13.2. Buying a Domain

Armed with your HTML editor, you now need to turn your attention towards choosing a domain name.

13.2.1. The Domain Name

My views on domain names have changed a little over the last couple of years. It used to be that a keyword rich domain name would help you get good rankings in Google, Yahoo and MSN. However, just do a search for some phrases at these engines now. How many of the top 10 domains contain the exact phrase you typed in. The numbers are in decline!

My advice is to choose a domain name that either:

1) Fits the theme of your niche, without putting emphasis on the main keywords. e.g. a instead of trying to find a domain name that includes the phrase "discount computers" (because this is your primary keyword for the site), choose a domain name that is related to computers, or implies computers e.g. pcwarehouse, or techsupplies.

or

2) Choose a domain name that is short and catchy – that people will remember.

With on-site optimization becoming less and less, keywords in domain names are not only less important, but might also hurt your rankings if an over-optimization penalty exists.

My advice is to de-emphasize keywords in the domain names.

To help you find available domain names, there is a great free tool called Domain Name Analyzer.

This tool will quickly tell you whether domains are already taken or not.

13.2.2. Hyphens or no hyphens

There is a lot of debate going on at present about whether to use hyphens in your domain name such as:

Blue-computer-widgets.com

Or to leave the hyphens out, as in:

Bluecomputerwidgets.com

My own feelings after looking at a lot of search results is that hyphens are no longer necessary. The search engines can easily spot keywords in the domain name, even in hyphen-less domains.

In addition, the number of hyphenated domain names in the top of the search engines for various search results is decreasing. Whether that is because the search engines are penalising the hyphenated domains, or whether the hyphenated domains are being penalised for keyword stuffing (often associated with hyphenated domains) remains to be seen.

My advise is to avoid using hyphens in your domain name, but also, avoid stuffing keywords into the domain (yes, even in hyphen-less domain names).

13.2.3. Domain Extension

Another consideration is the domain extension. Without going into this too deeply, I would stick with a ".com" ending UNLESS:

1) You really want a domain name but the .com is already taken.

or

2) You are building site that targets a geographical area. In this case, use the extension for that area (e.g. a .co.uk extension for the UK, a .au for Australia and so on). Not only does this help rank better in that area, it also means you will find is easier to get listed in directories specific to that area.

Don’t rush into buying a domain name just because it is available. Think about it for a few hours. Bounce ideas off your partner or friends. Eventually one will stick out in your mind, and just make sense.

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