Choosing a Domain Name that Pays Off

May 23, 2013 By Leave a Comment
domain name

domain name

We talk about content, optimization, and SEO tactics all the time, but your domain name continues to be an important factor in how visible your site becomes.

How you chose your domain and the way that it impacts your business is significant, and therefore it is right to brainstorm many options and consider a variety of ingredients when choosing how to name your domain.

For a long time many SEO companies recommended using keywords in your domain name.

Buying multiple domain names that highlighted the exact keyword you were targeting was common. This made a lot of sense since keywords in domain names were a factor in Google’s algorithm, and often when you received a backlink, the keyword phrase was a part of the anchor text.

While keywords in domain names are still helpful, recent Google updates have indicated that they no longer are as important a factor for page ranking as they previously were. Recent studies have shown that the EMD ranking and correlation have slipped significantly over the last few years for sites with keywords in the domain name.

That being said, if you have a domain name that describes your product, it is still much easier to find than a generic name. Furthermore, even if you use a specific domain name like drangiepeterson.com, it is not as effective as something more broad and descriptive like cosmeticsurgeons.com.

Perhaps the ideological change taking place is the need to recognize that a brandable name is just as important a keyword in your domain.

Using a memorable name is a great way to bring people in and have them come back to your site. Having a name that means something and says who you are gets to the point quickly and attracts the target audience. Your domain should not only be easy to remember, but simple to spell. If you can come off as confident and competent, it is excellent to seem like an authority on a topic. A site with just one or two words is best for users logging on using mobile devices, and again it makes the URL easier to remember. Finally, setting yourself apart from your competition by building a brand around a unique name, feel and vibe goes a long way towards marketing yourself as someone and somewhere people want to gravitate towards and engage with.

It is really easy to jump head first into search engine optimization, content generation, and making your mark. However, taking extra time and resources to pick the perfect domain is the SEO jump start that can benefit your business today, tomorrow, and into the distant lucrative future.

John DiCristo has worked in digital marketing for more than two decades. A Charlotte SEO Company, socigen works with clients throughout the world to enhance their search engine optimization.

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Filed Under: SEO Marketing Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Why Your Company Needs a Brand – Business Branding Pays Off

March 13, 2013 By Leave a Comment

 

Lauren Rupar

Lauren Rupar

As a graphic and web designer, I am a constant analyst of brands and company marketing. What you probably don’t know is: you are too. And more importantly: so are your (potential) clients.

Whether we realize it or not, we are all affected by the “look” of things. How your company, logo, colors, and products are presented — in ANY situation — is key to the success of your business.

When you go to the farmer’s market to purchase some fruit, how do you make your selection? Your eye scans the available produce and quickly analyzes which looks best. Then you pick one up, feel it, perhaps smell it, and check for bruises. Do you ever bother to pick up the one with the obvious bruise? Or the one with the worm hole on the side? Of course not. Your mind dismisses those options from the beginning.

The same is true of products and companies. Potential customers are more likely to “pick you up” if you look appealing at first glance.

Your colors, logo, and general branding are key to this success (or failure).

In some ways, how you brand your company doesn’t matter. The word “brand” literally means “identifying mark made by a hot iron,” as in the way cattle owners mark their herds. Every cattle owner has a unique symbol that is used to brand their cattle. They’re not fancy or creative — just unique and easy to identify.

While good branding does need to be aesthetically pleasing, in a certain sense it doesn’t really matter what your company logo looks like, as long as it is unique and easy to identify.

There’s nothing fancy about McDonald’s Golden Arches, and nothing about it says “buy a burger and fries here” but not a soul in the modern world doesn’t know what it means.

Often I hear people say: “So many companies have awful branding, or no branding at all and they are obviously succeeding.” To which I respond… but how much more could their business grow if they invested just a little (more) into their marketing? And, do you really know how much they’re succeeding? (From the outside they may seem successful, but who knows what the behind-the-scenes numbers might reveal.)

You cannot know how much business you’re truly missing out on when you’re missing good branding. Just a few hundred dollars invested into a good logo, a well-designed website and great product marketing can mean the difference between a semi-successful business that lasts a couple of years to a blow-out long-term business phenomenon.

Lauren Rupar established and runs J&L Studio.  Villanova educated, Lauren has been fascinated by digital creation for years. J&L Studio provides web design service and maintenance for individuals and small businesses

Filed Under: Graphic Design, Logo Design, SEO Marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , ,