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MARKETING POWER OF DOMAIN NAMES
Each and every month over 175,000 Internet
domain names are reserved. That is almost 6,000 names per day, every day.
How do you go about making sure your company's web site name is recognized
and found from the millions of domain names already in existence?
Your company needs every Internet promotion and marketing technique to
allow potential customers to easily find your web site. One powerful way
to help stand out from the thousands of other mortgage web sites is to
have a professional sounding and easily remembered Internet domain name.
The wrong domain name selection can cost your company thousands of lost
commissions everyday.
HOW TO SELECT AN UNIQUE DOMAIN NAME
Let us analyze what is happening in the "real world". Domain
names have their own social class built into place. There are the most
desired extension (*.com); and then there are all the other extensions
(*.net, *.org, *.cc). Validation of this is evidenced by the newer
versions of Internet browsers.
Just type any word, "mortgages" for example, and the latest
Netscape and Internet Explorer versions will complete the address by
automatically adding the ".com" if you don't type it in the full
address. If you currently have a "*.net" or "*.org"
domain name, you already have one strike against you (i.e. potential lost
business).
The dot com names are the most preferred and desirable. The dot com names
can be compared to a having a toll free 1-800 number. It is much better to
have a 1-800 number, instead of a 1-888 number. People will automatically
assume a dot com at the end of domain name (not *.net or *.org). As you
can see, securing a "good sounding" domain name can get quite
confusing ... if you don't know what to do.
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Assume
you meet a perfect mortgage client at a social event and they want to
contact you. If you tell this person your phone number is 1-800-HOMELOAN,
then they have a good chance of remembering you. If you tell her your
company's phone is 1-888-HOMELOAN, then there is a chance that she might
confuse your phone number and possible dial your competitors toll free
number (i.e. 1-800-HOMELOAN). Just because of some Internet confusion, you
have possibly lost another mortgage client.
SEARCHING FOR A NAME
Let us assume you have a mortgage
company and you wanted the domain name mortgage.com. You check it and see
it is gone, so you say, "Well, I will just take loans.com" gone
too, as is almost every other single and multiple word combinations
dealing with loans. After going through two and three word permutations
such as mortgagebroker.com, mortgagehomeloan.com, and then off to more
permutations mortgagehomeloans.com, you remember that 175,000 domains
names are taken every month. (Hmm, I bet many of the "good
names" are gone.) So you start checking the *.net and *.org
availability and soon find out many of the "good" names are no
longer available here either.
Finally after days of searching, you find a domain name
"loans-4-u.net" available. Finally, an identity! This is where
marketing problems occur. If you have to explain your domain name, or how
to spell your domain name, you have lost your effectiveness.
NAME RECOGNITION
Now back to "you meet the perfect mortgage customer at a social
event" and they want to contact you. You proudly tell her that your
domain name is loans-4-u.net and she claims she will visit your site
tonight. Assuming this perfect client does look for you site, does she
type in loansforyou.com, loanz-4-you.com, loansforu.net, loanzforyou.org,
loans-for-ewe.com… well, you get the idea.
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You have now spent thousands of dollars to
develop and promote your mortgage web site. And with just a little
Internet confusion, potential customers are going to a competitor web site
just because they are confused on how to spell your domain name. This
might happen numerous times a day, and it will cost you thousands of
dollars in new loan originations. You don't want to give away business to
your competitors by having a "confusing" domain name.
Moral of the story, all things being equal,
get an easy to remember or simple or descriptive dot com name.
CLICKABILITY
Your domain name is like the lead headline of a newspaper. It can
immediately tell potential customers that your domain specifically
addresses what they are seeking. If a potential customer does a search
engine query for "low interest mortgage loans" and the first
three domains presented are, loanz-4-awhile.com, bluepacificshores.com and
lowinterestmortgages.com. Which name are you more likely to select?
This potential customer will review the domain name addresses listed and
see if any domains sound professional and relevant. If your company has a
professional sounding domain name, this potential customer may be more
likely to "click" on YOUR web site to see what mortgage services
are offered. More "clicks" on your mortgage web site means more
potential business.
If you miss even one potential customer, you have lost a potential
commission of thousands of dollars. After spending thousands of dollars
promoting and marketing your web site, this is an expensive way to lose
business.
H-Y-P-H-E-N-S
We are frequently asked, "Should I hyphenate my domain name? It
will make it easier to read." Well, the answer is usually no. Look at
the domain
Continue...
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