You could be making a costly mistake if your company’s only domain name (URL) is yourcompanyname.com.
Don’t get me wrong, you should definitely register yourcompanyname.com, .net, .biz, etc. Not only to prevent competitors from taking it, but also because prospects and customers will expect to find you there.
If that’s all you’ve registered, however, you’re probably missing out on a great marketing opportunity.
Let me tell you why with an example.
The drug testing company I’m involved with is named Integrity Detection Systems. It’s a fairly boring company name, with the accompanying boring URL of www.integritydetection.com.
When launching a new service that lets parents order drug detection kits online, we decided to register the domain name, www.TestMyHomeForDrugs.com.
Then I ran some tests in Google AdWords. Simply changing the URL in the Google ad to the more descriptive www.TestMyHomeForDrugs.com increased clickthrough rates by around 50%!
With the success of that URL test, we now have a stable of URLs that we can use, depending on what aspect of the business we’re promoting including www.TestMyBusinessForDrugs.com and www.TestMyHomeForMeth.com.
A short, descriptive, memorable URL that highlights specific products or services you offer can be a highly effective marketing tactic both online and off.
Think about it.
If you tell a prospect your domain name at a networking event, are they more likely to remember www.YetAnotherFinancialServicesFirm.com or www.TheRetirementExperts.com?
www.MorrisJohnsonSmithLawOffices.com or www.ProtectYourEstate.com?
As the water level starts rising in their basement when a pipe bursts are they going to recall www.JohnDoesPlumbingServices.com or www.NoMoreLeaks.com?
Domain names are one of your business’ most prominent marketing messages. And at under $10 a year, they are an extremely affordable tool for a small business to have in their marketing arsenal. Be sure to make the most of them!
(TIP: Two sites that I’ve found tremendously helpful while brainstorming new domain names are www.InstantDomainSearch.com and www.Nameboy.com.)
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