• Skip to main content

Your Friend on the Web, Diana Ratliff

Website Strategy & Digital Consulting

  • Home
  • Marketing Strategy
  • Google News Course
  • About
    • Contact

Domains

Choosing A Domain Name

How to Choose a Domain NameA well chosen domain name — also known as a URL for “uniform resource locator” — can boost your search engine rankings as well as encourage people to visit your site.  Choose it wisely!

First of all, your business name might not be the best domain name for you.

Many company names (e.g., Smith Enterprises) aren’t very descriptive. When someone hears your domain name for the first name, they should be able to instantly and accurately guess at the type of content that might be found there.

Also, if being found in the major search engines is important to you, you should consider how your target audience might find you. A prospect looking for a new product or service provider likely will search by subject not by business name.

For example, a mechanic could register something such as DonTheMechanic.com. But it’s probably better to register AutoRepairColumbiaMO.com instead, because it matches what people type into Google when they want to find a local auto repair service. Such a domain name probably will rank higher and be easier for potential customers to find.

Does that mean you should not buy a domain name that matches your company name?

No. What I would do is buy both. Develop your Web site on the domain name that is most likely to rank high. Then, buy your company name and set up a “domain name re-direct” (also called “domain forwarding.”) When someone types the company name into their browser, they’ll automatically be forwarded to the developed Web site.

This way, you get a Web site that’s likely to rank well and you can still use a more branded Web site address in your marketing.

It’s also a cheap strategy to implement. Domain names cost about $10 to $35 per year, and your Web person can easily set up a re-direct for you.

You also might buy other domain names that match keyword terms or variations of your company name and forward them to your main site.  It’s a good way to keep your competitors from using those domains and it is inexpensive insurance against losing prospects who accidentally type in the wrong domain.

HOWEVER – buying multiple domain names and redirecting them to your main site doesn’t help your own site rank higher, that’s a common misconception.

So what other factors should you look for in a good domain name?

Ideally, in addition to being uniquely descriptive of your company or industry, your domain name will be short, easy to say, spell and remember, and end in a .com extension. Unfortunately, those aren’t always easy to find!

It’s helpful to begin by coming up with five terms or phrases that describe the domain you’re seeking. Then try various combinations, or add prefixes and suffixes, to come up with good matches. You can try a tool such as www.bustaname.com, which takes keywords, combines them in various ways, and tells you what’s available.

Although domain names can be up to 67 characters long, shorter domains usually are better because they’re easier to type and remember, and because they fit more easily on offline media such as business cards.

Experts strongly encourage the use of the .com extension because it’s the one people remember and it’s the one Web browsers default to if an extension is not typed in.

Avoid domain names that might confuse prospects. If you’re going to have to explain every time that your domain name is hyphenated or that you should use the number “2” instead of the word “to” or that “cool” should be spelled “kool” — well, that will get old. And there invariably will be some people who forget.

When you figure out a few domain names you like, it’s time to visit a domain name registrar — but be wary of a practice called “domain sniffing.”

Let’s say you go to a domain name registrar such as NetworkSolutions.com and look up a few domain names. You mull it over a couple of days and when you go back to buy you find that your preferred domain name no longer is available.

While that could be mere chance, it’s probably not. What some registrars do is lock a name for several days after someone searches for it. If you wait 4 or 5 days it might be available again. But sometimes a registrar will sell the searches and your desired name can be sold to a big company that buys domain names.

So don’t search for available domains until you’re actually prepared to follow through and register.

If your desired domain name isn’t available, you’ll have to decide how committed you are to owning that exact name. Sometimes you can buy it if you’re willing to pay the current owner’s asking price; check the “whois” information and contact the person listed.

If you someone else registers your domain name for you, insist that you are listed as the registrant. Many Web designers use their own contact info because it’s easier, but it also means they legally own your domain name. I know people who have been “held hostage” by Web developers who refuse to give up control of the domain name when the client wants to take their business elsewhere.

Ask About OWNERSHIP When Hiring Web Design Service

Scary Consequences of Not Owning DomainWho will own your domain name?  Your hosting account?  Your site design?  And your site content?

And who will control access to all of the above?

Make sure you get the answers to these questions before hiring any web designer or signing up for any site design service.

You want to be certain that you own and control access and content associated with your web presence.  It’s a vital part of your web identity and your marketing.

Make sure to ask any web designer whose name and contact information will go on domain registration and hosting accounts.  Find out whether text, pictures or videos that are put on your site actually belong to YOU or whether the company retains copyright.  Find out what happens to the site and content if you discontinue their service.

If you don’t – the consequences can be downright frightening!

My Policy Regarding Website Access, Content and Ownership

If you pay for it, you own it.  Typically I retain control (such as usernames/passwords) until the site is paid for but then I give those to you.  On domain registration I typically list myself as the “Technical Contact” – so that my name is on the account SOMEWHERE if I call the registrar on your behalf – but you or your company is listed as the Registrant (the legal owner.)

If there is anything that you don’t own/control for some reason, I’ll make sure you know that in advance.

You have my word on that.

 

 

Embarrassing Website Domain Names

A friend of mine shared this image on Facebook today – it’s evidently been around a while, you can find it lots of places online, I’m not sure who originated it.

Worst website domain names

I often encourage people to ask my advice before buying a domain name for their business, but that’s usually because of search engine considerations.  I haven’t run into anything like this!

