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For offline client -- domain named after his name or popular keyword?

by Mynt
15 replies
I have an offline client in the real estate industry.
Would it be more wise to choose a domain using his name, that I personally feel appears more personal/brandable for a realtor -- or as keyword such as www.[city]foreclosures.com that presumely ranks high--quicker--but looses that personalize brand.


Thanks.
#client #domain #keyword #named #offline #popular
  • Profile picture of the author Richard Tunnah
    Ideally both! You want a keyword rich domain to help rankings and a brandable domain for people to remember.

    Rich
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  • Profile picture of the author FlightGuy
    Mynt,


    In the case of real estate and him wanting to brand his name to the local market, I would create two domains - one that caters to the keyword(s) and city he's located in and another with his personal name. You can always set up a redirect that points to his personal name domain.

    Remember, keep your feet in the shoes of the perspective client (in this case, people searching to sell/buy RE) and 9/10 times you'll have a winning idea.


    Kindest regards,

    John Dennis
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    • Profile picture of the author WPQ
      Definitely both. Have one 301 to the other and tell him to use them both in promotional material - the name one on his business cards / etc. as his primary brand, and the keyword one on any specific advertisements for better memory.
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  • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
    Here's another vote for both, but I'd suggest taking it a step further. Rather than settle for a simple redirect, why not do two (or more) sites and cross-link them?

    The name site could be the flagship site, with all the branding info, general local info (neighborhoods, links to civic orgs, etc.). Then either set up multiple sites ([city]foreclosure.brandingname.com or standalone sites) collecting niche-specific list info and funneling visitors to the flagship site.

    You could take it one step further and set up satellite pages (Squidoo, articles, etc.) linking to the niche sites.

    Not just a website, a network...
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  • Profile picture of the author Carl Pruitt
    Definitely better to have both and different sites on both. One for branding and professional appearance and preferably several other sites geared toward lead generation. (enter your email and phone number to receive lists of local foreclosure homes, or fixer upper properties etc.)
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    Thanks!
    Carl Pruitt
    http://LongRunPublishing.com

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    • Profile picture of the author AndrewCavanagh
      The answers here are perfect advice:

      # You want a domain name that exactly matches a keyword phrase you want to target because it will help you enormously in ranking high for that keyword phrase.

      If it's economical you might have multiple domain names for your client matching keyword phrases.


      # You also will want to seriously consider buying the domain name that matches your client's business name.


      Remember that a domain name costs around $10 a year so if you're getting any new business for a client through a domain name then it's worth it.

      Kindest regards,
      Andrew Cavanagh
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      Old School Copy Like This Is BACK & Converting Like Crazy!
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  • Profile picture of the author Marcus Paul
    I would buy the keyword domain and use it for the website. I would buy the business name domain and forward it to the keyword domain.
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  • Profile picture of the author artwebster
    Silly question but has he got a brand that people already recognise?

    He is in business now and presumably has been for some time so this 'silly' question needs to be asked.

    In real estate in Spain, most businesses have several web sites and the bigger companies have hundreds of them.
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    Some old school smarts would help - and here's to Rob Toth for his help. Bloody good stuff, even the freebies!

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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by artwebster View Post

      Silly question but has he got a brand that people already recognise?

      He is in business now and presumably has been for some time so this 'silly' question needs to be asked.

      In real estate in Spain, most businesses have several web sites and the bigger companies have hundreds of them.
      Art, I see the same thing here in SW Florida. You'll see a website for the parent company, one for the agency, several built around niche phrases like "[city or area] waterfront homes" and even individual agents with websites and blogs. Some forward to other sites, some are standalone.

      After we moved down here, I really had to step up my game. I was used to dealing with the market and players in a rural, agricultural area where competition was simple. Each larger town had a few of the big companies represented, along with a handful of part-timers and independents. Down here, the competition is cutthroat and there's a lot more of it.

      I would advise Mynt to spend a little time studying how competitive the local market is. He may find that two domains may be the price of entry, and that to dominate the market (if that's the client's desire) it might take a lot more than one website and a redirected domain.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mynt
    Hi, thanks so much to all of you for the great replies.
    I'm going to take the redirect route... and as John suggested, get as many domains as I need for each local keyword that has search volume--and redirect to his main site.

    Art,
    Strange as it is, he's been in business for over 20 years and does not have a website whatsoever. New clients are all personal referrals according to him, and there's a website for the actual real estate office, though seems to be down. May be my next project It's a small local broker, not franchised.

    Thanks again!
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  • Profile picture of the author AndrewCavanagh
    One basic piece of SEO advice...

    When you have a keyword phrase domain name give it a live home page and put targeted specific content on that home page.

    Then link back to your main site from that page.

    You could have multiple pages with content on each domain name.

    But the main point is a domain name matching a keyword phrase with specific content and a few backlinks is likely to rank well on Google for that keyword phrase.

    If you just redirect a domain name you may not get ranked for that keyword phrase at all.

    Kindest regards,
    Andrew Cavanagh
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    Old School Copy Like This Is BACK & Converting Like Crazy!
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  • Profile picture of the author Star Riley
    Yes Another vote for doing both . My aside is make his name a good quality blog so he can interact with people online and use the other keyword names to link into his main site that also links to his blog.
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  • Profile picture of the author artwebster
    Art,
    Strange as it is, he's been in business for over 20 years and does not have a website whatsoever. New clients are all personal referrals according to him, and there's a website for the actual real estate office, though seems to be down. May be my next project It's a small local broker, not franchised.

    This also is very heavily evidenced here in Spain. there is a long established tradition of one-man-bands offering a service (of any kind) and operating from one or two favoured bars. These traditional traders, especially in real estate at the moment, never seem to run out of clients because everybody in the town knows that 'Paco at el Higón de Filipe' is the man to go to. They are formidable traders and have been able to survive and increase market share because of their unique branding and marketing strategy.
    Signature

    You might not like what I say - but I believe it.
    Build it, make money, then build some more
    Some old school smarts would help - and here's to Rob Toth for his help. Bloody good stuff, even the freebies!

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