Choosing a good domain name for a new or existing business website is not easy.
Generally, your domain name should be memorable, short, and tied closely to your product or service. The length is much less important if you want organic traffic, which is usually the case.
In previous articles we talked about the importance of developing your businesses USP and in thinking about your web strategy.
One of the important decisions that you will make is how you plan to attract visitors to your web site. Will you attract visitors from search engines (organic traffic)? Will you be using pay-per-click to generate visitors to your site? Will your domain name appear in other advertising to drive visitors to your site? (By the way, I am very much opposed to using pay per click, and with few exceptions it simply isnt needed, if you will optimize your site up front)
If you are counting on getting visitors from the search engines, you should consider selecting a domain name that can help you do that. By choosing a domain name that includes a good search term, you can improve the probability that the site will rank well in Google for that keyword term.
Fortunately, you don’t need to guess what terms people are typing into the search engines when they look for the products and services that you sell. There are free tools such as Google’s AdWords tool that can show you the relative amounts of traffic that certain keyword phrases have.
Finding a good keyword phrase that communicates your USP and has search value can really help you get visitors to your site. A good domain name is a valuable and should be protected by being properly registered with safeguards against unauthorized transfer. Make certain that you own your domain and that it is registered to you and not to your web designer or developer or an employee of your company.
Know the Difference Between Direct and Organic Web Traffic? Here’s Why You Should
There are two ways for people to find your business web site. Some people just type your web address in the domain search bar of their browser. That takes them right to your site’s home page. That’s called direct traffic.
The other way people can find your web site is by typing words related to your site into a search engine. Unless you have a brand name or web address that is known to millions, you will have to work at showing up in the search engine results for the words searchers use when they look for what you sell.
Traffic that comes from the search engines is called organic traffic.
Why should you care? Because without an understanding of how search engines work and what to do to get your small business site ranking well, your chances of being found on the web by customers and potential customers is probably low.
Most small businesses don’t have the money to advertise their web addresses widely or to use pay per click to draw traffic to their web sites.
When I’m consulting, I often find that the businesses has a web site, and it looks great, but it’s not designed to be search engine friendly or to be found. Even when a small business has great web content, it’s not presented in a way that gives it the best chance to be found by buyers.
In other words, the site has not been optimized.
Without Search Engine Optimization (SEO), it’s difficult for your business to appear high in search engine results for the right keywords and earn a steady stream of visitors from Google, Yahoo, or Bing. How can you make sure that your web site is found? How can you get your share of organic traffic from Google, Bing, and Yahoo?
As a promoter of my businesses, I have had to become a web expert. Now I’m helping other small business owners. I’ll be glad to share some of the dos and don’ts of creating an effective business web site with you and some guidelines for selecting a good domain.
Please refer to my prior article or email for a table of best practices for search engine optimization.
My new book “Getting Your Banker to Yes – Tips Traps and Secrets to Getting Your Business Funded” will be out in October, watch for it. It’s co-authored with the President of a 4 location community bank, in a Click & Clack Format, entrepreneur and banker telling it like it is. As you might imagine, we don’t always agree.
Ron Sturgeon, founder of Mr. Mission Possible small business consulting, combines over 35 years of entrepreneurship with an extensive resume in consulting, speaking, and business writing, with 3 books published and 2 more expected in 2010.
A business owner since age 17, Ron sold his chain of salvage yards to Ford Motor Company in 1999, and his innovations in database-driven direct marketing have been profiled in Inc. Magazine. After the repurchase of Greenleaf Auto Recyclers from Ford and sale to Schnitzer Industries, Ron is now owner of the DFW Elite Auto suite of businesses and a successful real estate investor.
As a consultant and peer benchmarking leader, Ron shares his expertise in strategic planning, capitalization, compensation, growing market share, and more in his signature plain-spoken style, providing field-proven, high-profit best practices well ahead of the business news curve.
To inquire about peer benchmarking, consultations, expanding your business on the web or keynote speaking, contact Ron by calling 817-834-3625, by emailing rons@MrMissionPossible.com, by mailing 5940 Eden, Haltom City, TX 76117, or online at Mr. Mission Possible.
