New post on the InspectorPages blog: Choosing a Domain Name

[Chris Morrell]

Hey folks,

There's a new post on the InspectorPages blog that you might be interested in:

A lot of people have emailed us with the same question: What domain name should I choose? Obviously each situation is different, but it usually comes down to two types of considerations: Should I pick a domain name based on the keywords I’m optimizing for (SEO)?* Or should I pick a domain name based on [...]

Continue Reading: Choosing a Domain Name

[Curtis M. Vilt]

Chris, I just bought my first one LAST NIGHT Now I can see what if it was a good decision or not so good..

[Bob Elliott]

What did you use?

[Curtis M. Vilt]

Bob we choose manateeinspector.com. I haven't been this nervous in ages.LOL. I see we could have done better but soon will be buying others.

[Bob Elliott]

OK was that county ?
Grab that next if not.

[Curtis M. Vilt]

Yes Bob that is the county. We are fairly rural and some wont buy outside their village or community though it would leave the door open. When we had our Business in Dekalb County Il. we were in Sycamore and customers would not cross the street to Dekalb. Had to market separately to both. So should we get the next county or a city.

[Dominic J. Maricic]

Hi Curtis,

CITY. Always chose city if you want to get to the top of the ranking the quickest and start bringing in the jobs. You can always create a 2nd site later if you need to. The first domain we talked about had the much larger population which is why I suggested targeting it first.

[Curtis M. Vilt]

I should have studied more. Everything with SEO and link has been sounding like Charlie Browns parents. It always gets on my nerves when someone asks advice and doesn't follow and I just did the same. It wont happen again Dom. Thank you for your patience.

[Bob Elliott]

Curtis the more sites the better.
Just use it and add some towns.
Remember to think like a home buyer.
What search term would you use in Google to find an inspector ?

You can use what you have and link back to any new sites.Add town names in the site.
Just remember not to water it down.

Example as reason not to worry.
Look how many inspectors here have high ranking when the have a url based on their own names.

Example two
Home inspector pro http://www.homeinspectorpro.com/ Does the url say anything about software or reports?
Dominic is number one despite that .LOL

[Dominic J. Maricic]

Originally Posted by belliott

Curtis the more sites the better.
Just use it and add some towns.
Remember to think like a home buyer.
What search term would you use in Google to find an inspector ?

You can use what you have and link back to any new sites.Add town names in the site.
Just remember not to water it down.

Example as reason not to worry.
Look how many inspectors here have high ranking when the have a url based on their own names.

Example two
Home inspector pro http://www.homeinspectorpro.com/ Does the url say anything about software or reports?
Dominic is number one despite that .LOL

It has 'home inspector' in there which is a large part of why I chose the company name. People here to do have high ranking domains without cities but it takes much longer to get there.

[Curtis M. Vilt]

I cannot say how much I appreciate your help guys. This is a new way of marketing to me and it is exciting. Can I put a domain name on the free Devhub site from NACHI and link it?

[Bob Elliott]

Originally Posted by cvilt

I cannot say how much I appreciate your help guys. This is a new way of marketing to me and it is exciting. Can I put a domain name on the free Devhub site from NACHI and link it?

If you mean the free sites,yes.
A link is a link is a link.
Do not get rid of the county domain but use it.
If expense of having two sites is more than you can handle get a free site from somewhere and use it as a secondary site.
HIP sites have better SEO value because of the templates than a free site however, but even a weak SEO site is better than nothing.

Check out my homeandcondoinspector link site and you see that even though I have not spent time on it their is some value to it for SEO anyway till I build it up.
Never eliminate but always add.

[Christopher Currins]

Originally Posted by cvilt

I cannot say how much I appreciate your help guys. This is a new way of marketing to me and it is exciting. Can I put a domain name on the free Devhub site from NACHI and link it?

Curtis when/if your site is up and running definitely link it from your MB signature.

[Chris Morrell]

Domains are cheap. I have over 100 personal domain names in my Go Daddy account. At $7.50/year (with our discount—see the link) you should own AT LEAST two domains. Whenever I have a new idea, the first thing I do is buy a few domains. You never know when they'll come in handy.

That said, unless you're ready to maintain multiple websites (and that means keep them up to date and add new content from time to time), I would recommend having only ONE website and use your best domain as your primary. The search industry has disincentived the old practice of maintaining multiple websites, and the trend is that they'll continue along that path. That's not the say that there aren't effective ways to use multiple sites with multiple targeted domains—it's just difficult and usually less valuable than spending that time on your main site.

[Curtis M. Vilt]

Dom, Go Daddy just did a swap and new name is manateehomeinspector.com
Thanks for the tip Chris.