{"id":2535,"date":"2013-06-17T08:15:44","date_gmt":"2013-06-17T08:15:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dental-media.co.uk\/marketing\/?p=2535"},"modified":"2015-12-09T10:02:33","modified_gmt":"2015-12-09T10:02:33","slug":"domain-name-selection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dental-media.co.uk\/marketing\/advice\/domain-name-selection\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s in a name….?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Domain names and how they fit into your web strategy<\/h2>\n

Your website domain name is an extremely important asset and one which warrants careful selection and ongoing care. Your domain name is the ‘sign-post’ on the web that points to your website and without it, your website and blog will stop working.<\/p>\n

We are often asked for advice when clients are selecting a domain name, so here are a few tips and some guidance which will hopefully serve as a useful reference.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Where can I purchase a domain name?<\/h3>\n

There are two options here a) we look after the purchase and ongoing management for you or b) you can do it yourself. If you elect to look after it yourself, there are a number of domain “registrars” out there from whom you can purchase. All we would say is that it only costs a few extra pounds for us to do this on your behalf – we will look after the renewals to ensure that you don’t lose your domain. We have had several examples where self-managed clients have actually inadvertently let their domains lapse so for a few extra pounds, it may be useful to leave that to us. However, the choice is yours.<\/p>\n

What words should I incorporate in my domain name?<\/h3>\n

This is a very important topic. Whilst it’s tempting to stuff your domain name with keywords, you need to exercise some care. Several months ago, Google introduced an ‘exact match domain’ penalty (EMD) that did just that, penalised low quality sites with keyword stuffed domains.<\/p>\n

However, the quality of the website<\/a> is the key here – we have experience that suggests an EMD can still be advantageous as long as the site in question is of high quality and regularly updated. We believe this indicates to Google that you mean business and consequently they don’t apply an EMD penalty. We were able to get a site to the top of the rankings for the phrase “Derby dental implants” in less than 3 months using an EMD. This site incorporates blogging and is supported by low scale SEO and social media, i.e. active and authoritative in Google’s eyes.<\/p>\n

Another important thing to consider is the portability of the domain i.e. is it sensible to tie your domain to a specific location? We have an example of a client who’s domain name included his property number in Harley Street as part of his domain name. We moved him to number one in Google for key terms and then he changed address! So consider your domain name carefully. We are always happy to assist and to check what is available.<\/p>\n

Who exactly is the domain name ‘registrant’ and what does this mean?<\/h3>\n

The domain registrant is the legal owner of the domain name which you advise at the time of purchase. Domains should be registered in the name of the business or individual that owns them and NOT in the name of the design company who may be acting on your behalf. Frustratingly, when clients transfer across to our services, more often than not we find that the previous dental design company has registered the domain in their own name, not that of the client. We recommend doing a “WHOIS” look-up to ensure that your domain name is actually registered to you – just search on Google for this. If it’s not, get your design company<\/a> to change the registrant details immediately.<\/p>\n

Renewing your domain<\/h3>\n

Your domain name is registered for a period of time which you can select when purchasing. Several weeks before your domain is due for renewal we will advise and renew it on your behalf. Alternatively, if you manage your domain yourself, you should configure your domain management system to send you a warning in advance of renewal. You can also set your domain to auto-renew as long as you have a valid payment mechanism on file at the registrar.<\/p>\n

Is it correct that lots of different domains will help my search ranking?<\/h3>\n

\"DomainThis is definitely not the case. A domain name can only be useful in search if it is backed by a website. Domains on their own will not show in search results. The only real reason to purchase additional domains is for brand protection and, if you see a good one, maybe grab it for future use.<\/p>\n

Summary<\/h3>\n

Your domain name is an important part of your web property and must be selected and maintained carefully to ensure that your website and any associated properties like your blog, keep working. You can look after this yourself or for a small management fee, we can do it on your behalf. If you would like any guidance on domain selection and management for your dental website and blog, simply call us for free advice on 01332 672548<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Domain names and how they fit into your web strategy Your website domain name is an extremely important asset and one which warrants careful selection and ongoing care. Your domain name is the ‘sign-post’ on the web that points to …<\/p>\n

What’s in a name….?<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-advice"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dental-media.co.uk\/marketing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dental-media.co.uk\/marketing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dental-media.co.uk\/marketing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dental-media.co.uk\/marketing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dental-media.co.uk\/marketing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2535"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"https:\/\/www.dental-media.co.uk\/marketing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2535\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6812,"href":"https:\/\/www.dental-media.co.uk\/marketing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2535\/revisions\/6812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dental-media.co.uk\/marketing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dental-media.co.uk\/marketing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dental-media.co.uk\/marketing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}