Choosing the right domain

[JamesDB]

Hi everyone (first post here!),

I'm looking to start a new site, yet am unsure about what to do with the name and the domain.

I'm thinking of a .net domain, with two words seperated by a hyphen. However, this won't be as easy/nice as something like daniweb.com. But would I be better off getting a .com?

Also, with the area being media/digital type thoughts (I've written about 300 articles/blog entries on my current site which I would carry over), I'm not sure whether to come up with a funky or interesting name, or get something which relates to the subject. Trouble is, anything with 'digital' in the domain and people think it's a rip-off of another big website. It'll be mostly news/blog type things and maybe a forum later on.

Thanks for any thoughts! :)

[etechsupport]

I think the domain name that relates with your subject and field should be given priority.

[Dani]

I disagree :) I like domain names that are unique words because those are most brandable and you can actually coin your own word. Think about the biggest e-companies in the world: eBay, Google, Amazon, Alexa, Yahoo!, Mozilla, Overture ...

None of these words had a meaning before - and now they are associated with an industry authority. I can wake someone up out of a sound sleep and say "What is amazon.com?" and they'll say "it's an online bookstore." There is no need for keywords to be in the domain name.

In fact, I find that keywords in the domain name can come off tacky. Which rolls off of the tongue better - www.amazon.com or www.discount-bookstore.net ?? www.overture.com or www.ppc-search-engine.com ??

[JamesDB]

Hi etechsupport,

Thanks for your reply - I've kind of gone half way, although from the work I've done on SEO I don't think it's going to be very friendly. However, type 'books' in Google and Amazon.com comes up top - we'll soon see I guess.

cscgal - I agree. I've registered many domains for clients (after advising them which would be best), and most of the time the one they want is gone when they had a site built before, but they don't want to speak to the guy or the company that did it, so register a new one. A really bad way of doing things, if you ask me.

The domain I went with is a unique name, but you can get an idea of the content of the site (in my opinion, anyway ;)). I'd post the name that I went with, but not sure if that's allowed? :o

[QvnsQ]

I think the domain name that relates with your subject and field should be given priority.

i think the domain is not important as your web's content

the most important thing web content, key word, description, and how to make your domain on high traffic.

domain is only 30% of your traffic.

[nameslot]

Agreed. But different people have different ideas. I would go with the domain first it makes the marketing scenario more easy for the developer.

[Dani]

I'd post the name that I went with, but not sure if that's allowed? :o

You're right - no site specific talk is permitted in the Internet Marketing forums - except for the Site-Specific Questions forum and Webmaster Marketplace.

Without a black and white rule in place, things were getting to spammy, and nearly every thread became "borderline on-topic spam". It was a mess.

[etechsupport]

i think the domain is not important as your web's content

the most important thing web content, key word, description, and how to make your domain on high traffic.

domain is only 30% of your traffic.

Your marketing strategy must also include branding, :-| the domain name help your visitors get to the site easily and help them remember the site address if it is simple. ;)

[JamesDB]

nameslot - the domain I went with isn't a keyword friendly one. MSN Search and a few others have indexed it fine which I'm pretty happy with. Google has got just the url indexed and nothing else.

However, I'm very proud of the name and the marketing around it. Unlike a lot of sites the domain and image will be used more offline than online, so hopefully it won't have too bigger impact.

Dani - I know exactly where you're coming from. I've had the same problem with my forum before. :)

I still go with 'Content is King', so will obviously be making content the big thing (with Apache mod_rewrite). Hopefully people would be searching for something that wouldn't be in the domain anyway, like a certain bit of equipment or a format. Neither of these would be in the domain - so hopefully with /formats/rgb/ on the end of the domain it'll work out. :)

[dhundee]

uhmnnnn... just wondering... how did you come up with that name "nameslot"... it sounds like an online gaming to me... samething like slot machine.. or lottery or something.. :D .... sorry was just wondering.. :)

[sunflowerz]

uhmnnnn... just wondering... how did you come up with that name "nameslot"... it sounds like an online gaming to me... samething like slot machine.. or lottery or something.. :D .... sorry was just wondering.. :)

Hi dhundee,

nameslot is a user that posted a bit further up on the thread. But I thought the same thing at first, until I saw that JamesDB had replied to Dani in the same way! :)

-sunflowerz

[Dani]

Try using a Google sitemap if you're having problems getting your google content indexed. Google says it helps to aid the googlebot in a smarter crawl ... but I have my doubts. If you're not in Google's index, though, it certainly can't hurt.

[dhundee]

Hi dhundee,

nameslot is a user that posted a bit further up on the thread. But I thought the same thing at first, until I saw that JamesDB had replied to Dani in the same way! :)

-sunflowerz

hello sunflowerz,

thanks for the correction, it's been quite a while and i just realized just now. now i feel stupid lol... anyway... thanks. ;)

[sunflowerz]

Hi dhundee!
Don't feel stupid, everyone has those moments! :)

Hi cscgal & JamesDb!
I am under the impression that the Googlebots can't see imagemap links on webpages. This may be why Google can only see your first page. You could try a Googlebot predictor, it'll show you how the Googlebots will probably see your website, including the links on the page. Not exactly the same as real Googlebots, however it may be helpful.

From suflowerz

[dhundee]

thanz sunflowers :)