How do you choose a domain name for your site? This is normally not something that local business owners think a lot about. Very often they call their domain after themselves or their company. This is a perfectly valid way to do it but unless you are a well known brand there can be some real disadvantages this way.
The fact is that some domain names can have a very substantial value simply because they give you a real advantage in search engine results. Using them can significantly effect the number of clicks that you get on your site and simply possessing a good domain can equal a critical commercial advantage. For this reason domains can sell for amazing sums of money. Just a few days ago for instance gamesforgirls.com sold at auction for $500,000. This is little compared with some of the top domains such as Toys.com that sold to Toys ‘R Us for $5.1 million in 2009 and Insure.com that sold to QuinStreet for $16 million the same year.
What has this got to do with local marketing though? The answer is that so called GEO domains can also have substantial value. These domains are typically in the format
I have a tool that gives an approximate value of domains and if I look these up the result for the plumber is $600 and for the lawyer $17,000. This makes sense because the corresponding number of people each month who key the exact phrase “Watford Plumber” into Google it is 130 and for New York Lawyer 15,000. The number of people who type the phrase along with some additional words is 880 and 200,000.
I want to suggest that QuineStreet did not fork out their $16 million (rather than simply call their site QuinStreet.com or QuinStreetInsurance.com) on whim but only to gain real competitive advantage and the opportunity to generate a return far more than the $16m ongoing. The truth is when the internet first start the first real search engine was Yahoo who heavily used the domain name to order their search results. Though the search algorithms are far more complex now, Google, Yahoo and Bing still have favoritism to the domains that possess or contain the search term. Try doing some searches on your local area and see for yourself how the GEO domains often rank particularly well.
In some professions, in most sizable US and UK cities, the obvious GEO domains have already been taken. Sometimes they are owned by domain investors who will resell them to you at a premium (and in many cases this is worth paying). It is however always worth looking to see if the domain is available for a few dollars. If you are a dentist or plumber the chances are lower than for a person trainer or orthodontist. If you operate in a small town the chances are greater than a larger city. You can also look for variants on the search terms which may be relevant, though it may be best to get advice on this from an expert.
What happens though if there is absolutely no worthwhile GEO domain available? The answer is that you need to create a strong brand and you may need to do some extra work to get to the top ranking. There are some general rules that you should follow in doing this.
1. Choose a .COM over any other name. Country extensions can be considered such as .US, .CO.UK, .DE and .FR though a .COM may have more credibility. The .NET and .ORG and generally valued at around 20% of the value of .COM and .INFO at 5%. There are a few cases where (given the .COM is taken) the .ORG may have real credibility and be worth considering. If you are a .NET site customers are likely to key in .COM and the business will go to your competitor.
The .ORG is increasingly used for commerce though it was originally specifically designed for organizations.
The .ME extension is worth considering for very small and personal businesses particularly if search engine results are less relevant.
The jury is still out on .CO. Personally I like this extension and it is accepted by the Google for world wide use. You could certainly buy the .CO of your .COM for the future. To out this in context current .CO value appears to be higher than the corresponding .INFO
2. Choose a name that is short and memorable. This make it far easier to type in and write down and to do so without a mistake or confusion. You can also communicate it to your customers far more easily. Before you choose ask customers and friends and get some feedback from other people.
3. You can make up a name, for example Shlobo.com, or use real words such as GiantGreenElephant.com. Both approaches have plus and minus factors. Would people know how to spell Shlobo.com when you told a customer over the phone or would you need to follow up spelling out S-H-L-O-B-O letter by letter. Nobody is going to ask how you spell Giant Green Elephant though and they are unlikely to forget it in the future. On the other hand Giant Green Elephant is far longer to key in and very specific, where Shlobo could mean just about anything to anyone.
Choosing a domain name should be taken seriously and the implications carefully explored. There is no exact science and every case needs to be considered individually. Remember you are probably going to be using it for many years and your livelihood may depend upon the decision you make.
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