DOMAIN NAME

If your company’s name or product name is well known in business, then the next step is for you to see if that Domain name is available. If your company’s name or product name is not well known, then it is important that you consider implementing your keyword strategy starting with the selection of your company’s domain name. From a search engine optimization standpoint, there is less need for abstract creativity in choosing a domain that will appeal to the search engine’s algorithms. The spiders are looking for spider food and spider food usually contains keywords and keyword phrase. So, before you choose a domain name like “pink mongoose”, think about how both the spiders and humans will respond. A more obscure domain name can be costly to brand online.

Now that you know your website’s domain can play an important role in letting the search engine’s algorithms determine your website’s search relevance, what about the extension. Domain name providers almost always list the available extensions for the domain name you’ve selected. Your company will have to decide the cost effectiveness for owning extensions like .us, .mob, .biz, etc. The majority of these extensions are substitute products for the more popular .com or .net. If your Internet marketing plan calls for more marketing in other countries, you can purchase extensions like .ca (Canada) or .co.uk (United Kingdom) that lets the search engines know more about the geographical area that your website is targeting. Remember, your website’s online competition may be quite different than your company’s offline competitors. Whenever possible, incorporate the selection of your domain name as part of your overall keyword strategy.

You can also use your domain name to better define your website’s content for the search engine’s indexing functions. If your company sells shoes, but your website is only going to sell children’s sandals, then a domain name like kidssandals.com could give your site a head start for search relevance. Although choosing a domain name that is not relevant to what your company’s website sells online is not a kiss of death for the future of your Internet marketing. It will take more time for Google and other search engines to know for certain “what it is that you do”. A reputable SEO firm can save your company valuable time and protect your online investment by assisting with the keyword selection and domain naming for your website.

CALIFORNIA SEO WORLD