Choosing the Right Domain Name - Brand vs. Keywords

by Scott Allen

One of the tough questions that companies face when they launch a web site is what domain name to choose, especially if they are planning to optimize their site for search. There is a never-ending debate about whether to use the name of the company in the domain name and focus on branding, or to use keywords in the domain name for quicker rankings.

It really depends on the purpose of your site, and what your priorities are. You need to determine where corporate branding lies in the equation, vs. SEO. Is branding more important than quick results? Given enough time and effort, any site can rank for any keyword with any domain name. It’s just a matter of what’s more important in your situation. Large companies tend to focus on brand, because they have usually already have a strong brand that will drive traffic. When thinking about using keyword-focused domains, consider how it will look to consumers: Is “Los Angeles Super Widgets” the name of the company? If so, then using a domain like “los-angeles-super-widgets.com” might help you rank more quickly, company domain names I tend to favor domains without hyphens, because it creates a stronger brand. (You may want to read my earlier post on hyphens in URL’s.) Having a keyword in the domain name separated by dashes helps SEO somewhat, but getting quality inbound links to your site will make much more of an impact on search engine rankings. Chances are that your customers would prefer a shorter, more brand-focused domain name without hyphens, such as “superwidgets.com”. If you’re creating a reference or blog about widgets in Los Angeles, it might make more sense to go with something like “los-angeles-widget-reference.com”. Another type of site that may benefit from a keyword-focused domain is a site that will be monetized by Adsense or other advertising network. Typically these are harder to brand but can rank very well and get some good traffic with proper search engine optimization and marketing. What will your strategy be?

What about numbers in the domain? As far as search engines are concerned, it won’t hurt you too much to have a number in the domain, but it’s the consumers I’d worry about. Obviously sites that start with 123 (for example: 123widgets.com) are instantly categorized as lower quality in the minds of consumers. That’s ultimately what counts, because people are the ones who will link to your site, not search engines.

With domain names, it’s very important to find a good balance between building your brand, making it user-friendly, and making it search engine friendly. Choose the right domain for the purpose of site you are creating. In my opinion, branding is very important. It’s very important that it’s easy to type, and doesn’t include words that are prone to misspelling. This comes into play when you are giving out your website address over the phone. Also, when you propose a new domain name, say it out loud and listen to how it sounds…can it be mistaken for another word combo? (The same goes for when it’s spelled out - is there any other word combo it spells?) I have a 3 letter domain (h6s.com) that I no longer use as the primary domain for my company, because it was more confusing than my 7 letter domain (hybrid6.com). I discovered that “h6s” sounds like “h success” to most people when spoken out loud, and they would get it confused. Memorability is key. Domain names should be relatively short, but long enough to be memorable, and simple. It should not sound like spam, or a passcode you have to remember. Remember that people are the ones who will link to your site, not search engines.

Let’s take a look at two V7 Network sites owned by John Scott. He demonstrates a good example of using both types appropriately. (This post was actually sparked by a discussion I was participating in on one the V7N Forum threads.) The two domains we’ll compare are: internet-marketing-blog.com and v7n.com. A domain with hyphens works for informational resources and references (internet-marketing-blog.com) and it is easier to rank for “internet marketing blog”. However, that might not work so well if it was a primary company website, because it would be more difficult for people to email user@internet-marketing-blog.com vs. user@v7n.com. Notice that for his main company website John uses v7n.com. It’s short, to the point, and easy to remember. You can see that v7n.com is very good domain choice for a company, and internet-marketing-blog.com is a good choice for an internet marketing reference.

Choosing a domain name isn’t difficult when you keep these things in mind. Just take some time to plan, like you would when choosing a company name, and you will save yourself a lot of potential headache in the future.

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