What’s in a name? I’m talking specifically websites because that’s our thing. Remember, we use modern marketing methods to increase our profits.
Substantially, for much less effort and that’s based around a web presence; but it is important that you pick the right name for that website. For example, if your name is Fred Smith and Son’s Bakery, you may be tempted to call your website “Fred Smith and Son’s Bakery.”
It’s a bit of a mouthful and what if it’s taken? You have choices. I’m not going to tell you what to use because I haven’t looked it up; but you might just say, ‘Fred Smith Bakery.’ When they visit your website, your logo will say Fred Smith and Son’s Bakery, and people will see you are a real brick-and-mortar store with a name.
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You don’t have to change the name. It doesn’t have to exactly match it but please do not have very long names. People don’t like writing them. They don’t fit in re-tweets. They sometimes don’t even fit in advertising. You’re less likely to be able to use the proper name in Twitter.
There’s a character restriction in what you can use in advertising so consider these things if you have a long name. For example — your first name is Elizabeth and your last name is Clarkson and you’re a photographer. Elizabeth Clarkson’s Photography is not going to fit in a lot of advertising things.
So, consider trying this instead — “Elizabeth, the Photographer,” or Clarkson Photography. Consider what people do, like celebrities do when they get on Twitter. Sometimes, they make it @thereal —-, so if your name isn’t taken, and it’s pretty common, consider the name you choose.
Now — let’s talk about the end of your URL — the .com, the .co.uk, etc. That is important. Do not go cheaply on this. Generally, if you’re in America – in the USA, you should take the .com. If you’re in Canada, the .ca. If you’re in the UK, .co.uk.
Please do not choose the other versions if you live in the mentioned places above. Do not choose Australia – .com.au. etc., etc., etc. Use your standard country
Should I get a top level domain?
Why is it important to get the top level domain in your country? Because Google ranks this higher in the country. Don’t bother getting a .us if you live in the USA. Don’t bother getting .uk.com if you live in the UK — because these are not top level.
If you’re in India, say the .in. I would generally recommend getting the .com as well. Don’t worry about all the others because there are hundreds of them now. You can get everything. So, you might want to get .tv if you’re going to do some kind of YouTube channel and divert it there, but I don’t bother with that.
I use to have that domain ending, but it costs too much money to keep up with these things because then they bring out new ones. Another you might want to use is the .co for shortening versions of your name or something like that. But always get the country one and the .com.
That’s all I do. Now, if you’re a charity or organization, obviously, .org or .org.uk would work for you. But things like .net, etc.;
Quick tip —
Don’t try to get .info if you are looking for a domain URL. All spam sites run on .info. Google knows this, that’s in the algorithm. The .info is going to rank lower – so this is very, very important to remember.
Structure of the name
The next thing to consider is the structure of the name. Now, when you come up with your name like Fred Smith and Son Bakery, write it down with no spaces and look at it. Look for swear words or other unfortunate words. The most famous of all.
If you want to Google something like bad website names or unfortunate website names. I think the one that normally comes top is Pen Island, a pen supplier, penisland.com (see what it does when you put it together?). Write it down. Don’t say that out loud. Have a little giggle on me.
One of my friends had a web company make a site for her and she’s a therapist, a holistic therapist. She left it all up to them. They got her the domain name. They registered the domain name. They put together a website and a logo and they called it “Angela Greene Therapist.”
They bought the domain name – agtherapist.com. She was using that until somebody read it, and said, “AG the rapist.com.” She looked at it again and yes, that’s what therapist can say to a lot of people. Now, of course, you can have a giggle but when people say it, you begin to ask yourself — would you like your business to be called that?
I don’t recommend using controversy in your name title either. UK famously did a Benetton for the publicity and used controversy in the initials. I don’t recommend you do that. It’s a very good long term strategy.
So, yes, a name is important. Get the right .com, .co.uk. Name it short but make it still work and check that your name reads properly without making other people giggle, without being on one of those websites that features on Facebook or Google where you’re on the top 10 list of the worst names ever.
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Today, we are going to go down under into Australia to a guy, Jeff Bullas. His Twitter handle is @jeffbullas and his website is jeffbullas.com. Jeff has been around forever. He knows everything. He’s a Huffington Post top writer. He’s an absolute social media genius strategist.
Jeff has a lot of followers. He knows how to use social media properly. He has advice on tools, how to make things work better, how to improve everything which is what we promote at markertingforowners.com.
How to improve everything without spending any money. Go check out jeffbullas.com and his Twitter handle. Give him a shout out. Say hello and ask him some questions. He is like me and would love to help you.
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What name will you choose for your business?
