need advice from a domain guru...

is this prints your dad made under his name? if so use your dads name as the domain if he is known.

Hi DN and thanks for replying. Well he didn't do too well on it, and let the domain slide. I thought it might be better to start from scratch. I'm confident the product will sell because they're beautiful and printed on a special handmade paper which sets them apart from the crowd. But how to reach the crowd!

How about something like FineArtPrintsBySmith.com, replacing "Smith" with your dad's last name? Then you get your targeted keywords in there and you honor your father's work at the same time. It's a little long and virtually worthless as far as domain value goes, but it will serve your purpose nicely and not sound goofy like FineArtPrintsNow.com.

The big problem you're going to have is how to drive traffic to the site. I would suggest establishing a presence on Etsy.com and be sure to include your site name on correspondence with your customers.

thanks Rob, this makes good sense - much appreciated. Etsy is a good idea too, and I was thinking of signing up to an affiliate programme so people can drive traffic for me! If you've any other good ideas, would love to here them.

You might also want to try ImageKind.com. Here's a really good article that might help:

http://emptyeasel.com/2007/04/30/7-t...-your-artwork/

There's no reason why you can't also put up some prints on Amazon.com (recommended) or eBay (eh).

Nice, this is getting better and better. thanks!

The main question is that traffic from which country are you capable of monetizing. Do you sell only in UK or you can send stuff to rest of the EU also?
If only in UK then go for .co.uk

First you need to realize that the name of a domain is not the main factor to ranking for any given keyword. Also by changing the domain think of how many links you will be lossing. The only benefit you would have is that the site is already done and it is just a matter of moving the files to a new domain then promoting the new domain.

Does the current domain have arts or fine arts anywhere in the name if so it will be easy to get it to rank for as long as it has been around. You just need to get out there and promote it.

It is also kind of bold to say the site would convert better if it just had a better domain name. People really do not care what the domain name is of a site. The only thing they care about is what it has to offer and the feel they get when reading through to make their purchase. Does it have a good sales copy and does it look trust worthy.

You say the product would sell but how do you know. How much traffic has the site had over the years. Has it had more then 1000 visitors and still has not made any money. Well then I am willing to bet that it is either not a product people want at all or it is targeting informational keywords and not buying keywords.

So you need to not focus on the domain but instead build the site as it where. Fix the keywords first and see if it makes a difference over the next few months. Then if that does not work fix the sales copy and or design of your site. The domain is not everything for you can get any domain to rank for any keyword if done right. Yes the domain helps with ranking and trust but it is not important at all.

Very useful information - really appreciate this. Wow, Warriorforum is blowing my mind - people actually take the time to answer!
Re. the original domain name and why it didn't work - my Dad's name is a little obscure. And secondly he had them priced way way too high. Thirdly, he did no SEO on it at all so traffic was minimal except what came through his other design business. So my feeling is that a clean slate is best, with cheaper prices, and proper SEO. Then we'll see, I guess, if the product is as good as I think it is!
If anyone could recommend the best affiliate to sign up with that would be great... I can send the prints anywhere of course...

Unfortunately not, JD - he took the site offline a few months back. I'm working on having it back up shortly though!

Can't access my PM's yet JD - but very grateful for those suggestions! Awesome stuff and am going to look into it now.

You want to take into consideration how old your current domain
is and how many links it has.

Check out Deleted Domain Names and find yourself an aged domain
with some of keywords in it will be far better than getting a new one.

Thanks for that tip Samuel J.

Here are the prefixes and suffixes I use when buying domains that I can't get the main keyword for:

bonus, review, get, reviewed, reviews, pro, bonuses, the truth, facts, exposed, authority, secrets, video, videos, master, best, tips, pluralize (i.e. MassControl = MassControls)

Not all will make sense for the term "fineartprints" but lots will....

finartprintsauthority.com
fineartprintsreview.com

etc.

Open up wordpad, paste in fineartprints a bunch of times and then paste each word above either before or after the main keyword phrase.

Add .com .org .net after each one (you should now have a prety big list).

Copy the whole thing into the bulk Domain name seach at Namecheap and click search.

Remember that you can buy other domains after the main one and redirect them to the main one (either as a simple redirect or build a thin blog site and use it for natural backlinks to your main site).

Hope that helps! Have fun.

Mike

I'd focus on buyer keywords, like "Fine Art Prints For Sale", because those will likely convert better, and they are longer tail, so more likely to a) be available, and b) easier to rank for.

Hey ,

For seo the name may mean something if it has the keyterm. But there are ways around this problem.

Truth is I would have to have a look at what you are offering.

I can think of at least 10 different ways to get this sold while fixing the name problem.

I am available to help.

Brian

[Re. the original domain name and why it didn't work - my Dad's name is a little obscure. And secondly he had them priced way way too high. Thirdly, he did no SEO on it at all so traffic was minimal except what came through his other design business. .]

Personally with an internet business I'd look at the things I highlighted above. Changing the domain is ok if you understand how to do 301 redirects. Look at the above first though.

thanks guys, all good advice. Yes Richard, am lowering the prices and beginning a full SEO campaign. Now just got to find the right domain!