So you have come up with a winning concept but I am having a battle in my head about which domain to use: - A brandable domain name one that is not so keyword healthy ( to begin with). For example: stumpleupon.com google.com yahoo.com digg.com squidoo.com All those words don't mean much to someone who doesn't know the internet but after building a brand the are known for that. - A domain name for keywords: SearchEngine.com socialbookmark.com I have a dilema as far as which type to choose? All advice appreciated.
I would chose the domain with keywords because they have the potential to rank well (domains + keywords = weigh pretty good in terms of SEO). If you're going to use some other nonrelated word, note that you'll be doing A LOT of branding to get the name out there.. (and extra SEO work)
I see where your coming from but it appears to me it's better in the long run to develop a unique brand ?
Brand it. UNLESS you can buy a domain like "internet.com" or "coffee.com"... in that case, get the keyword.com Brandable names are always better because one you get into serious SEO it won't make a difference and general marketing is easier once people have remembered your unique brand. My 2c.
I think the question is. What site will you create under the domain. If you create a site with much great content that people will like then branding is what I recommend. With great original content even keywordlike domains can become a brand. But then you have to find something relatively short. I think the key is to get something in between. Like Gmail. And the thing is that it doesn't have to be long. The brand part of it could be a letter and then you emphasize it in the logo(Like Kelloggs with the special K)
If you can come up with a suitable name this would be my personal choice as well. Keywords into a brand name serve all purposes. It's harder to brand an unknown name.
use a keyword name, brandable is great, and yes we all dream of coming up with the next nonsense word that becomes as well known as google but the reality of it is, you will invest a lot of money and time to get that nonsense word to become a brand, keyword domains are focused and more easily remembered. good luck.
use a name that has the keyword and is easy to remember. I think the first priority should be to get a name without '-' and to get a .com domain
All depends on the competition for the keyword. You can easily rank high for low competitive keywords/market, if you've keyword in domain. But, for a high competitive keywords, there is little use in having keyword in your domain name. for ex., you will not get good SERPs by just having "dating" in your domain name for the keyword 'dating'
Domains with good keywords are good for SEO, however they won't help a lot if you choose generic keywords for which loads of people are already competing. A domain name with wise keywords can do a great job. Wordtracker can help find them.
You're giving SEO too much importance. If you're starting a serious business your brand is more important than some thousads of google visitors that really won't add much to your bottom line. Marketing > SEO, anytime. Focus on that.
Possibly I'm confused, but isn't SEO a form of marketing? For instance being the first site to show up in a search engine for a popular keyword to get you 'thousands of google visitors' seems like a pretty good strategy. I would say go for the keyword instead of the brand, afterall it isn't as if you can't turn your keyword phrase into a brand. But unless you really know what you're doing (i.e. more than I know, or else I would do it) I wouldn't try to make a name like 'ebay' or 'youtube' or 'digitalpoint' words said in everyday conversation among friends.
you need to decide what kind of business you want. To me choosing a brandable name implies longevity and the site should have some depth to it. If you want keyword only then you are creating a site for search engines and not your customers. If your site is successful than I don't think a keyword URL is needed.
I'd go with the brandable option, preferably with a keyword, or at least part of one, stuck in there. For example, for a tech company, something like "filtec.com"... brandable, but still with a little bit of a keyword in it to make it more memorable.