WEB-PRENEURING
More and more small businesses are thinking outside of the box when it comes to planning their online marketing strategies, in order to increase their visibility and acquire new customers. In this economic climate, now more than ever, companies must find creative ways to constantly attract more customers and keep their doors open. Delta Force Army Navy used this marketing method when they made the move to become a EBAY power seller in 1995. Today more then ever companies must think of the power that a $9.99 domain name can bring.
Recognizing this fact, to complement their company name web address, many companies are registering descriptive domain names that are associated with their products to drive more traffic to their site.
Descriptive domains like Vodka.com and Seniors.com, for instance, have not traditionally been purchased by established companies because they did not see much benefit in going beyond using their company name as a domain name. However, in recent years, this has changed as companies have interwoven creative online campaigns and have used important search-oriented keywords to drive traffic online.
There are a number of reasons why choosing a descriptive or generic domain name in addition to the company name can make a marketing campaign more effective. Using a keyword in the domain name can help drive traffic through direct navigation. A good example of this would be Vodka.com. A person searching the web for vodka may bypass a search engine and use direct navigation by typing the web address www.vodka.com directly into a browser. This vodka company now has the direct attention of an interested vodka buyer on their website. Other high profile brands that use this strategy include Calvin Klein (
www.underwear.com), H&R Block (
www.taxcut.com),Johnson & Johnson (
www.baby.com).
This growing interest in acquiring additional domain names has been encouraged by newer and easier methods of attaining them. In the past, the process of obtaining a premium domain name would often result in companies haggling for a fair price and executing risky transactions with private parties, in order to meet their branding goals. Now, with the support of domain marketplaces such as Netamedic, organizations can tap into the secondary domain market to find and obtain the name they desire, even if the name is already owned.
Texas-based Bice’s Florist can attest to the effectiveness of this strategy, as the company purchased around 20 descriptive names such as
flowernut.com,
blossomlink.com and
Eflowersite.com. This strategy has increased the company’s web traffic by 47%, and purchasing these names has also allowed Bice’s to close physical stores while increasing gross sales. Bice’s closed four locations, while increasing sales by $1.5 million. Keith Riewe, owner of Bice’s, says that since he is now able to track the hits from each domain, he can understand which are performing well and which aren’t.
When building an e-commerce profile and presence, businesses should cover their bases by seeking domains for both the company name and the subject matter of their business. The following tips and company success stories should be considered when implementing a descriptive domain name strategy
In order to maximize their web presence, small businesses should think like a consumer typing away on their computer. Why? People type in the generic domain expecting to find goods related to that subject. So, if a company has that domain, they will receive the benefit of natural, type-in traffic. This is similar to using a search engine like Yahoo! or Google. Entrepreneur and domain developer William McClure aspired to build a national coffee company for hotels and offices. With the current state of the economy, he wanted to invest in a commodity that will remain secure with a track record of being resilient in recessions. To acquire the right domain name for his coffee business, McClure sought the help of a leading domain marketplace to purchase and develop Coffee.org. Coffee.org is now “ahead of schedule” in terms of productivity, and McClure said that he’s “surprised at the untapped opportunities in the coffee market.”
Coffee.org appears on Google’s first page results for the search term “coffee.”
Obtain variations on a company’s name because web shoppers often mistype. If a business name ends in “s,” for instance, it makes good sense to also purchase the domain name without the “s.” Entrepreneur Warren Royal saw immediate benefits from owning both the bobbleheads.com and bobblehead.com domain names, when launching his Bobbleheads business.
Royal was able to purchase these domains from the owners by utilizing a secondary domain name marketplace. With the generic names consistently providing web traffic, he only needs to spend a few hours a week maintaining the site. With the amount of natural, type-in traffic the site receives, almost no additional advertising cost is required to sell the product.
Consider using quirky names that are also relevant to your business. Quirky domains are perfect for catchy brandable sites. The companies of some of the top sites on the net like
Monster.com for jobs, or
Amazon.com for books, have caught on to the appeal of quirky alternative domains. Domain names such as crab.com, hole.com and hottube.com (“hot tub” mistype) have been sold for thousands of dollars, as companies continue to leverage brandable names as a creative way to maximize their online presence.
Whether it’s acquiring these creative names to complement your company website or using them as your company’s main address, descriptive domains are an effective way to attract more customers. As evidenced by the above-mentioned examples, this strategy has been successfully used by companies of all sizes. There’s no limit to how imaginative business marketers can be when designing their domain name portfolio.
