Selecting A Business Name & Domain Name - New Business Branding

For me personally if the .com isn't available and an alternate but extremely similar isn't available I go with something else completely.

That's nohing to do with Google or keywords, just total personal preference.

But as I believe. Google doesn't care much for domain names and key words there. It's far more interested in your sites content, frequency of content, links to it etc

honestly, it doesnt matter


you and your content make the site, not the domain or your brand name..

...go with something comfortable

-Ike Paz

Definitely agreed that is SEO method of driving traffic. SEOmoz has changed their name Moz, the SEO would definitely help customers understand what their site is about.

I believe Backlinko is also a great name that added an extra letter at the back to make the domain name available and unique, and it looks great also.

If anyone starting replying on SEO it would be great to utilize that method otherwise.

Otherwise people regrets relying on SEO and they would focusing on customer acquisition by turning their traffic into an email list... then communicate with their readers that way without having to worry about algorithm changes.

-Louis.

it was a problem in the beginning of the Internet to find a com, because everyone
did snatch up the com with the best keyword in it. These days it does not matter
as much, people combine one keyword with a benefit, and thats good enough.

Or you can create your own word, that then becomes the brand, i.e "Yahoo!" -" Google"

Of course the content, quality and authority of your site will define your rankings.


So in your example of Bigshot Real estate photography..............>


Over time you will want to rank for multiple keywords like:


real estate photography professional photography, real estate services, photography services, building photography, home sale photography etc. (OK I don't know much about the niche but you get my drift!!)


Those rankings will come from content (about the subject), maybe the keywords in your text (but not so much these days) and the link authority (backlinks). There's social stuff etc. but I just want to keep this simple.




As far as the domain name goes Google seems to have a things for brand names these days. That means you can use the anchor text of the brand name much more than you can a keyword. Google expects links to your site using your brand name but considers too many backlinks using a keyword as spam (and you know where that leads).


So you can much more aggressively backlink to a brand name than a keyword. The overall link authority (using the brand name) will help all keywords rank.


See this majestic anchor text profile for moz.com as an example


https://majestic.com/reports/site-ex...exDataSource=F


The biggest numbers of individual anchor text are Moz and moz.com. If they had backlinks the same proportions for say 'SEO' or 'backlinks' the site would likely be sitting in penalties.


So (IMO) using a brand name for your domain is the best choice.


Also consider the competition of your brand name. If your brand is very unique it will likely rank with no SEO at all.


i.e. create a domain 'quifhart.com" with matching facebook, twitter, Google+ accounts etc. plus YouTube video and images and you will likely dominate page 1 for that brand name immediately.


BTW "quifhart" returns just one result in Google at the time of writing


If (as in your example) your first choice is Bigshot.com and it is not available then using Bigshots.com (note the S), for example, may be unique but as far as ranking is concerned you will still be in competition with an already established brand (bigshot).


So in the same way as you would try and get low competition keywords it makes sense to get a VERY low competition brand domain.


So if your first choice isn't available come up with completely new one.


This works amazingly well for local business. This is not just theory. One I have worked with recently has now ranked 9 of the 10 spots on page 1 plus the maps/GMB main listing for the brand name.


With a high authority site in the same niche pushed to number 10.

In my opinion, some of the advice in this thread falls way short of being helpful. I disagree with those that say "the name doesn't matter." It does matter and you should be thoughtful and have a deliberate plan when finalizing yours.

I personally believe that having a dot com extension is important if you have a commercial business. If you can't register the dot com name you want, get creative and find something you can register.

Use tools like Impossibility and Lean Domain Search to find great alternative names that are available. Keep the name short, if possible, and memorable. Stay away from names similar to competitors in niche (like adding an "s" or a "the" at the beginning). Those types of names could easily be seen as confusing to the public which won't help your case if you're sued for tradename or trademark infringement.

There are many great dot com names still available in every niche.

Steve

Here's the problem though. In the example I am thinking about, new business is going to be generated 90% of the time by people searching for the service not the brand name.

Anyone searching for the brand name is probably looking for contact information because they've already been referred via word of mouth advertising and the brand name would NOT be anything near a common word or phrase so there would be little to no competition for the brand name search anyway.

So if you couldn't get the .com with just the brand name would you go with {somebrand}photography.com or {somebrand}weddingphotography.com?

Google "Domain name generator" and you will get all kinds of tools, a lot of them free, where you can try a domain and if it is taken, it will suggest some alternatives. That's how I found my domain name.

Your ranking is undoubtedly defined by the quality, content as well as the authority of the website. I believe that having dot com extensions is immensely significant for those who owns commercial business. If you are unable to register the dot com name as per your needs, be creative and opt for something that you can register.

It doesn't really matter. Dick's Sporting Goods was DicksSportingGoods.com for a decade or longer before they finally bought the short version of that name. I know, I went there like 10 times a year on accident. But, I doubt it had much/any impact on their sales. I'm sure most people just went back and googled Dick's Sporting Goods. If you become a Fortune 500 company, I'm sure you'll be able to swing buying the domain.

With that said, I like shorter, brandable, domains. I don't buy .net or .org or anything else. Only .com. Personally, I'd rather buy a more expensive aged domain if it is what I want rather than getting stuck with a domain down the road.