Domain Names Containing Multiple Words

The Pros and Cons of Wordy Web Addresses

If you are a domain speculator (a.k.a. domainer) and buy or register domains for the sole purpose of reselling it, then I would say it is premature to try and foresee just how long it might take you to monetize your domains.

However, if your goal is to utilize a domain as grounds for your own website and look to maximize web traffic, then this article is just what you need in order to determine whether or not a 3-4 words domain name is a good fit.

You may have heard people say: “Keep your domain short, it’s catchy and easy to remember” Or “Long domain names are easy to forget, annoying to type in and just a bad idea altogether”.

As a matter of fact, longer domains can give you a great advantage, and here’s why:

  1. A 3-4 words domain name usually better describes what you will find on the site; think of it as a header or name tag that represents its content. A domain name comprised of content related keywords will give spectators a clear indication for what they would find on your site, and will function as an effective sorting tool for quality and targeted traffic. It is a common misconception that domain names should necessarily be the name of your company or your brand name.

  2. Fact is: Keywords are a major factor in the operating structure of search engines and a great deal of importance is given to the words contained in a domain name. If your website’s domain name equals to a search phrase, search engines naturally assume greater relevance and therefore your site will rank higher when people search for the keywords contained in your domain name.

For example: SmallDogBed.com will benefit from automatic ranking whenever people type in “small dog bed” in the search boxes.

Content related Domain -> Better rank on search engines -> More relevant traffic

Example:

Consider two businesses:

  1. Online store selling high-end women’s shoes
  2. Contractor located in New York

Domain Options for the shoe store:

WomensDressShoes.com (3 word generic domain) Vs. ShoesLand.com (Brand Name)

  • ShoesLand.com is shorter, catchier name. But, no one will search for “shoes land” on the search engines except for people already familiar with the brand. Therefore, the traffic you’ll receive is likely to be previous customers or people who have heard about your brand, but NO new traffic, NO new exposure.

  • ShoesLand.com tells users that your site offers shoes, but in no way does it account for the kind of shoes you will find on the site nor will it indicate your target audience (in this example - women looking to spend fair amounts of money on high–end shoes).

  • WomensDressShoes.com on the other hand can sort out irrelevant audience (Men, for instance). Especially if you are engaged in Pay-per-click advertisements, this will save you a lot of money.

  • By having WomensDressShoes.com as your domain and listing your brand name (“ShoesLand”) as the company behind it (For example: Your website will be titled “WomensDressShoes.com – powered by ShoesLand) you can enjoy the benefit of the generic domain name and still preserve your brand. Furthermore, with the domain WomensDressShoes.com you can slowly emerge as an authority for that specific category, because after a while people will associate your brand with that product.

Domain Options for the Contractor in New York:

NewYorkGeneralContractor.com (4 words) Vs. MyHomeUs.com

In this example, in addition to the keywords “General Contractor” that clearly describe what the website offers (as opposed to MyHomeUs.com), we add the location which provides yet another indicator to the search engines as well as to users about the site’s relevance. It presents the clear message: “We are a New York based company and we render services in the New York area.

Especially when it comes to service providers it is important to remember that users’ search patterns mostly include the area they live in. It makes little sense for a New Yorker looking for a general contractor to type in “general contractor” in the search engine. Rather, the search phrase will be “New York general contractor” or “general contractor in New York” etc. Therefore, not only will NewYorkGeneralContractor.com help in targeting relevant traffic, but it will also eliminate irrelevant searches such as “Los Angeles general contractor” and the like.

See my 5 basic rules for choosing a domain name.

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