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Marketing John Ritskowitz on 10 Aug 2007 05:14 pm
A Domain Name They’ll Remember
Yeah, it’s been a little while since I’ve posted. I even had one person email me to tell me that my blog is growing a beard!
The truth is I’ve just been very busy, between the toolkit launch, and a couple of copywriting jobs for clients. Plus I’m getting ready to go on vacation. My sister is getting married, so my wife and I are heading up to the Cape for that, then perhaps down to Newport, RI. And then from there we’re going to be spontaneous and play it by ear.
So I don’t have too much new to report.
However, I do want to talk a little bit about selecting the right domain name.
For example, which do you think would be a better domain name for a CPA?
SmithCPAandAssociates.com
…or…
GetMoreMoneyBack.com
Which do you think the CPA firm’s prospects will remember more easily?
A real life example: GotVmail.com is a company I use for my 800 service. I’ve used them off and on for years.
Recently I heard them advertising on Sirius Radio, and they advertised a new domain name they acquired: SoundLikeABigCompany.com
Which one are you likely to remember first? Which one conveys the big benefit you’ll receive?
It’s a very simplistic form of copywriting with domain names, and I’ve seen it work very well for some of my clients.
So the next time you grab a domain name, think about what else you can register that’ll be memorable.
After all, you can always redirect one domain name to another. Most domain registrars will let you do a redirect. But if you want to do it yourself, here’s an easy way using PHP.
1) Open up Notepad or your favorite text editor and copy and past the following text:
<?
Header (”Location: http://www.redirect_url.com”);
?>
…and replace http://www.redirect_url.com with whatever web address you want to redirect to.
2) Save the file as index.php and place it in your public_html folder.
Now when visitors go to www.yourdomain.com, they’ll be redirected the the web address you specify.
It’s also a great way to redirect to an affiliate link!
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on 11 Aug 2007 at 1:21 am 1.Sky said …
We also want to keep in mind that the base part of the URL is 20% of your ranking “points”. So if your shooting for a good keyword…give it some credit.
on 11 Aug 2007 at 1:32 am 2.Robert Lehrer said …
Very useful blog, John. It understates the importance of making our website standout and easier to “grab onto.”
What about the name of a business? Let’s say for instance, you’re a professional service provider, like a copywriter, doctor, a financial planner, etc. If your business is actually you, are you better off with using your name but with a catchy domain or actually changing the name of your company to match the domain name? I have no idea for instance, what your company name is, John, but I’ve seen your name many times.
Your comments…
on 11 Aug 2007 at 8:31 am 3.Marc Thomsen said …
Hi John,
As you can see, I’ve already taken your advice and selected a URL that reflects our Main Goal for our Users, their “Wow, that’s great, smile-on-their-face Satisfaction” with the excellent businesses we Refer to New and Current Clients who give us permission to email them on behalf of the Best Businesses in the area. Our URL is http://www.NowMakeMeSmile.com — of course I’m biased, but I think it’s kind of catchy.
As a start-up we haven’t had the opportunity to check the reception it’ll receive online, but in off-line trials, people seem quite pleased with this choice because it’s Easy to Remember and it’s also the phrase that Customers Say off-line when they buy from our business clients in order to get a Special Discount. We believe this will create a brand recognition and acceptance Very Quickly.
What do you think of this URL? Would it get your curiosity up to visit the site, and find out what we’re talking about?
I hope you and yours have a wonderful vacation.
on 11 Aug 2007 at 2:42 pm 4.John Ritskowitz said …
Hi, folks. Thanks for your comments. I actually made a small mistake on the redirect instructions above (which I’ll correct). I said to save the file as index.html when it should have been index.php
Sky, that’s a very good point. Obviously your ranking for that term would be affected as well, so another thing to take into consideration.
Robert, I think in many cases, you would want to have as many domain names as you need. I read an interesting article (I think it was in DM News) the other day that more people these days tend to type in what they’re looking for as a domain name and bypass the search engines completely.
I have no idea how often that’s done for any given term, of course, but it seems to me that since domain names are so cheap, why stop at just 2 or 3?
I actually have several businesses, and I’m in the process of redesigning my blog and other relevant websites to cross promote one another.
For example, my copywriting and marketing firm is called Marketing Medic (www.marketing-medic.com), but I also have a publishing company called Street Muse Publishing.
A stellar example of the direction I’m moving in with my blog and websites is to look at what Michel Fortin did with his sites (and blog at http://www.michelfortin.com).
From that one site you can learn about the other products and services he offers and connect to all of his websites. That kind of leveraging is very powerful indeed!
on 11 Aug 2007 at 2:47 pm 5.John Ritskowitz said …
Marc,
When I see the domain name http://www.NowMakeMeSmile.com, the first thing that comes to mind is a dentistry firm, perhaps cosmetic dentistry even.
But that’s just me. I may not be your typical prospect. And what you’re doing is also using your domain name as a branding tool, which I think is a good idea as well (and a different topic, but really not THAT different).
But you’re correct in that it’s very easy to remember, and that alone is KEY for offline promotions, so it doesn’t surprise me that it’s doing well for you in offline tests.
Tying it to a special discount is also a very smart idea, because now your combining a form of direct response with branding, a powerful one-two punch when done right.