Why should I buy a premium domain name?
Premium Domain Names (or “secondary market domains”) are domains that have already been registered, but are available for sale from the current registrant. Although Premium Domains are generally more expensive than unregistered (or “primary market”) domains, they tend to be much higher quality. The advantages of investing in a Premium Domain include:
1. Easier to remember: Shorter, catchier domain names will keep visitors coming back to your site.
2. Better Brand Image: Certain domains—such as single-word domains, short two and three-letter domains, generic keyword domains, and .com domains—automatically convey an image of prestige and added credibility. Users are much more likely to place an order with a site named, for example, Shoes.com, than one named cheapshoes4u.net. Successful Internet companies know this, and many purchase multiple Premium Domains to complement their brand names. For example, take a look at who’s using quality generic domains such as PC.com, Books.com, Computers.com or Loans.com .
3. Improved Search Engine Ranking: Domain names that contain search engine keywords are more likely to gain top search engine rankings for those keywords. Try it yourself: Search a keyword on Google and see how many of the top results contain that keyword as part of the domain name.
4. Traffic Generating: Despite the growth of search engines, a surprising number of people still “search” by typing in what they’re looking for and putting a .com on the end. Thus, many generic domain names receive hundreds or even thousands of visitors per day, perfectly targeted according to keyword. What is the value of this much targeted traffic to your business?
5. Investment Potential: A Premium Domain name is an asset that your business invests in and can later resell for a profit. Domain valuations are currently at their lowest point in years, so purchasing now can be a smart investment decision for your business.
How do I choose a good domain name?
When choosing a new domain name for your site, you may want to consider the following:
1. Country-specific or international: If your business is only active in a single country, it may be adequate to use a country-specific extension such as .us, .co.uk, or .ca. If you’d like to appeal to a global audience, it is best to choose a generic extension such as .com, .biz, or .info.
2. Importance of Keywords: If search engines are a major source of traffic to your site, make sure that your domain includes one or more of your principal keywords—this can help you get a good ranking on these terms.
3. Commercial or informational: If you intend to sell products on your site, it is important to convey a professional image. Usually, this means a short, brandable .com domain name without hyphens or numbers. If your site is informational only, consider a .info or .org extension.
4. Target User Group: Different domain names will appeal to different groups. For example, a B2B site will generally do best with a descriptive domain name so that a visitor immediately knows what the site is about (EX: Naming.com, Corporation.com). A mass-audience B2C site will generally do better with a catchy, brandable domain name (EX: Yahoo.com, Amazon.com, Google.com).
5. Risk for Traffic Diversion: Choosing the wrong domain name can result in thousands of lost visitors due to mistypings. To reduce this risk, avoid hyphens, numbers, misspellings, and exotic extensions. People should be able to figure out the domain’s spelling from the way it is pronounced: eg, “yahoo” or “Sedo” is easy to spell, but Tu-lites.cc or skool4u.net will tend to leak a lot of traffic. If in doubt, register or buy all possible spellings of the name.
6. Length: Shorter domain names are better if the domain name is going to be typed-in often (brandable domains, mass-market domains, major websites). A shorter domain means reduced risk of typo errors, easier memorability, faster type-ins, and more flexibility in promoting the domain. For these reasons, most businesses who can afford it buy a domain of five characters or less. Two and three character domains are the choice of major corporations (GE.com, AA.com, ML.com, AOL.com, MSN.com, etc…), and come with a price tag to match. At the other extreme, an informational site that receives most of its traffic from search engines will do fine with a domain of two or even three words.
