How to Make the Right Domain Purchase for Your Online Business

When it comes time to make a domain purchase for your business the name you choose can make or break the early success of your online venture. Choose wisely and it can give an early boon to your Internet business. Choose the wrong one and it could confuse your visitors, loose you sales or even have you ignored by the search engines.

Getting Specific Can Help

In many instances the more specific you get with your domain name in terms of keywords relating to your business the better. For example, an online business that sells only wine gift baskets should choose a domain name which reflects this. ‘Winegiftbaskets.com’ or winebaskets.com’ is likely to bring in more targeted visitors that simply ‘carolsgiftbaskets.com’.

The Long and Short of Domain Names

In the world of domain names there are two general categories which most domain names fall into. Some choose the route of a longer, more descriptive domain name, as shown above, while other business owners try and cash in on a short and catchy domain name. There are merits to both types of domain purchase if you use them correctly.

In short a long tail keyword is a string of related words put together to form a search phrase. Search phrases like “puppy potty training” indicate the searcher is not only looking to potty train their dog but that the dog is still a puppy. A business that chooses a longer keyword phrase such as this relating to their product or service stands a better chance of their website ranking near the top for that specific phrase.

Ranking well in certain niches can be difficult, especially in competitive niches. By finding a two or three word phrase related to your product or service which has slightly less competition but still gets many searches you stand a good chance of receiving targeted traffic to your website simply by choosing a specific domain name phrase.

On the flip side many businesses forgo the longer, more descriptive domain names in lieu of a short, catchy domain name. Geico and eBay are perfect examples of companies that have gone this route and succeeded. Their names have become synonymous with their respective products and services but this wasn’t achieved without some clever marketing.

While choosing a more descriptive domain name is the safer bet, if you’ve got a good marketing plan and the time to implement it a one word domain name can pay off. Create a unique logo to represent your unique domain and spread it far and wide across the Internet.

What Not to Do When Buying a Domain Name

Finding the perfect domain name can often feel like looking for buried treasure. Often times when a new business owner become frustrated at the lack of suitable yet available domain names they resort to tactics such as adding hyphens between words in order to create a unique domain name. While this may seem like a quick and easy solution it is generally agreed upon that hyphenated domain names look unprofessional and are more difficult for people to remember when typing them in.

While the .com domain name should always be your first choice when making a domain purchase when it comes to hyphens you would be better off buying the non-hyphenated .net or even .org version of the same domain name instead. If you must hyphenate do so only once between a two word domain name and not a hyphen more.

It Gets Better with Age

While we as a society tend to covet items that are new and shiny when it comes to making a domain purchase you’re actually better off buying used. By used I mean domain names that have expired but where already used for an existing website or business for at least a year. Google likes aged websites as they have earned their keep by sticking around. Also these older domains can often come with extras attached to them such as backlinks from other websites to the pre-existing website.

Backlinks, along with a rating system Google uses called PageRank, are likes votes of confidence for that particular domain. When you purchased expired domains all these “extra goodies” automatically come with the package. Purchasing an expired domain may cost you a little more than a new one but it is considered a wise investment in your business’ future. Yes, you will still need to market your new business but you’ll have a leg up you didn’t by buying a new domain.

In the end the type of domain name you buy, be it a longer one or short and sweet, is a personal choice. Both have benefits to them and you’ll need to decide which would best suit your budding online business. Yet whichever you choose be aware that your domain purchase is an important part of your all over business strategy and should be treated as such.