Domain Name Selection Fails – Think Before you Buy! #sem #seo #domian #digitalmarketing

It all begins with a domain name, right? But maybe it should be the last thing you do.

Many business hire a digital marketing agency to build a new website and announce proudly they have already purchased their business website domain. Unfortunately, often times, this could be a well-intentioned effort, but a huge mistake.

Domain name selection can be tricky, takes research and you should always consult a trusted digital marketing expert before you buy that business domain.

Here are some of the domain name selection fails you should avoid:

Your domain name need not be your actual business name.

Consider a business called “Experts Exchange” they bought: “ExpertSexChange.com” (capitals added for emphasis). But instead consider “amazon.com” It’s a river in South America, the name has nothing to do with books or e-commerce but everyone knows it and how to spell it when they hear.

Don’t use a miss-spelled, invented or unpronounceable word because the real word is taken.

There is a disturbing trend in domain purchases where companies invent words in domain names by dropping vowels, etc. Consider a new online social media site with the invented word domain “parler.com”. The marketing effort received many complaints people could not find the site. Users tend to type the correct word, or the word they “hear”. Even worse is if the correct spelling takes visitors to your competition.

Also important is that with the increase in use of voice activated applications, miss-spelled, invented and unpronounceable words won’t work with apps like Siri.

If you have to explain how to spell your domain name to your potential visitors, you may have a domain name selection fail.

Don’t let your domain name expire! — Domain names improve with age.

Google knows when the domain name was purchased and how long before it expires.Your domain name builds up “authority” over time so a newer domain has less Google authority.

The point is if you are forced to buy a new domain name for any reason you have to build your domain name authority from scratch. And from Google’s perspective how serious is your business if your domain name expires next month?

Here are some more tips on domain name selection:

• Unless you are General Motors, don’t use initials.
• Use a .com. (No, .co does not stand for “company”.)
• Don’t use hyphens, numbers or include the word “the” and similar confusing words.
• Do tons of research, for example similar domains in use, what your competition is using and what search results look like.
• Google has placed less emphasis on keywords found within domain names, your domain need not include your key search terms.
• All domain registrars are not the same.  We recommend GoDaddy.com.
• Don’t buy a domain name as a bundled service, e.g. from Wix, etc. use a separate domain registrar.
• Be sure you own your domain not your web developer.

Bottom line is your domain name selection should be thoroughly researched by a digital marketing professional before you buy your domain name. Consult with an online, digital marketing agency that has Search Engine Marketing (SEM) experience to help you select the best domain name for your business.

For some impressive domain name selection fails take a look at: 30 Unintentionally Inappropriate Domain Names