keyword sake spend some real time breaking down the basics of exactly what it is you want to say with your website. What do you want to spark in people’s minds when they hear or see your domain name.
I think the best way to do this is to write down some immediate examples of the first domain names that come to mind, then brainstorm off of these with what comes to mind when you say or think of these domain names. I’ve never been taught this and not sure if real companies do it when picking brand names but it just seems an obvious and practical method of projecting your mental perception of a brand name before you proceed with it.
Brandability vs Keyword Strength
I used to think good keywords in a domain name were important. Which, to be honest, for SEO purposes and on static content sites focused on a particular subject… they are. But I’ve come to realise viral nature and brandability of a domain name are much more important in general. In my opinion.
Think how many people have been buying, continue to buy and currently own domain names in certain niche’s with decently arranged keywords. I think, at this point. It will hurt you in the long run. Google are now focusing much more on real quality with their rankings or, as much as they can determine. Backlinks on trusted sites are now more important than ever and I now believe they put much more weight on general mention than they do keywords.
To be honest, I think a domain name focused purely on relevant keywords just looks spammy. Anyone can do it and it doesn’t leave anything for the imagination. It adds nothing to your brand because there’s no brand there, it’s just stuffing associated words together to try and boost your rankings.
Take Play.com for example. Now, that… realistically doesn’t say all that much about exactly what the site is about to someone who hasn’t heard of them before. It could be a social network site, social media site, upload site. Lots of things that name suggests. But when you actually find out what they do, it’s apparent that their name fits what they do perfectly. So effectively you have a name that suggests a lot, is simple, provocative and definitive. But not so definitive that it says everything. It sort of requires you to enquire a bit to find out why they’re called that. Which is why it’s so brilliant.
This is true with most big brand names; Virgin, Microsoft, Google, Nike, eBay etc.
At first they don’t suggest all that much in terms of relativity. But when you actually enquire or get to the core element of their brand and what they do and are about. They work perfectly and say it all to the maximum effect.
It’s all about capturing the balance between suggestion and viral nature.
Domain Name Length
Now, I know it’s not easy to come across short domain names. It’s pretty impossible to find a really nice domain name under 7 letters. They’re all taken.
It all depends on how committed you are and think you will be with your; blog, forum, store. Whatever. Do you see yourself still owning it in a few years time? If you do and you believe in what you’re doing, fork out some cash and bid on a short, mega brandable domain name. Of course not everybody has the cash to do this so it’s not always an option even if you would like to.
So, what’s the best way to go about getting a domain name that is still short enough to be easily remembered. And still available for a nice $5 - $10 purchase?
First off you need to have realised by now, before buying. Exactly what you want your site to communicate. Think carefully because sometimes you can buy a domain name and after 6 months of using it think “I wish I’d pick X instead of this” and whilst it’s not exactly rocket science to buy the new domain you want and to re-direct the old one to the new one for backlinks sake… it’s not ideal. Considering the brand awareness or, domain name awareness that you may have already built with the current domain. It’s almost like starting again. You’ll still have the traffic but I’m not sure it’s worth it.
So, I would advise really brainstorming on what you want. Then make sure it’s actually available before committing to any designs etc. And even possibly do some research on similar names to see if there’s already a dominator with a very similar domain. Because if there is, it’s not all that easy to move in on taken territory. Once you do all this, then commit, buy it and get going!
In Closing
I think people focus too much on keyword stuffing and manipulating Google these days. Not saying people haven’t since the Net began but back in the 90’s it actually worked. Big time. Now it’s just an outdated technique to cram a domain name with perfet keywords for search engine sake.
Instead focus on a domain name that you truly think defines you brand and that is short enough to be said in a flash. Viral brandability is key in mists of today’s busy, saturated Internet marketplace.
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