7. Poorly chosen domain name
Not long ago, I wrote an article for OrangeCat.net called “Own You Own Name.” Click here to read it. What I said in that article was for everyone to grab some version of your own name and hold it forever.
I own several versions of my name – BobStovall.com, BobStovall.us, BobStovall.info and BobStovall.org. I use a couple of them as primary domains and the others as secondary ones.
Domain names are getting harder to come by – grab your own name now if you can. If you can’t get the .com or .org TLD (top-level domain), grab the .net, .info, .biz, .us or any other you can.
And while your at it, reserve your own name as screen name or url on Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, etc.
Why?
Branding. Would you rather control the branding of your name – or let someone else do it? If you’re in business, you are a brand. Have you ever tried typing your own name into Google and see what comes up? I hope it’s good – that’s what branding is about.
You use your own name domain for things like a personal or business blog or resumé website. Don’t underestimate the power of having that type of site under your own name.
Plus you get the added benefit of having an email address in your own name at your own domain. Looks a whole lot more professional than a free email address (which if you remember is Online Marketing Mistake #3).
There are other mistakes that can be avoided when choosing a domain name, but let’s look at that from the other perspective – what domain name SHOULD you get?
If you were a plumber in Anytown, GA, you might want to get something like:
AnytownGeorgiaPlumber.com, or
WeClearDrainsAnytownGA.com, or
AnytownPlumbing.com.
If you were a lighting store in Overthere, WY, you might want:
OverthereLighting.com, or
LightAndLampsOverthere.com, or
OverthereWyomingLighting.com.
If your domain name describes what you do in just a few words, it will help you in the search engine rankings and it will be easier for potential customers to remember.
Always try to get the .com version of the domain name your are seeking. It is better to take a slightly lesser .com domain than the perfect .net or other domain. Why? People often assume you are using the .com version whether you are or not. Why send them to someone else?
And avoid dashes in the name if possible – especially if you were thinking about using the same domain as a local competitor, but with dashes. I used to own several of the orange-cat variations of my orangecat domains. Then I realized I’d rather have other people drive incidental traffic to my sites by using the hyphenated versions than pay for them myself.
If you need help finding and registering the perfect domain for your local market, have your web developer help you out. And remember that domain registration is always free to OrangeCat Marketing Plan clients. You own it – we pay for it.
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[...] Another fellow blogger added an interesting post on Top 10 Online Marketing Mistakes #7 | Dominate Your Local Market!Here’s a small excerptPlus you get the added benefit of having an email address in your own name at your own domain. Looks a whole lot more professional than a free email address (which if you remember is Online Marketing Mistake #3). … [...]