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This is the first post in this series on how to build your own DIY website.
At the end of it, you should have enough information to know how to setup your very own good looking website quickly and easily.
I’m a big fan of DIY for one simple reason. If I run into problems, I know how to solve them myself. I like to have as much control as possible when it comes to running my site.
I’m also a major advocate of simplicity. If you don’t need to do more, then don’t. Sometimes good enough, is good enough.
Let’s Get Started
Alright then, jumping right into it, the first thing you want to do is to choose a name for your website.
While you can choose any name you want really, there are a few factors you may want to consider to help make your site more memorable and easily found through search engines online.
I will discuss these factors in the post below.
Rule 1: Make it catchy, easy to remember and easy to spell
If you decide to name your website after a certain Icelandic volcano that erupted recently, chances are not many people are going to be able to remember how to say let alone spell your web address.
If you think about sites like Google, or Yahoo or Facebook, these names are easy to remember and easy to spell.
If you’re going for a brand name that doesn’t really mean anything on its own ( Like Nike, Microsoft or Adidas) , I recommend not letting it have more than 2 to 3 syllables and to keep it as short and as easy to spell as possible.
If you’re going for a name that uses common easy to spell words (like vegetariancookingclass.com or dogtrainingmastery.com), that’s fine as long as you know that the people you are targeting won’t have a problem remembering or spelling your site name.
You want the name to be catchy, easy to remember and easy to spell for your target audience.
Rule 2: Use keywords or key phrases in your website name when possible
Keywords are words that people would use if they were interested in finding your content.
Key phrases are usually a combination of a keyword and a few other words. This is what people will usually type into search engines when they are looking for specific information.
For example, if you wanted to find sites on learning japanese, you wouldn’t just type “japanese” into Google.
You would probably type “Learn Japanese” or “How to speak Japanese” or ” Online Japanese Lessons”. These are all key phrases.
If you haven’t already figured it out, the primary keyword here is “Japanese” and the secondary keywords are words related to learning.
Keywords and phrases improve the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) of your website
Knowing what words your target audience will use when searching for the information you offer is very important.
Having keywords in your website name help improve its search engine rank which can help improve the chances of your site showing up when the keywords are searched.
You wouldn’t use the word “Spanish” in your site name if you were trying to attract people interested in learning japanese.
Keywords and phrases grab the attention of your target audience
Having a website name that contains at least a primary keyword is also more likely to get the attention of your target audience than a website name that didn’t.
For instance, compare “JohnDoe.com vs JapanesewithJohn.com”.
Who would you pick if you were interested in learning japanese?
Rule 3: When in doubt, use a “.com”
While you don’t have to do this, the reason I recommend it is because “.com” is easily the most popular ending for website addresses.
It makes it easier for people to remember your site name and also helps your site be found globally in the search engines.
The only exception to this rule is if your target audience is primarily the people in a specific country.
In cases like these, you may want to have your country’s web address extension so that your website is given priority in the search engines.
This means that websites with the Australian extension (.com.au) are more likely to be shown first if you ran a search through the Australian Google search.
This is a great idea if you own a local business in that country and only cater locally.
In other cases though, stick with a “.com” to maximize the global reach of your site and to make the web address easy to remember.
Take Action
So now that you have some guidelines, it’s time to take action.
Using the guidelines above, brainstorm some names that you would like for your site.
In the next post, I’m going to show you how to check to see if your name is available and how to register it.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
All good advice. The only thing I would add is that if you want to be able to track your “Brand” to see how popular it has become and how people are reacting to it, you may want to pick a more unique title. Googling for “learnjapanese” isn’t going to tell you a lot about your brand, because you’re going to see a lot of results not related to your site. Something like “Japan-EZ” might give you a more trackable brand.
I do agree, and I’m always trying my best to strike the balance between for a site name that is both unique and SEO friendly.
My thinking is, try to go with a combination of both (have at least one primary keyword) and if that isn’t possible, try title combinations with words related to your primary keyword. In this case instead of using Japanese, use Japan instead.
I’m not saying your site is going to bomb if it doesn’t have a primary keyword in it (for instance my site name has no primary keywords), however it does help improve its chances of being ranked higher in search engines if you’re aiming for a very specific topic.
There’s more than one way to attract traffic to your site and if I had to choose between an SEO optimized site name that wasn’t unique vs a memorable brand name, I would choose the brand.