Search rankings are great however, from the sites we’re hosting, we’re seeing a growing number of site visitors navigating directly to the online content they want.
Domain names then become the gateway to a web site and are much more of a marketing tool than a lot of people give them credit for. Consider this. There are 1.5 billion web users worldwide. With the right domain strategy, companies can extend the reach of their marketing campaigns and turn high volumes of web traffic into impressions and conversions.
There are two basic ways to search for web content. Direct navigation where a user types in the domain address into the navigaton bar or, search navigation where a user types in a searches for a string of keywords using Google or Yahoo etc. While popular thought holds that search is the preferred method, the majority of users actually practice direct navigation and it has also been reported that direct navigators are the most valuable website visitors as they are often ready to commit to a purchase.
A good domain strategy can not only leverage online opportunities but it can also protect your valuable asset from cybersquaters. Think of them as akin to the Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden waiting for an unsuspecting tanker to pass by. In this case, the multi-million dollar tanker could be your web site. Cybersquatter activities can range from simply registering domain names identical of confusingly similar to existing trademarks with the intention of re-selling them or turning them into cash through sponsored links or, the more criminal acts of depositing spyware and intercepting mistyped emails.
Recognizing that direct navigators are a valuable target audience marketers need to optimize their domain strategy to facilitate this audience. Here’s a few tips.
- Keyword Domains. These are domain names composed of dictionary words that can be used to describe a product. For example, books.com is owned by Barnes & Noble. Generic domains have an inherent natural traffic associaed with them and are consideed to be one of the most valuable kinds of internet property a brand could own.
- Top-level domains. These are the extensions such as .com, .ca, .net, .org and their importance should be consideed when registering.
- Keyword searches. Analyzing site traffic data can play an important role in determing the need to register additional and related domain names. Also consider which misspellings and keystroke mistakes of your popular domains are the most common and therefore, the most likely to result in traffic that was meant for your site.
- Competitive sites. Seach competitive sites for keywrds and phrases and check the availabilty of registering these keywords and phrases so that users typing in these keywords or phrases will find their way to your site.
- Wasteful registratons. Now that you’ve registered every name and phrase under the sun to protect your site continuously monitor the productivity of these domain names and delete those that are not performing or related to your site strategy.
- Optimize the names you own. Redirect owned domains to the most intuitive content so consumers who type these domains are rewarded with brande content without having to navigate to find it.
The internet is an ever-changing ocean. It’s very important to keep up with new developments that affect domain name space. Amongst many, one of the latest challenges facing site owners is the potential launch of unlimited top-level domains (TLD’s). With the expansion of domain space there will be more opportunites for brand promotion and brand exploitation, so it is important for companies to establish a better domain name portfolio and strategic plan.
Tags: cybersquatting, domain name, domain name strategy, gulf of aden, pirates
