June 20, 2020
When it comes to digital marketing, shortening your domain will get your brand across faster. However, before you ever employ this technique, you have to make sure you have acquired the right address. In other words, it all starts with the domain a business chooses and the history behind the link.
If you are interested in creating short links or building a multiple domain strategy, you need to get a domain first. There are three separate methods one can use to achieve this:
Each strategy has it’s own pros and cons that fit a business model differently.
The safest route is for a business to create their own domain. It allows you to have total control over the URL and is typically the cheapest option. This involves developing a new brand or microsite around your current setup.
Creating a new brand from scratch can be incredibly difficult so it might be best to start with a microsite first. Once you have a purpose, there are sites online that can help you come up with a quirky name for your domain.
This is an important step because you want to choose something that is not only engaging and related to your brand, but has potential for search engine optimization (SEO). That involves researching keywords that may have more pull than something you randomly select.
Once you have found an available domain, purchase it from the registrar of your choice. A few key things to remember:
This option requires you to take extra precautions. It used to be that people would buy a large number of expired domains to create their own blog network. However, Google caught on and started de-indexing PBNs, making this practice much less common.
Even though a business is not buying an expired domain for a PBN (private blog network), you still need to vet any link you are considering. Otherwise, it could be a waste of money if the link is bad.
Here are a few things you can do to check a pre-existing domain:
These two metrics reflect the SEO performance of a site. If an expired domain has a poor DA or PA, it might not be something you want to buy. It can be hard to recover from a link with a poor record.
DA and PA scores can be easily obtained through sites like Moz. You simply enter the URL of the expired domain and click “search.” Under the “authority” heading, you’ll see the DA and PA numbers pop up.
You want both scores to be as close to 100 as possible. Scores ranging from 60-80 are the most acceptable but you can make 50-60 work as well.
Other ways in which you can check on an expired domain include:
If the expired domain has a good DA, PA, link profile (i.e. no spam or links to spam), a solid ranking, and a legitimate appearance, it should be safe to buy.
This is where things can get a tad expensive. If there is a non-expired domain that is perfect for your brand but someone else owns the URL, it could cost you a pretty penny. Unfortunately, this is often the case for many existing domains.
There are a variety of sites you can utilize online to find out who owns the domain. Then it’s up to you to make an offer. If you can help it, this solution should be your last resort. However, with a strong brand that is in a stage of growth, it may be your only option.
Before you run an expensive or long-winded digital marketing scheme, it’s important to acquire the right domain and investigate it properly. The safest method is to start from scratch. However, if you already have a business in place, that may not be an option.
Whatever you choose, as long as the proper research is done upfront, your business should be good to go.
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