Keywords or Business Name?

[dgridley]

Better for a business to spend money on a keyword domain or register their business name? What are your opinions?

I realize you can use a subdomain such as realestate.xyzcorp[dot]com.. better or no?

 

[bmugford]

Unless you have a massive advertising budget to brand something, keyword domains have a lot of benefits. With a larger budget it is more effective advertising a business name (usually a brandable).

One of the major benefits of a keyword is the domain instantly explains what the site will offer. If you are are a realty company in Boston, I would prefer BostonRealty.com over BusinessName.com

If a company sold Dump Trucks. I would prefer DumpTrucks.com/net over JoeBlowsTrucks

Another benefit can be credibility. Keyword domains just sound more credible most times.

I would also buy the business name, if available to at least have it as well.

So in summary -

Small to Average Budget - Keyword

Large Budget - Brandable (Google / Yahoo / Ebay/ Orbtiz / etc as examples). A lot of these companies though also buy generics to capture more market share.

Brad

 

[SpareDomains]

with the few projects I have done for others I buy their company name first and then if any of the category killer generic keyword domains are within their budget I grab a few of those as well or at least suggest them and let them decide if they wish to proceed with some aftermarket purchases.

 

[Jeff]

When push comes to shove, go with the keyword / generic domain ... excellent points made above, as well! :tu:

For instance, one could have "SanFranciscoRealEstate.com" as their main domain name & functional website; but still have the business name of Higgins & Foster Metropolitan Realty, IMHO. :music:
-Jeff

 

[dbtbandit67]

Keyword.

That could eventually change once a site becomes massive with a huge base, and the brand is well known. But a startup definitely without a doubt benefits more from a keyword domain. And who's to say that keyword.com can't also be the brand?

 

[footodors]

small businesses seem to prefer their name over keywords.

 

[sankalpsingh]

Keyword Domain/s with type in traffic pointing to your Business Name is also a very common thing if you have a big business name/brand that cannot be ignored over Keyword Domains.

 

[namerav]

Spend money to buy generic keyword domain related to your business.

 

[dgridley]

I didn't see anyone mention pairing a keyword with the domain as a subdomain such as my example above: realestate.xyzcorp[dot]com

Is that the best of both worlds perhaps? Would it SEO effectively?

As footodors says, many small businesses prefer the company name as the domain.

By the way, thanks for your answers in advance..

 

[garptrader]

Many businesses use multiple domains to promote their products and services. For example, Coca Cola advertises and sells its products through a variety of distribution channels. Yes, any business has to consider cost and sometimes the ideal .COM generic domain is just not within their budget. But generic domains are clearly easily recognized because they describe what a business promotes. Also, generic domains do position well in search engines even if the domain is not a .COM.

I have two sites with generic phrases - one for my domains which has been active since January and another site is a Spanish wedding guide which only got indexed in the last week. Both sites are in the first page of Google and Yahoo for the exact generic phrase of the domain and both domains are .NET. I am no expert at search engine optimization so that positioning I attribute to the way the search engines position websites. They assume that if someone types in "word1+word2+word3" and a website's domain contains those words that it is likely the website contains what the internet surfer is looking for. How much is being on the first page (or two) worth to a business?

 

[DotWeekly]

I didn't see anyone mention pairing a keyword with the domain as a subdomain such as my example above: realestate.xyzcorp[dot]com

The reason is because if you do the research you might be shooting yourself in the foot (as a domainer) IMO.

The biggest thing.. the subdomain keyword has to fit with the business you do (content on your site). If you do a search at Google.com for wireless I think this may answer your question.

 

[dgridley]

Thanks all for your answers...

 

[Domagon]

Business / brand name with generics as redirects and/or with generics as separate minisites.

Generic keywords are great for driving traffic / easy direct-navigation, but often lousy for product differentiation / difficult to build a "generic" keyword into a brand.

Ponder these examples of popular unique brands verses keyword names - most often the unique brand, even when seemingly meaningless (ie. Amazon.com for books / media) wins out ... some examples:

Search engines: Google, Yahoo, Live.com ... not search.com

Books / media: Amazon.com ... not books.com nor music.com

Domain registration: GoDaddy, eNom, and numerous others are far more popular than domain.com or register.com

Cell phone service: Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T (formerly Cingular), etc not cellular.com

Cell phone units: Nokia, LG, Motorola, etc not cellphone.com

Computers: Dell, Gateway, HP, etc not computer.com

Rambling on ... point is often a business should utilize / leverage both their unique brand(s) and related keywords in cyberspace.

Ron

 

[john_karr]

Generic domain names are better. Which one would you rather have?

Mortgage.com Citi or Pncmortgage.com PNC

Any questions?

 

[DubDubDubDot]

For an offline business that just uses their site for informational purposes, [companyName].com almost every single time. Especially if they are just a local business. Roofing.com doesn't add anything at all to Mikes Roofing of some small suburb.

For ecommerce things get a bit more sticky.

If it's an affiliate promo site and you are just pushing traffic through like cattle, [keywords].com is the most common option because it adds to SEO and your goal isn't heavy branding anyway.

Ad supported sites that are driven by content and returning visitors want something that can be branded. Unfortunately most people starting one of these sites can't afford a master domain in the category. Many settle for easier to obtain keyword based domains, but most that end up having visible sites went with something a little more unique.

Product and service sites are similar to the above, but even if they technically have the money to buy a good [keyword].com, they almost always take whatever they think is the most brandable even if it's a totally made up word.

 

[dgridley]

Lots of good answers.. thanks, everyone!

 

[gazzip]

Hmmm, that's a tricky one - People love brands but brands have to be built over time and usually require a very large marketing budget (along with a great product or service)

I think top quality generics offer something a brand does not...type in traffic and a sense of owning the online market (for that niche)

...and Brands offer something a generic does not (in general) easy expansion to other products/services and a more personal feeling of belonging to a "family". A powerfull thing that will never go away IMO

Oblviously many of the large companies have finally come to realise the value of continuous type in traffic and internet sales which is why Honda owns Motorcycles.com, ToysRus now own Toys.com etc but I don't think they'll ever be changing their shop signs on the high street

..I bet in this current climate there's some HUGE generic domain sales brewing in the background !



To me, it really depends on both the budget and if you intend to expand to other areas or not.



.

 

[john_karr]

It make sense to buy a generic domain name before you competitor buy it before you. Imagine if choicehotels.com own Hotel.com and Hotels.com! If SallieMae have studentloan.com and studentloans.com!

 

[h2o]

On the other hand, if you do in fact have a large budget which name has a stronger ring, Search.com or Google.com. Godaddy.com or name.com? If you are able to achieve success on a larger level, it is better to have a brandable. Yet it is these brandables that domainers would say "reg fee" in a forum. I mean, it may be hard but imagine in names Google.com or GoDaddy.com without any business behind them. How much would you appraise these names at? Also think about the household names these companies have become.

 

[dgridley]

Let's say you have CityName*com and you're selling hosting or offering a free subdomain to local businesses. Better selling point: keyword.cityname*com or businessname.cityname*com?