Newbie here, getting ready to open retail store but keeping an eye on a business name so I can later launch web site and have the all important .com. After many DAYS of searching I came up with a word that truncates one word and adds another word to it ... upon googling this (or MSN or any other search engine) I receive no hits; of course I also did a whois ... name/word doesn't exist.
Question: Is it more or less desireable to have a company name that will be the only name hit on a search? Does it hurt search criteria? As I'm typing this I'm thinking it must be good but don't know, what am I overlooking? Will web search engines find just a single name? Should I also purchase similar names that are misspelled? Or include key words that are misspelled?
Thanks everyone, be patient with me.
As to whether it's good or bad... depends.
It helps a lot if the word is very phonetic - ie, spelt exactly as it sounds. If not, that's when you have to get into buying up those mis-spelled domains.
How are you planning on promoting the site anyway? If it's stratight SEO and traffic through search engines, then it really doesn't matter a lot what the domain name is... they're coming for the content, not your brand.
BUT - if you want to do word of mouth, or hope to build any following big enough for people to 'tell their friends', then you have to look at the phonetic thing again.
To answer your questions specifically:
Is it more or less desireable to have a company name that will be the only name hit on a search?
- It sure don't hurt. If you are going to market on the company name, ie focus on branding, then yes, it's nice not to have to climb through the rankings on generic words.
Does it hurt search criteria?
- Nope.
As I'm typing this I'm thinking it must be good but don't know, what am I overlooking?
- Phonetics. Say the word to half a dozen friends and have them write it down as it sounds to them - no prompting, no hints. If they get it right, you're on a winner. If not, reconsider.
Will web search engines find just a single name?
- Yes. Makes no difference.
Should I also purchase similar names that are misspelled?
- Maybe. If there is one quite likely mis-spelling, then sure. If there is really more than one LIKELY mis-spelling, you need to reconsider your word.
Or include key words that are misspelled?
- Absolutely. Be discreet (ie, don't put mis-spellings in the head of people who got it right the first time), but don't be underhanded about it (don't try and hide text or do anything the search engines will frown on.
It sounds a bit naf, but there's nothing wrong with having a dedicated page that says 'hey, we thought you might like to have a giggle at some of the ways that people found us through search engines'... and then listing those mis-spellings, and of course including good linkages into the site and a warm welcome to anyone who has found this page.
Question: Is it more or less desireable to have a company name that will be the only name hit on a search? Does it hurt search criteria? As I'm typing this I'm thinking it must be good but don't know, what am I overlooking?
How do you plan to market it? Is it memorable and phone-friendly? Those are the questions you need to think about.
Domains are a small (if any) search algo criteria anymore. They may affect how people link to you, which *is* important.
You'll find successful models with differing methods. Evaluate them. Emulate them.
The amount of competition matters. (not for your made-up name, but for your product.) Who is your competition? What are they doing? Your marketing plan will determine whether it's a good domain for you. Those are questions for you to think about when you make that decision.
Six months from now, you might decide that you made the wrong decision. Then you go with plan B. Maybe you're in a situation where you can go with plan A and plan B at the same time. Just don't duplicate content, or you'll run into issues. I wouldn't even duplicate whois info. Anyway, you aren't limited to one shot at it. If you feel financially limited, take the shot you think is best. You can still radically change your strategy later.
I'm wondering a made-up word domain that doesn't mean anything might have a lower CR than a domain containing a keyword related to the product being promoted. If somebody was using for example "Example###.com" or something like that to promote widgets, wouldn't "Widgets###.tld" have a higher CR?
[edited by: Webwork at 1:25 am (utc) on Sep. 30, 2005]
[edit reason] Exemplified. "Made up word domain" was actual website. [/edit]
