Will,

I have a general question for you.  I am looking to register a domain name or two.  One would be for widget sales.  Anything obvious like widgets.com or greatwidgets.com are all taken.  Obviously with many people selling these, placement would be important.  So.how critical would it be that the phrase “widgets” is in the title? For instance.I considered other names like classywids, or I have considered using a long name like widgetsbygreg.  What would be the best strategy starting out?

Greg, thanks for the question.  I’m going to answer this with a lot more questions, so get ready.

All the Small Things

Search placement is all about small things. One change to a page or site can result in more traffic.  One well-placed link on another’s (relevant) website can result in a higher ranking for your site.  One modification to your title tag can move you up a few slots. One keyword in your domain name may give you an advantage.

But there is no one thing anyone can do to climb to the top of any niche.  Just like the game Jenga, it’s not one piece that tumbles the tower, it’s the culmination of many pieces that finally brings it down.

There is definitely an advantage to having your keyword/keyphrase in your URL.  If you’re up against some decent competition, every little bit helps.

Hi, I’m Domain. Remember me?

But you should also realize that there’s more at play here than just a domain name.  There’s also the ‘rememberability factor’ to consider.  Will someone who sees your domain on a passing car or billboard still remember it when they get to work?  If you mention your domain at a networking event, and two months later someone needs a widget, are they going to remember your domain name?

The rememberability factor may outweigh the need for a keyword rich domain name.  Notice I said may outweigh. It just depends.  Amazon isn’t about a rainforest, it’s about books. Zappos isn’t about people being shocked, it’s about shoes.

One thing I often mention when speaking is that your domain should always pass the phone test.  The phone test is simple: If you can call up a stranger and say “Go to my website.  www.widgets.com” and the person at the other end understands what you said (without you saying anything else), you pass.  Many companies have domains with dashes, misspellings and other craziness in them.  They have to spell out their domain to everyone that calls.  Not good.

I once had a client who had www in the middle of their domain. As in www.thewwwstore.com.  Talk about confusing! People would hear the second set of w’s and really misunderstand.  They’d end up not finding the site, and would probably go on to a competitor.

This also rings true for dashes in domain names.  They may help you rank well because they ‘break apart’ your keywords, but will word-of-mouth referrers be able to remember your domain name and the dashes? Not usually.

Don’t Dig Yourself Into a Hole

There are other things to consider, too.  How are you going to market the website? Social media? Search placement? TV/Radio/Traditional methods?  Classywids or Classywidgets are nice names, fairly easy to remember, but they pigeonhole you into only selling ‘widgets’.  What happens if you want to expand to doodads or contraptions?

This is a two-edged sword.  If you want to dominate the widget market (and only the widget market), a widget-based domain name is the way to go.  But if you see yourself expanding in two years after dominating that market, you’ve got another issue on your hands.  Now you need a more ‘generic’ domain name.  No longer can you really have your keyword in your domain name because you’ll end up with headaches when you try to expand.

You can, or course, dominate one market with a widget-based URL and then start a completely new website with a doodad-based domain name.  Problem is, you’re completely starting over.  You’ve jumped into a new market with a completely new set of competitors.  Had you selected a different name, you’d have two years of history and credibility behind you to fuel your new niche.

Do Some Research

There are a few things that can help you decide what’s the best route for buying a domain name.  GoDaddy (and some other domain registrars) offers some tools to help suggest ideas for domains.  Look up your main keyword (which is most likely taken) and then look at their suggestions.  You may get some good ideas.

I also suggest you use a thesaurus to check out other names and ideas.  Perhaps contraptions.com is a more generic name than widgets.com.

Also think about what the product does for your end user.  If your widget makes them warmer, perhaps something like warmernights.com is up your alley. Once again, be careful of pigeonholing yourself into a corner with these sort of domains.

Hopefully my suggestions help you pick out something good, Greg.  Good luck in your sales!