Tuesday, April 28, 2009

I Joined the SEO Book Community

Good Morning Readers!

A 5:00 AM this morning, an hour before my alarm, my brain was swarming with thoughts of Twitter, my SEO Blog and work... (kinda sad, I know)... I found myself sleepily stumbling towards the computer, the goal being to make at least a quick blog post, if anything. Opening Fire Fox and saying "yes" the prompt question, "would you like to restore your previous session?" opened up my Twitter Account ... of course, there are my fearless SEO Tweeps, already awake, sharing, sharing, sharing... First tweet that caught my eye:

SEOBook post: Brand Considerations When Choosing Domain Names http://bit.ly/rx79Q

So, I followed and it took me to one of my favorite SEO sites: SEO Book. It`s easy for me to be skeptical with SEO blogs in general as there is so much misconception out there it`s not even funny, but in this case, I generally not only agree 100% with the content of the posts, but actually consider these guys an authority in this space.

The post itself is on brand consideration when considering a domain name. I think it`s more that just a coincidence that I stumbled upon this post, only having just had a lengthy discussion just yesterday on a new domain purchase and if and how he should integrate his keyword into the domain decision.

Having been a fan of the site for years and never actually joining their community, I thought I was past due and signed up: My SEOBook user profile.. I think it`s great to be part of the community, but I also felt prompted to comment, here`s what I said:

"Great post! I was just speaking about this yesterday with a new client who was still considering his domain name. The big question was, should the domain contain the root target keyword? After much deliberation, we decided mutually that a shorter domain that was much catchier would be the better choice. It`s true that direct traffic comes a lot easier when you can drop your name causally in conversation, hand out a business card with it or do some form of advertising not internet based and have people remember it and ultimate search for your name directly.

The problem my company is facing with our domain name: textlinkbrokers.com is the name became the brand and therefore the common misconception is that all we offer are links. At the point in the game we are now offering PPC management, Landing Page Optimization, full SEO and even graphic design work and much more... but the name itself suggests all we do are links. We could consider a "re-branding" but that takes away from years of work to build our name...

My suggestion? If you are even considering an expansion down the road with your business offerings, don`t pigeon hole yourself with a name (Domain or Brand) that limits what the public will think of you. Keeping it broad at least leaves room for unlimited growth within your brand association."