Domain Names and Search Engine Optimization

 
by: Halstatt Pires

There are a lot of factors involved if you are considering building out a site with search engine optimization in mind. Your domain name is just one, but an important one.

Domain Names and Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization is simply an effort to get pages on your site to rank high in the natural or organic listings on various search engines with Google, Yahoo and MSN being the most important. Taking this approach to online marketing requires a lot of planning, patience and work. Unfortunately, many people get off on the wrong foot when the pick their domain name.

Selecting a domain name is often viewed as a simple process. Most businesses will simply use their offline business name or something off the top of their head. Others will try to pick something that is catchy, so visitors will hopefully remember the name and come back to buy more. If you are planning on pursuing search engine optimization, the approaches will not kill you. That being said, there is a better way to pick your domain.

One of the interesting things about most search engines is they put a significant amount of value on the words in the root of a domain name. By root, I mean the words between www and the dot com, net or whatever you are using. Simply put, even a moderate optimization effort will usually lead to the site appearing high under the phrase in the domain name. Given this fact, it is important to think long and hard about the domain you use.

One approach used by many people doing search engine optimization is to match keyword phrases and domains. The idea is to research keyword phrases being used by people in your particular field and then buy domains matching those phrases. For a simple example, consider the fact that many people search for “puppy names”. If you want to build a site about puppies, you would ideally want to buy the domain puppynamesdotcom. Such a site could be optimized and obtain fairly high rankings with a moderate amount of effort.

Obviously, keyword phrases with tons of traffic have already been taken. This should not discourage you, however. Work your way down the phrases identified by whatever research tool you are using. You will be surprised to find that many of the phrases are available. Build a site on one of the domains and you should find your optimization efforts leading to successful results.

About The Author

Halstatt Pires is with http://www.marketingtitan.com - providing internet marketing services. 

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The Web's Best Kept SEO Secret

by: Richard Quick

Did you know there's a way to get 100s of inbound links to your site - and improve you Google ranking - for free?

Message board seeding is the technique nobody's talking about - because they don't want you to know about it!

In this article top web designer Richard Quick uncovers the secrets of this powerful technique.

What are message boards?

Message boards are websites, or sections of websites, where people go to chat, usually about a single subject. There are message boards about everything from pop stars to politics.

The way they work is simple, people write messages, or posts, which appear online. For example, they might post a question ("How do I add a link in HTML?") or an opinion ("The new Tom Cruise movie is awesome!"). Other people can then reply.

How does this help me?

The obvious way to try to increase traffic to you website might be to post to a message board promoting your site. Don't do this - ever. People treat these kind of unsolicited adverts as spam and get very angry with people who post them. You're likely to get angry emails, abusive posts on the board or even complaints to your ISP, asking for your site to be shut down.

So what can I do?

Well, while people don't like their message boards being spammed they always welcome new members. If there's a subject you're interested in or knowledgeable about then you can join a few popular message boards and join in with the discussions.

Most message boards allow their members to have a signature, with a link to your website.

How does this help me?

Message board seeding, as this technique is known, will help you in two ways. Firstly, people on the boards will come to know and trust you. Some will look at your site out of interest and next time they need a service similar to yours they may contact you.

Secondly, and much more importantly, every time you post on a message board you will be creating a link to your website. This will improve your page rank and help push you further up Google.

How to link to your site

When you link to your site, make sure the link text (or anchor text) you use contains your main keywords. If you own a Chinese restaurant in Brooklyn your link text should be Chinese restaurant Brooklyn not The Golden Lotus.

Share the love

Posting 100 messages to 1 message board won't have the same effect on your Google position as posting 10 messages on 10 different message boards.

Where to post

Make sure you choose message boards that closely match your business. If you run a golf course near Miami, you should post on message boards about Golf or Miami - not on message boards about web design or orange juice.

About The Author
Richard Quick is the author of the forthcoming book "Web Design in easy steps". He has a background in designing websites for multinational companies and works as a freelance web designer in Cornwall (http://www.thepasty.com), England. Richard also runs a site selling Cornish Pasties (http://www.thepasty.com).

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