Domain Names - Picking and Displaying

All too often I see agents and brokers pick long complicated domain names. For example . . . www.miamiluxuryrealestate.com That's a mouth full to say, not to mention to read and decipher what it is. It's also very difficult for the search engines to decipher. The crawlers read this as one word, then the crawlers my try to break out Miami, but with domain this long, even when someone is search for "miami luxury real estate" the website does not show up on the first few pages.

So here are a few tips.

1. If you are truly stuck on a long domain name, buy the hyphenated version. So in this case, buy www.miami-luxury-real-estate.com At least the search engines have a chance to read and identify your domain. And it is a lot easier on the eye for consumers to decipher what your website is all about.

2. Whether your domain is too long, too short or just right, you always want to display it in ads, sponsored links and anywhere else with capital letter breaks. For example . . . www.MiamiLuxuryRealEstate.com is much easier to read than www.miamiluxuryrealestate.com And the same holds true for www.Miami-Luxury-Real-Estate.com

3. Better yet, try to find shorter domain name that will be easier to use in and on all of your marketing materials. If you can't find the dot.com domain, next look at dot.us, dot.org or dot.net. Don't get too crazy with all of the new domain providers. The only other one you want to consider is dot.pro, available through www.Encirca.com I own several, and my clients own quite a few more.

4. One final tip, even though there are dozens more. When buying a domain, consider what your clients are going to be searching for. In the example used here, is a buyer really going to be searching for "miami luxury real estate" or might they be searching for "miami condos" or "miami mansions" or "miami luxury homes" or "miami waterfront homes."

With all that said, be careful. You can get carried away with domain names. You want one solid name that is the main domain. Then if you want secondary domains to point to the main domain fine, but plan how you are going to use them. I see clients that own dozens of domains for one product or area. You can't possibly manage the effectively when you compare the amount of time you must invest, compared to investing that time in the main domain.

If you have a question about this post, please post in the comments section. I will respond to all questions posted.

Mike Morgan, J.D., CRS, GRI, SRES, e-PRO, REO TRANS Platinum
"Internet Marketing for Real Estate Professionals"

Phone: (772) 260-5448

Email: Mike@MikeMorgan7.com

Website: www.MikeMorgan7.com