Does a Good Domain Name Really Matter?

Local businesses are being repeatedly told by marketing gurus that, if they do not have a presence on the internet, their local competitors (who do have a presence) will take business away from them. So, more and more consumers are first checking things out on the web prior to getting in their cars to visit a local business.  From restaurants to cleaners, an effective marketing-focused website creates a relationship with potential and current customers. But questions are asked. How does a local business start getting an online presence? In the beginning there is the name.  And, of course, a local business already has a name, the one that's on the front of the business.Yet this may NOT be the name you should get for your website.  So let's talk about choosing the URL's the domain name for your business website. How easy or hard are you going to make it for customers or potential customers to find you on the web?

Here are some of the questions to consider when choosing an effective domain name with which to market your local business:

Is your business name really hard to spell?  It's probably not a good idea to use your name. 

Or is your business name a strange spelling of a common name (for example, Jayne's Cleaners instead of Jane's Cleaners)?  Then maybe it isn't a good idea for you to use your business name.

Is your business name so common that this isn't a good idea (for example, Smith Cleaners)?

Is the name of your local business so unmemorable that people might not remember it (for example, Best Cleaners)?

Is your business name.com already taken by someone else?  If you get a .net or .biz domain name, you may be unintentionally sending traffic to the website of the business with that .com domain name.   

What names should you consider for your business domain name?
Let's say your cleaners business has the name Smith's Best Cleaners.  Imagine you get the domain name smithsbestcleaners.com and promote this on flyers or in local ads. How memorable is this domain name going to be?

When considering what domain name to get, ask yourself: What are the most compelling attributes of my cleaning business?  Do I have the lowest prices?  The quickest turnaround time?  The longest hours?  Do I have 24-hour drop off?

Now there's a thought.  What if you have or could add a 24-hour drop off service and use that concept for your website domain name?  Then you could get the domain name 24hourdropoffcleaners.com.  This domain name stands out because it promises a distinctive benefit.

Of course, to protect your business name, you would also get the domain name and have this domain name redirect to 24hourdropoffcleaners.com.  You do this just in case someone who does remember your business name correctly types that name.

Yet, look at what you've done for marketing your business by choosing a compelling benefit name for your website domain name rather than your business name or a common benefit such as "best cleaners" (whatever that means - best at what?  price? getting out stains?).  You've started an automatic marketing campaign with a strong benefit premise that can make you stand out in your local market.  That's using the deceptively simple act of choosing a website domain name as a smart marketing technique.

Phyllis Zimbler Miller is president of Miller Mosaic LLC (http://www.millermosaic.com), a company that is developing websites for small or local businesses to quickly have an internet presence.