Many would be website owners fail to realize the importance of domain names as part of effective web marketing. Although not as important as content and top quality keywords, the right domain names will enhance the web marketing efforts. A few pointers for the selection for great domain names are provided below to help you make the right choice.

Let the name stick

Names that are easy to remember because of their uniqueness or because of generic value, will be more memorable than names that can be confused with other domains. Also keep in mind that if the name is difficult to pronounce that the users will most often make mistakes when typing the name and may even land at competitor sites in the process. This could spell disaster. The name should be unique enough to remember and not be confused with that of a competitor.

Shorter is better

As with anything that has to do with web marketing, shorter domain names will be better. The shorter the name the easier to spell it, remember it, and refer others to it. Shorter domain names can be used in the logos, forms, and paid advertising. The longer names usually get misspelled and with many users being unsure of the correct spelling, some may give up altogether and not visit the domain again.

Extension counts

Domain names can have many extensions such as .net, .org, .cc, .com, co.za, co.uk etc. Domain names ending on less frequently used top level domains may be suspect and will leave a lot of room for domain hijackers to come in and sow havoc in your web marketing efforts. As such select an extension that will fit with the audience. If your market is international the best extension will be .com, but if your target audience is in your country then use your country’s extension for example, co.za for South Africa or co.uk for the UK market.

Relation with business

If you really want to confuse web users then the name will be unrelated to your business. They will wonder whether they are at the correct site. They may even ignore your electronic newsletters because the name has no relation to the main topic of your site. Get descriptive domain names that will show your main business. Take for instance, a site about careers. If the name says careers.com it will be easy recognizable. If the name however, looks like an acronym such as johnjenkingslabour.com the users may think it is a site about labour law.

Brand building with domain names

Consider the value of a solid domain name. Large companies like Coca-Cola and Pepsi do because they know how important association with a brand is. First before you start branding with the domain name, check whether the name is still available. Then also consider trade marking.

Where to get inspiration

If you cannot come up with good domain names consider places such as domainfellow.com to get possible combinations or perhaps even an older place such as nameboy.com.

Poor domain names cost their owners money

Domain hijackers love domain names that can be misspelled as they register the misspelled form of domain names and then whenever a user misspells the name, the user will land at their website. Convenient for them and a terrible loss for you. It is thus important to invest time in the selection of the correct domain names before you start with your web marketing.

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