Why Do You Need a Domain Name?

Since people no longer have the time to shop around, when they do have a certain need they will go to (or search for) the site that happens to be at the top of their minds at that very moment; the one that sticks out the most, especially from all the marketing messages that are so desperately fighting for their attention. Therefore, top-of-mind awareness on the Internet begins with the most important element of web site marketing, which is the domain name itself.

That was a mouthful, so I will explain. SIMPLICITY Most importantly, your domain name must be simple. For example, rather than having a name with too many words, such as:

http://www.xoom.com/metromediastorm/genesislogic/~network

or

http://we-will-fix-your-networks.com

you should get a very simple domain name like www.genesislogic.com . In fact, more and more companies and commercials are dropping the "www" from their URLs. Most Internet addresses can simply use something like our " genesislogic.com ," which is an even better alternative. In essence, the simpler it is, the better. The importance of having your own domain name goes without explanation. It is the same as branding your business or product. But there are 3 reasons why you need a good, simple, and memorable domain name.

3 REASONS WHY

BENEFIT-BASED DOMAIN NAMES

People usually make a buying decision based on the kind of information that instantly communicates a specific benefit; one in which there is an implicit added value in making the purchase. Therefore, does your domain name intrinsically reflect the result or benefit of that which you provide and does so in an instant? It should. I am astounded to see many domain names that are still called by ordinary or blatantly unappealing names, such as with hard-to-spell words, numbers, abbreviations, or acronyms like "www.mgf.com."

Let's take the example of two different web sites that promote similar products: Investments. One's address is "wealthwise.com" while the other "mgf-investments.com." Now, with all things being equal and when placed side-by-side, which site will be the one more likely to be chosen first? In essence, your domain name must be able to attract traffic on its very own. It must also communicate how different and unique you are when compared to competitor sites, even before your site is ever visited.

As mentioned earlier, people would much rather skip the inconvenience of going through numerous search engine results. But if people do have to resort to an engine, their search will be greatly simplified and vastly more efficient if your domain name intrinsically reflects the core benefit if not the nature of your web site. Remember that most searches are conducted by major topics or themes and not by names.

Therefore, if your site's most popular keyword or benefit is within the domain name itself, that URL has a greater chance of being listed near the top. Therefore, play a word association game with your web site. Look for the word or words that would instantly pop up in the minds of people when a need presents itself, a need your site likely fills. For example, free-stuff.com, www.allergyrelief.com, www.morebusiness.com and www.fastcar.com, are great benefit-based domain names that effectively create more top-of-mind awareness (and thus more traffic).

DOMAIN NAMES THAT DRIVE TRAFFIC

If the name you want is taken, you can use your company or product's tagline (or part of it) as a domain name. A tagline is that small sentence that follows your business name, such as "You deserve a break today," "Roaches check in but they don't check out," and "It takes a licking but keeps on ticking." Great examples are www.alwayscocacola.com (a loyal Coca-Cola fan site), www.cavities.com (Crest toothpaste), and, of course, www.start.com from Microsoft. You can also use the site's main theme, feature, or product, even the site's nature or main business activity (i.e., what it does). Ultimately, choose a name that people can remember quickly and effectively so that, when you advertise among a thousand of your competitors, your URL stands out and sticks in the minds of the marketplace. It is also a great idea to register variations of your name, including different spellings, product names, taglines, and associated words. One of the reasons for this is to ensure that these unused domain names don't end up falling into the hands of competitors. But more important, when people attempt to search for your site and enter a variation of your domain name they will still end up with your site as a result.

HERE IS THE SCARY PART

On the surface, virtual domains might seem like a "good idea" because they are usually much cheaper or sometimes even free when you sign up your company for web hosting but their downsides are considerable. However, many search engines have trouble adding virtual domains to their databases. This fact alone makes virtual domains a very bad deal. Also, since virtual domains are not internationally registered, your company does not really own a virtual domain. Ouch . It all boils down to this simple fact: your domain name is a essential marketing system in itself. Use it wisely and you'll see more traffic. To check or register a domain click click here.

Daniel Ramos is the President of Genesislogic Inc., a New York City based ebusiness that helps companies massively profit from the Internet. As both a designer and marketing strategist, he has been involved with technology since 1984, working with both small business and Fortune 500 firms including NBC Cable Networks, First Union, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Alliance Capital, The Trane Company, Abraham Publishing, On the Rise Records, Pitney Bowes, and others. He moderated The Small Business Forum for one of the earliest large-scale internet service providers in the mid-1980s, Delphi, which now boasts over 2 million members, as well as moderating the Music Business forum on CompuServe. If you want to learn how to massively profit from the Internet, vist WWW.GENESISLOGIC.COM and download from an extensive online library of resources, or send an email to INFO@GENESISLOGIC.COM. Thank you.

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