There are some pretty … um … amazing URLs out there. Sites like www.therapistfinder.com and www.powergenitalia.com are prime examples of why you should always take time over your decisions about a URL! It isn’t just inadvertent and very unfortunate word mashups that you need to be aware of, though. Your URL is one of the most important determinants of web marketing success. Today we begin our ultimate guide to choosing a URL for your business website.
Selecting your domain extension
The most recognizable extension is the dot com, although most users will also try your country code extension if they can’t find your site immediately. It is always worth registering a dot com, and a dot com dot AU, or CA, or TH, or whatever the case may be… even if you intend to use .org or .net as your primary website. Otherwise, people who don’t remember your address properly might land at a competitor’s website at the .com, instead of yours.
If you will be serving international visitors on your site, a simple .com extension makes the most sense – having a country code could scare away some visitors who believe that you don’t deliver or serve global customers. If you purchase both, you can direct interntional visitors to your .com, and local visitors to your .com.au site. You can be a global business, but still inspire local confidence.
Using your business name
Using nothing other than your business name as your URL is simple, and will help people that are trying to find you for the first time. However, it is not always the best SEO strategy. If your business name contains no indication of what you actually do, you are missing out on the most valuable element in the Google algorithm.
Using your keywords as your URL
While using your keywords as your URL is ideal for SEO, it carries its own set of problems. Users often expect businesses to be named after their URLs (or the other way round!), and may mistrust a site where this doesn’t ‘add up’.
Solving the dilemma – three strategies
Obviously, there is a dilemma to deal with when deciding whether to go with your business name or keywords for your URL. Here are a few possible solutions:
- Use your business name PLUS your keywords, if it doesn’t make the URL too long
- Use your keywords and your businesses initials only
- Change your business name to include your keywords, if you’ll be primarily web-based
Next week we’ll look at some of the less pressing, but still common problems in domain name selection!