Funny – and I don’t believe most of the sites are up anymore – oops!

How to Look Up A Domain Name Registration

I often say that you should know check to see exactly how your domain name is registered online, so that you know who owns it – but where do you look?

I recommend using BetterWhoIs.com for domain name searches.  You’ll not only find out who owns the domain but when it was purchased, when the registration is due to expire, and you can find out where a website is hosted.

Once you go there, you’ll see a box in which to enter the domain name.  Do so – then you’ll come to a page that asks you to enter a 4-digit security code that they give you.  Go ahead and do that.

(You can ignore the rest of the stuff on that main page – it’s mostly ads.  For example, I wouldn’t pay Registrar.com $20 for your domain name – you can register a domain at 1and1.com for half that price.)

When you’ve done so, you’ll see the results page.

The first thing you’ll see is whether or not the domain name is AVAILABLE (which means no one has purchased it) or RESERVED – which means someone owns it.

If the domain was not registered privately*, you’ll then see interesting info such as where the domain was registered (such as Godaddy.com) , where it’s hosted (the Name Servers) and if you keep on scrolling down…

You’ll get to the good stuff.

What you’re most interested in is who is listed as the REGISTRANT.  That person or company is the legal owner of your domain name.  It should be you.

Very often it’s your web designer – and if they bought your domain name for you, they may have done the initial purchases in their name.  That’s pretty typical – but when they’re done with the site and you’ve paid them for their work, they should transfer ownership to you.

If it’s not you – contact the person listed as the Registrant and ask to get that fixed.  Ask for the username and password to log into your domain name registrar.

Even if you paid for a domain name and website, and you own it – in practical terms, he who controls the usernames and passwords owns the site.

*If your domain name was registered privately – which means that ownership names and contact info are not publicly displayed like this – a third party’s information will be displayed, such as the Registration company itself.

Domain Name Renewal Letters in Your Mailbox SCAM

I got three of these yesterday.  I won’t name the company (although their logo has an American flag in it).  And what they’re doing isn’t illegal, I think.

But if you ever get a formal-looking letter from a company you’ve never heard of, saying that your domain name is about to expire and to renew it by filling out this form and sending in $35 for another year  – don’t do it!

Call or email your web designer.  Or take a couple of minutes to look up your domain name registration.

That may be a legitimate company – but they’re probably NOT your current registrar.  They’re fishing for new customers by sending letters to people whose domain registrations are public info.  (They are by default unless you have “private” domain name registrations.)  If you complete that form, you will probably wind up paying quite a bit more for your domain name than you have to.

I seldom pay more than $10 for a domain name for a year.  My favorite domain name registrar is usually $8.99 a year – often there’s a deal for $6.99 for the first year, then $8.99 a year after that – and they include free private registration.

Why Set Up Domain Forwarding?

I often encourage people to buy one domain name and redirect (or forward) it to another one.  It’s an inexpensive way to make it easier for people to find a particular web site, or even a specific web page.  I’ll describe how they work and why you’d want to use one.

Domain forwarding (domain redirection) lets you automatically send your domain’s visitors to a different web site.  Forwarding is a slick trick when you have a web site built elsewhere and you want to give people an easy-to-remember domain name to reach it.

Here’s an example, one I’ve done.

I write a column for the Columbia Daily Tribune, and it’s archived online on their web site at http://www.columbiatribune.com/staff/diana-ratliff/.  But that’s rather long and hard to remember – I wanted an easier way to tell people where to read it.

So I bought the domain name WebWiseColumn.com and set up a redirect.

Now, when people type http://www.webwisecolumn.com/ in their browsers, they’ll see http://www.columbiatribune.com/staff/diana-ratliff/

http://www.webwisecolumn.com/   http://www.columbiatribune.com/staff/diana-ratliff/

It’s like giving your site a nickname, one that’s easier to remember or to spell than the REAL domain name.

(If you want, you can hide that you’re doing this by enabling “Masking” – which prevents visitors from seeing your domain forwarding by keeping your domain name in the Web browser’s address bar.)

So why would you set up domain forwarding?

  • Let’s say you have a listing at one of the local business directories like EverythingMidMo.com.  Rather than telling people “Well, to find my site, type in everythingmidmo.com, then click on “Beauty and Fitness”, then click on “Beauty Salons”, then scroll over to page 5 and it’s there, click on it…” – wouldn’t it be easier to say “Find my business at MyBeautySalon.com”?
  • Suppose you sell products or services online as an affiliate – you get a commission if  you refer someone to another website and they make a purchase.  Usually, you get an AFFILIATE LINK when you join an affiliate program – and the link is usually quite long and full of odd characters.  You might buy a domain name and redirect it to your affiliate link.  I do this for business card printers – for example, if you type in FindBusinessCards.com, you actually wind up at PrintsMadeEasy.com – and I’ll get a commission if you buy business cards there.  (Go ahead, they’re great cards!)
  • Maybe you just want a domain name and don’t want to actually develop it yet.  Say you want to buy “yourname.com” in case you ever want to use it.  Or maybe you want to buy some great domain name that’s associated with your industry, just so your competitors don’t get it.  You can buy that domain name and redirect it to an existing site.

It’s important to remember that what counts with the search engines is the domain name the files are actually ON.  I’ll discuss that in a future blog post!

Copyright © 2023 · Your Friend on the Web · Contact