HubShout | Online Marketing Solutions

Trying to help a client come up with a domain name for his industry. I am suggesting trying to use keywords from his industry in the domain name.

#1. Is this still advisable?

#2. Does using stop words ("go","the","a" before the domain name like: www.goDesiredKeyword.com) have any value anymore or is that a thing of the past?

Thanks, Dominic

What is the purpose of the website?

Besides the obvious goal of gaining traffic and booking clients, it's a hunting website for a specific type of animal.

Ok, if it's for the business then I would recommend using www.BusinessName.com if it's available. If it's not then hopefully we can bounce some good ideas around here.

I sometimes use their incorporation, e.g. www.xyzinc.com to still catch a great domain name.

Try to get creative and find something that works but doesn't appear as a reach if that makes sense.

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I would say that, yes, dead-on domain names do work, especially locally. Stop words will only hurt you so westhartfordmassagespot.com is better than thewesthartfordmassagespot.com. Keep them short if they are at the beginning of the domain name.

Also, regardless of SEO, dead-on domain names clearly describe what the business is about. I had a client change their business name and domain name from flowofenergy.com to westhartfordmassagespot.com to benefit from SEO as well as to more clearly describe exactly what their business does and where they're located. This also helps when running PPC ads since the URL in the ad is more descri ptive to exactly what the business does.

But the downside is that you end up with a generic name. Here in West Hartford we've got West Hartford Massage, West Hartford Massage Therapy, and now West Hartford Massage Spot.

It has not been an issue though, clients don't ever call thinking you are another business in town. If they find your business at the top of the SERP's they call and schedule an appointment. If they are a current client they already know who you are, your name, location and phone number.

If however you are a national online store, let's say goosehunter.com, customers may get confused at times and type goosehunters.com (since they only shop at your store once a year, they forgot the name). Or, Google Instant may even popup your competitor's name first in the search field in this case.

The power of exact match domains has diminished these last few years and, as time goes by exact match domains may not play a role in better SERP rankings at all, but that isn't the case as of now.

I just realized you can't use the word descrip tive.

You learn something new every day.

Brian,

So are you saying to avoid something like www.GoGooseHunting.com altogether?

Thanks, Dominic