WebPublishing.me

There are a lot of web publishing sites that offer you tips on picking domain names, but not many of them point out the pitfalls that you need to avoid. Rest assured I’ve been in your shoes before. I’ve got a degree in creative writing, not Internet publishing. That means I’ve made almost every mistake on this list, and I’m still learning today! If you’re not quite sure what a domain name is, read my post, “What is a Domain Name?” If you’re ready to buy your first domain name (or your 100th), here’s what not to do when picking your very first domain name:

1) Never buy a domain name that infringes on someone’s copyright. Not only is this is a slimy tactic, but there’s actually a Federal law against it in the United States (the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act of 1999). Still, what exactly does it mean to infringe on someone’s copyright? Laws are murky on this, but, in general, cybersquatting refers to the act of purchasing a domain name with the intent of profiting off the brandability of the name and/or reselling the domain to the owner of the copyright. A good example of this might be someone purchasing www.google.net (a name that’s actually owned by Google.com), then throwing a search box on the site so people believe they’re visiting the real Google. When a user types in a search on the fictional site, they might be shown a number of ads relating to their site. That would definitely be illegal. On the other hand, if your site offers reviews and/or criticisms of Google’s policies, you’d be allowed to include the word, “Google” in your domain name. A good example of this is www.google-watch.org.

2) Don’t bank on typos when picking your domain name. This concept is similar to cybersquatting, but it’s actually called typosquatting. As in cybersquatting, there’s blatent bad faith on the part of the site owner to capitalize on the brandability of a copyrighted term. An example of this would be buying a domain like www.frigedare.com, then filling the site with ads related to refrigerators. Not cool. This will likely lead to a lawsuit (one you definitely won’t win). That said, there are instances where typosquatting isn’t illegal. If you discover a domain for a generic word (say, “donkey”), and  you’re convinced a lot of Web users interested in donkeys might type in www.donkee.com instead of www.donkey.com, you’re more than welcome to capitalize the traffic you get. There might be a few instances where this type of approach might work, but I tend to think it’s not worth the effort — especially since it looks like you don’t know how to spell the word that’s the very subject of your site.

3) Avoid names that sound cool but don’t really mean anything. This is a very common rookie mistake. Rookies like to think that if they create compelling content, Web users will automatically find their content. Having tried to find audiences for my work on other sites since 2005, I can attest to the fact that content isn’t everything. You’ve got to have a basic understanding of search engine optimization (the practice of optimizing your site through your HTML metadata — and the use of other technical tactics — to get the most out of your search engine ranking). One of the basics of search engine optimization (or “SEO”) says you should include keywords in your domain name. That means a site about organic restaurants would best be served by picking a domain name that has the words “organic restaurants” in the title (even if it’s something long like www.bestofthebestorganicrestaurants.com). That’s an extreme example, but it illustrates the basic principal beyond domain name selection: choose words that MATCH your content.

4) Don’t pick a domain name that’s difficult to remember or difficult to spell. Ever since the advent of spellcheckers, our ability to spell out complex words has deteriorated (that’s my theory anyway). So, if you decide you want to buy a domain name, stick with something that’s spelled phonetically (the way it sounds). That way, people won’t get frustrated when they try to revisit your site. You’ll be lucky if they try more than twice. The same concept applies to domain names that are hard to remember. If your user can’t remember your domain name, they’re not going to come back.

5) Don’t choose short domain names over quality domain names. If you’ve been researching how to pick a good domain name, you’ll likely run across articles that say things like, “stick with a dotcom name no matter what, and make sure it’s short and snappy.” I even ran across one article that recommended only buying dotcom domains with seven characters or less. Welcome to 21st Century. That’s not really plausible anymore. Finding a dotcom that’s remotely related to the content of your site is going to be HARD — even with 15 characters or less. If you want a domain that’s seven characters or less, you’re going to have to pony up some cash. So, I say ditch that advice. Pick a domain that has valuable keywords in it, even if that means it’s going to be long. My last word on this? Definitely avoid names that include excessive hyphens or numbers. Getting a user to remember lots of hyphens or numbers (i.e. www.babyreptiles4less.com) is like asking them, “Who was the 12th President?”

6) Don’t be afraid of domains that have extensions other than dotcom. Have you ever heard of the dotnu (.nu) extension? Probably not, but it ranks in Google alongside any dotcom site. In fact, the lifestyles blog www.haha.nu receives roughly 160,000 visitors a month. As the Web grows, domains with extensions other than dotcom are going to become a fact of life, and I’ve heard nothing definitive that says Google penalizes such sites. Other factors like incoming links (links to your site from other Web sites) are infinitely more important than your domain extension. In any case, you can see that I’ve put my money where my mouth is: I’m running this site on a dotme (.me) domain — www.webpublishing.me — and you found it, didn’t you?

7) Don’t register a lot of domain names then duplicate your content. This tactic is picked up by search engines, which might delete your sites from their rankings all together or else add only ONE of your domains to their index. You also shouldn’t buy a bunch of domains then use them to link to one another in an attempt to get higher search engine rankings. This will likely to your sites being labeled “domain spam,” and you’ll again be punished by search engines. As a caveat, it is possible to do this for legitimate reasons (i.e. protecting your brand name by buying domains with different extensions — i.e. .biz or .net — or buying common mispelling or common search terms). Linking those legitimate sites your main Web site will require a bit of technical savvy. You’ll have to use an “IP funnel.” IP funnels push all of your registered domains to a single single server and hosting account. Then, you can push all of these redirections to a different server and hosting account without being penalized by search engines. I learned a lot about this particular tactic at BruceClay.com.

8) Don’t rely on your business name to determine your domain name. A lot of people make this mistake, and they damage their chances for widespread traffic by using their business name when they pick their domain name. Business names are often associated with difficult-to-spell names, cutesy phrases or hyphens and apostrophes. Always think about what people are going to be searching for when they try to find your service. For instance, if you own a dog washing business in Cincinnati, Ohio, chances are, someone’s going to type “dog washing, cincinnati, oh” into a search engine. Knowing that, www.cincinnatidogwashing.com, would probably be an excellent domain name (if it’s available — in not, pick something similar).

9) Don’t pick a domain name without doing some keyword research. One of my favorite tactics when trying to pick between a handful of domain names is to visit Google Trends and determine which keywords are the most common. Google Trends won’t show you actual search quantities, but it will show you which search term is used more on a percentage basis. Simply visit the site and type in two sets of keywords separated by commas; Google Trends will take care of the rest.

10) Don’t be afraid to pay for quality. There’s an entire online industry called “domaining” that’s devoted to buying domain names simply for the “type-in” traffic — people who type diamonds.com directly in their browser navigation bar instead of going to a search engine and seeking out a site on diamonds, for example. If you’ve got some cash, you can buy one of these high-traffic keyword domains and exponentially increase the traffic to your site. Two of the most popular auction houses for these domains are Afternic.com and GoDaddy.com.

Hopefully these tips will help you on your way to making money online. If you have further questions, email me at fred(at)webpublishing.me. If you’re still a Web newbie and you need advice on building your first Web site, visit my post, “A Guide for Newbies: How to Build a Web Site in 6 Easy Steps.” Want more ideas for making money online? Return home, or sign up for our email newsletter.