“What’s in a name?” Well Shakespeare, everything in the internet name game!

The right domain name can bring lots of opportunity or some sweet cash! Ever since the beginning of the internet boom, the domain name game has always been about the perfect name. For instance in 2009 these were some of the domain name deals that happened. Toys’ R Us bought Toys.com for $5.1 million, Insure.com went for $16 million, and even Beer.com which is just a parked domain for now, they have to be making a killing on affiliate links to cover that cost!

Matt Cutts explains here the weight that keywords in a domain name play in Google Rankings

So which domain is the best type to have? In my theory their are 3 types of domain names, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Kind of a a paper, rock, scissors 3 way tie depending on the needs of your business.

The Brand Domain

New word/ name to build a brand with an original idea.

In The Class: Google, Twitter, Facebook, Blogger

Pros:
* Easier to brand and distinguish yourself
* People create dialogue around your site, “Google That”, “Facebook me”, “They Tweeted”

Cons:
* Very hard to get people to catch on
* Needs to be short, 1 syllable if possible

The SEO Domain

This one got really popular for awhile because Google would give good ranking to domains that had the keywords in the actual domain. So sites like buyviagra.com might get really good rank for that keyword. Companies might just buy a domain with the keywords like Tucson-Air-Conditioning and then re-direct it to their own site.

In The Class: buyshoes.com, tucson-air-conditioning.com, carquotes.com

Pros:
* Good for SEO
* Re-directs can drive lots of traffic to your site

Cons:
* Hard to stand apart from the competition
* Becoming less effective for SEO. As Matt Cutts said, Google is leaning towards lowering the importance of keywords in domains.

The Witty Domain

– These are when they create a new word or a play on words that is very close to their business

In The Class: Wikipedia, YouTube, SpoonMe

Pros:
* People like witty websites, they stand out and our easily remembered
* Easier to brand without having to overly explain what they do

Cons:
* People might not get it, nothings worse than that

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