Of course there are several other factors involved with getting that elusive number one spot. But what most everyone often overlooks is what I call the fifth element which Google uses to determine their ranking of a website and that is the domain name.People, even SEO companies, dont either know the importance of the domain name to Google or take the time to chose the proper name for the website. Most just use their company name or what they conceder a Cool name for their websites. Now, unless your company is well known or at least well known in its field, using a basically unknown company name is pointless. Even more pointless is the Cool name.
The entire reason you optimize your website is to get visitors from search engines, so why not use all the tools available to get the best ranking possible for your website.
Use your domain name as one of those tools. Instead of your company name or the Cool one, use a keyword phrase, one that describes your product or service. Take your time in choosing the proper name. Make sure that it will work best for your website. If you not sure ask your friends and relatives what keywords they would use to find your product or services on the Internet. You might be surprised at what they would use.
You have the keyword phrase that you know will work. But before you jump online and get that domain name there are a couple of things you may still need to do.
Lets say youre the owner of Mikes Bikes and you specialize in Colorado Mountain Bikes so you figure to kill two birds with one stone and use the domain name mikescoloradomountainbikes.com to keep your name in it along with using the keyword phrase. Now this might make sense to you but youre not Google. Youre not going to like it but you need to drop the mikes out of the name because its dead weight. So now youve got coloradomountainbikes.com but wait before you burn up the keyboard use Colorado-mountain-bikes.com instead. Why Because Google sees this as three different words and would see coloradomountainbikes.com as a single word. When people are doing a search they will not be using coloradomountainbikes, they are going to use Colorado mountain bikes. The bonus is that your domain name now becomes a keyword phrase used by Google when it performs a search.
Edward Biggs has been optimizing websites since 1996 and for Google since 1999. He is the founder and owner of and that specialize in Google optimizing, and sends out a monthly newsletter.
Does a website come with a domain name If not, what comes with a website and how do I get a domain name
New website owners often seem confused about how and when domain names come into play. The questions usually boil down to: Does a website come with a domain name and If not, how do I get a domain name
Web hosting and domain name registration are usually separate services. Although your hosting company may give or sell you a domain name with your website, most hosting companies are not domain registrars, and chances are theyre procuring it from a third party. (Domain registrars often give you a website, but theyre usually not full featured websites, and another issue.)
Whats more, despite the fact that hosting companies will generally take care of your initial domain name registration, becoming familiar with the basics of domain name management can save you anywhere from a few bucks to a little bundle. (For the definition of bundle, forget Websters Dictionary. Look at your monthly statement from your hosting company; if it gives you that sinking feeling, thats a bundle.)
Registrars like directnic.com and enom.com, for example, charge $15 and $30, respectively, per year, per domain name. In bulk, you can get names at enom.com for as low as $9. And with a little shopping around, you can do even better than this.
Managing your own domain names will usually have its biggest payoff if you should decide to get more than one domain name, a common practice that can sometimes enhance your web presence. How Lets say, your business name is Grumpys Hardware and Paint. Some people know you as Grumpys Hardware, some as Grumpys Paint, and some as just plain Grumpy. You might want to get three domain names -- grumpyshardware.com, grumpyspaint.com, and grumpy.com -- so your site can be reached no matter what a surfer enters in his browser.
The way this would work is, youd open your hosting account using, lets say, grumpy.com. Then youd add on, whats called, parked or mirror domain names, grumpyshardware.com and grumpyspaint.com. Parked or mirror domains are not separate websites; they simply point to an existing website, grumpy.com, in this case.
The problem is that some hosting companies will charge you setup and/or monthly fees for parked domains. These fees are above and beyond the yearly fees you already pay for registering domain names. And these fees can add up.
By managing domain names yourself, however, you can avoid all parking fees, not to mention shop around for a better deal on the names themselves.
The fundamentals of domain management begin with two basic methods of directing domain names to your website. That is, the process that gets a surfer from the browser to your website involves a mechanism that takes the surfer (unbeknownst to him) to your domain name registrar and then to your website. The journey from your registrar to your website can be accomplished by one of two methods -- pointing or forwarding. Its your choice as to which method to use.
Whats the difference Theres a huge difference.
Although the menus for setting up these features vary from registrar to registrar, the concepts are the same. Pointing involves assigning a DNS (Domain Name Server) address, obtained from your hosting company, to your domain name grumpy.com. This is done at your registrar account.
Then, you must inform your hosting company to set up grumpy.com on their end, if they have not yet done so. And this is where domain name setup and monthly fees at your hosting company come in.
Forwarding (also referred to as redirecting), on the other hand, works a little differently. Lets say you wanted to set up grumpyspaint.com for your website. Instead of using the DNS method described above, you would simply forward it to grumpy.com, which would already be pointing to your website. In addition to being a little simpler, its likely youve just saved yourself some money.
How
When a surfer enters grumpyspaint.com, they simply get forwarded to your other name, grumpy.com, which is already pointing to your website. Its almost as if the surfer entered grumpy.com directly. And you dont need any additional setups at your hosting company when you use this method, no matter how many additional parked domain names you have. So, no setups, no fees.
To put it all together, if you had lets say 20 domain names, youd need to set up only one domain name at your registrar using the DNS method, and youd need your hosting company to setup that same name on their end. The other nineteen names would need no setup whatsoever at your hosting company. All youd have to do is redirect (at your registrar account) all nineteen names to that one name you already have set up. And, thus, youve saved yourself setup and/or monthly fees for nineteen parked domains.
How much can you save Some hosting companies can charge as much as $20 setup and $5 per month for each parked domain. Figure it out.
Be aware that some registrars charge extra for features such as forwarding. But theres no need to pay extra even for this. Many registrars, like directnic.com and enom.com, include forwarding and other features at no extra charge.
So, even if you do not necessarily take care of these domain matters yourself, but relegate it to a friend or coworker, being aware of the ins and outs can help you avoid getting ripped off by a hosting company whose job is not necessarily to keep you informed of the most budget-conscious way of running your operation. After all, the information super highway should be for surfing, not for being taken for a ride.
by Josh Greenbergerfrom shopndrop.com
Josh Greenberger: A computer consultant for over two decades, the author has developed software for such organizations as NASAs Goddard Institute of Space Studies, AT&T, Charles Schwab, Bell Laboratories and Chase Manhattan Bank. Since 1984, the authors literary works have appeared in such periodicals as The New York Post, The Daily News, The Village Voice, The Jewish Press, and others. His articles have ranged from humor to scientific to topical events. Visit him at