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Strategic Domain Name Selection for Increasing Traffic and Conversion RatesJeremiah JohnstonCOO & General CounselSedo.com, LLC
Should your domain strategy include domains besides your primary brand?
First, a few background premises:
Domain names are not just a brand name
Descriptive “Direct Navigation” domain names receive targeted traffic (keyword search = keyword domain)
Descriptive domain names benefit from brand recognition effects w/o being a brand
Effective Branding v. Protecting Trademarks
Marketers want names that immediately convey what the product is or does
For this reason, marketers prefer names that are descriptive, laudatory, or suggestive
of the product or service with which it is associated.
However, the level of trademark protection for a descriptive, laudatory or suggestive
name is lower than a name that is fanciful or arbitrary.
Trademark Spectrum
Generic Descriptive Suggestive Arbitrary Fanciful
No Protection Less Protection Most Protection
Bikes, LLC BabySoft Lotion Sony
Do people really search via domain names?WebSideStory Research:
- “Over 64% of users arrived at sites by direct navigation, compared to 35% via search engines and links.”- Some users don’t distinguish between search bar and browser navigation bar:
Ex: Top Searches on Yahoo.com:
- Some browsers auto-complete (add “www” and “.com”)
4 times as much as“Paris Hilton”!
Case Study: WiFi.com
Keyword domain name, not a brand name!
Describes exactly an entire category; no superfluous additions
One-word, short, and .com extension
Built-in direct navigation trafficCan a purchase like that really have a positive ROI?
Purchased through Sedo for $225,000
Wifi.com – averages 15k visitors each month
Traffic through pay-per-click program costs nearly $10,000 per month.*
$10k x 12= $120,000 annually
Purchasing the domain: approximately $225k
* Based on the current bid price of $0.66 for the term “wifi” on the Yahoo network.
Case Study: WiFi.com
Utilizing Direct Navigation to Capture Consumer-Driven Web Traffic
Which would you trust for health advice?www.HeartDisease.com or www.Merck.com
Where would you shop for a niche product like ballet shoes?
www.BalletShoes.com or www.Zappos.com
Which link would you click, searching for “Home Business”?
www.HomeBusiness.com or www.BT.com/business
User: “Yes, that’s what I’m looking for!”
Instant Recognition: The Power of Keyword Brands
Case Study 2: Poker Domain Portfolio
Acquired all possible point-of-entry keywords related to poker
Just redirect the traffic, or make an SEO-optimized gateway page
This portfolio is forwarded to an affiliate program:
Over 6,000 active players have signed up through the domains
Generates over $15,000/ month in affiliate commissions
How much would you pay for traffic like that via PPC?
Portfolio of 23 poker domains, eg, “Poker-Odds.de”
Results for „Kreuzfahrten“on Google.de
kreuzfahrten.de is #1
Results for „Cruises“on Google.co.uk
Cruises.co.uk is #1
BONUS #1
Better Organic Search Engine
Placement
Most people still link with your domain name:
“I buy domains at Sedo.com”
“I found a WiFi provider at Wifi.com”
Therefore, if your domain contains your keywords, you automatically generate many incoming keyword links
Google interprets that as your site being a popular source for info on keyword
It’s not a guarantee, but there is solid evidence it helps!
Better Organic Search Engine
Placement
ABC - OnlyTheyKnow.com Ad Council - TheTVBoss.org
Ad Council - DontAlmostGive.org American Egg Board - NaturesMiracleFood.com American Heart Association - BeatYourRisk.com
American Express - 800TheCard.com American Express - Apply4BlueSky.com American Express - MyLifeMyCard.com
American Express - StopPong.com American Lung Association - AsthmaControl.com
Anheuser-Busch - BeeResponsible.com Anheuser-Busch - Bud.TV
Anheuser-Busch DesignatedDriver.com AOL - TotalTalk.com
AstraZeneca - GettingItRight.com Atari - TestDriveUnlimited.com
Aubuchon Hardware - HardwareStore.com Audi - NeverFollow.com
Banana Republic - FindTheArtInTheEveryday.com Bank Of America - Loans.com
Bayer - NoFleas.com
Bayer - WonderDrug.com
Barnes and Noble - Books.com
BellSouth FastAccess.com
Boeing - NewAirplane.com
Burger King - HaveItYourWay.com
Burger King - StackersUnion.com
Burger King - SubservientChicken.com
Busch Gardens HeroSalute.com
California Milk Advisory Board - RealCaliforniaCheese.com
Calvin Klein - Bras.com
Calvin Klein - Underwear.com
Campbell's Soup - MySoup.com
Carnation Instant Breakfast - MyMorningFuel.com
Church & Dwight - Arrid deodorant - WetnessProtectionProgram.com
Chevron - WillYouJoinUs.com
Citibank - StudentLoan.com
BONUS # 2
Use of Campaign-Specific Domain
Names
BONUS # 2
Why Use Campaign-Specific Domain Names?
Better conversion rate: specific domains can be an exact match to the niche that the user’s looking for
Easier tracking: how many people visited the domain from that campaign?
Brand association: Bank of America is “Loans”
Brand disassociation: RestlessLegs.com is an independent information source, not a pharma
company sales pitch.
BONUS # 2
How much is your campaign worth to you?
If it’s worth more than $10,don’t do this!
1. Identify your top keywords in each market
2. Develop a list of target domains by pairing keyword + TLD
3. Immediately register anything that’s still available!
4. Browse domain marketplaces like Sedo.com for domains containing
your keywords
5. Use a Domain Broker (info at www.Sedo.com/broker) to help
acquire domains not listed for sale
How to Incorporate Keyword Domains into
your SEM Strategy