Although it is considered a very basic SEO step to be sure your URLs contain your keywords, it is still so often overlooked. Maybe because it is so basic, maybe because the concept is not new, maybe because it can be so daunting to rename pages on a site that was not built properly.  But quite a few of our clients, even clients that have done SEO work, have overlooked this important step. We often hear “I know, I know, I have been meaning to do that.”  Do Not Overlook This Step. And you do not have to pay an SEO to know it, or to do it.

And this brings me to the importance of a domain name. Again this can be so very much overlooked, especially by small businesses.  Although some people claim a domain name does not matter in this day and age, the general consensus is that it truly is a factor in determining the success of a site.  To review the basics in choosing a domain:

1. Memorable. This typically means shorter. Though if you use an abbreviation to shorten it, you will lose some of that memorable factor if it is not a common abbreviation.  If your company is Clayton Watts AC Supply, though it is long, you want www.claytonwattsacsupply.com  over  an obscurely abbreviated www.cwacsupply.com

2. DOT COM.  You can survive without it, but is an uphill battle. If you have any option at all, choose a  .com over any other extension.

3. Keyword in the domain. This is SEO 101. If you sell keys, put it in the URL and company name.  This very often is in conflict with your branding, if your keyword is not in your company name. If your branding is not entrenched, if your existing domain is not older and established, you can consider rebranding for this reason.

4. Avoid oddball spellings. If your company is Easy Riding, do not consider ezriding.  Unless you change company name to EZ Riding, and use the letters prominently in all branding.  Even then you risk someone not finding you at easyriding.com who did not remember your shortcut.

5. Leave out punctuation: no symbols, no dashes, people will get very confused when trying to remember where the dashes are. If you are forced to use punctuation, be sure it is then included in your logo and all branding.  Leave the apostrophe out for “Mike’sUnderwear” and just use www.mikesunderwear.com

6. And versus &.  If your company is Madonna & Child, your main URL should match your branding with the ampersand. But you must try to get both domains, you just don’t know what people will remember.  People tend to type “and” more often.  Exception would be something like ‘M&M” where the branding is so strong with the ampersand.

7. Describes your business.  If you have your keyword in your business name and/or URL, you are covered. But if not, consider what potential customers will see in search results.  If your site sells only silver jewelry, with the URL www.sweetnothings.com, this does not compel a customer to click your site over www.allthingssilver.com

All things considered, you can only do so much with your URL if your brand or company name is established. Best to consider the URL when naming your company. But even after the fact, you can make improvements and set yourself up for a slightly easier ride.

Tags: domain names, URLs

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 20th, 2008 at 12:52 pm and is filed under Domains and URLs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.