What Domain Name?

That is a question I get asked the most by people looking at setting up a website but not sure which domain names would be best for their e-venture. It is a question that is now easier to answer since Google introduced an Adwords tool that shows you what people are searching for on Google New Zealand.

For example, a search for 'domain name' shows that searchers have also searched for:
web domain
domain hosting
domain names
domain registration
domains
website name
google website

Once you know that, you can scatter those keywords through your website copy of the page on domain names - as I have just done here. The search engine spiders will see that much of the copy on that page is very relevant to a search for domain names and will give your page a high ranking.

If you want a free domain name, I am offering to buy you a domain name that will rank highly on the Search Engines. All you have to do is to request a free consultation with me. During that consultation, we'll go online and pick out a domain name that will ensure a high search engine ranking. Just contact me here

Or give me a call on 0274 777753

For more on domains, below is an extract from my latest ebook:

Buying a domain name

This is a simple process that starts by going to a domain name supplier like
www.domainz.co.nz or www.discountdomains.co.nz and entering the name of your preferred website. If it has not been taken, you can buy it by paying around $55 with an annual renewal cost of around $40, depending on who you get to manage the name.

There are two approaches to buying a domain name. The obvious one is to find a domain name that is closest to what your core business is about. A domain name should contain the key words of your business. It should tell who you are and what you do.

It is becoming more common for people to buy a .com domain name even though the business may be targeting New Zealand customers. The .com domain name gives the impression of a more global enterprise which may add credibility to your venture.

Unless your product/service is very unique, it is likely that the obvious domain names will be taken. You may be able to register the variants like .org, .biz, .net or .info but if not, you will have to look for close alternatives to your desired name.

You can check out the international alternatives by going to a site like www.networksolutions.com and checking out the .com option. You don‟t need to put a website on each domain name site as you can just redirect that site to your main hosted website (although that will not help the redirected site Search Engine rankings).

The other way to choose a domain name is to think about what question a potential visitor to your site will enter into a Search Engine. But if you are not sure what words or phrases surfers are entering into the Search Engine search box, there are a couple of tools you can use.

Up till recently, the main tool was www.wordtracker.com. That gives you the most commonly searched for words/phrases in the last 24 hours on selected Search Engines. Naturally you would choose Google to be one of those. The problem for New Zealand would-be website owners is that WordTracker is that it only reports USA searches. So the spellings are American and the searches may not reflect Kiwi terminology.

But there is some good news. Google Adwords is now reporting words and phrases used by surfers using Google NZ. So that is much more relevant for those searching for good domain names. All you need to do is to open an Google Account and then you get access to Google Adwords free keywords report. Search for the most searched for words/phrases and register those as domain names. You then point those additional domain names to your website.

Anyone entering those search phrases in to a Search Engine has a good chance of landing on your website. The exceptions are when the search phrase is highly competed for.

While you are at it, sign up for Google Analytics and go to Webmaster Tools where you can prepare for the time when you have your website live.

So a primary domain name should be:

1. relevant to your business
2. easy to remember
3. easy to type
   

Additional domain names should contain the most common words used to search for your product or service. They do not need to be any of the above.