How To Choose A Good Dating Domain
September 19, 2007 by PromoteDating
Filed under SEO
Whenever I begin the process of choosing what I hope will be a good dating domain, I always use the same criteria to make my decision. I once bought a domain from Godaddy at the going-rate for new domain purchases at the time, about 9 bucks I think, and sold it a few months later to a reputable dating sponsor for $7500. A return on investment like that has never happened since for me (although there have been many smaller ones) but I’m constantly reminded to find the best domain - not only to benefit my intended site, but just in case I ever want to sell it.
Keywords
There is always debate about whether to buy a domain suited to branding or one possessed of your keywords. I try to find a name to satisfy both requirements.
Anchor text relevant to our site is a major factor in determining our placement in the search engines. Since most sites link to us using our domain name it is, therefore, helpful to choose a keyword domain which reflects our business.
Some good examples would be fling.com, matchmaker.com, date.com, dating.com, friendfinder.com, americansingles.com. As we all know, getting our exact keyword(s) is usually impossible, unless we go micro niche (for instance, NosePickerSingles.com is available).
This is where we have to be a little creative and throw in an extra word. The phrase “Senior Singles” is unavailable but we can purchase FreeSeniorSingles.com instead.
Short
A short domain is easy to read, remember and say aloud. I tend to prefer two word domains and I would say three is the maximum to choose. Imagine your name being spoke over the radio. Does it sound good or silly? We need to respect branding as much as search engine algorithms. Long keyword domains sound unprofessional and are invariably hard to remember.
Memorable
Linked to the criteria for short domain names, you have the need for memorability.
A visitor can remember friendfinder.com a lot easier than thisisthemostrockingsite4datinyo.com.
Building a steady flow of repeat visitors is next to impossible unless your name is easy to remember.
Easy To Spell
By the same token as memorability, you need a domain everyone, of every nationality, can easily spell. I am often turned off some potentially good names simply because I know a lot of people wont be able to spell one of the words.
Self-Explanatory
When I chose Promote Dating as the name for this blog I felt happy that new readers would instantly know what it was about. Names like fling, adult friend finder achieve the same effect.
So there you have it my 5 criteria for choosing a good dating domain!
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