If you haven’t purchased your family (LastName.com) or business (FirstLastMD.com) domain name now is the time to do it, even if you don’t build a website. Owning your domain name will allow you to own your future digital footprint and aid in reputation management. Despite all of the hard work you put into social media (Fb, Tw, etc.) you don’t own or control those platforms.
Domain names affect SEO (Search Engine Optimization). While exact match domains (EMDs) are no longer a necessity, keywords in your domain name can still help your SEO website ranking. Your domain name does not have to match your website title, if you build a website.
Choosing a Domain Name – FirstLastMD.com
- Use .com (43% of all URL extensions) because it is easily branded and remembered. Maybe use .org if it is an institution, .net if all else fails
- Aim for 6-14 characters
- Make sure it’s easy to type and pronounce, that is, use a real word or acronym
- For domain names, do NOT use numbers, punctuation, underscores, hyphens, spaces or special characters such as * . ” / \ [ ] : ; | = , < ? > & $ # ! ‘ { } ( )
- Avoid doubled letters
- Use CamelCase on your marketing material indicating the separation of words with a single capitalized letter
- Consider using a keyword that reflects a possible website
- Check if it’s not trademarked or already used
- Use domain generators for assistance
- Multiple variations of your primary domain can be useful, but not necessary
- Act quickly before someone else takes it. The usual price is < $15/year
QR Code Your Domain Name
Build your free QR code and save it as a .PDF at 1024 x 1024 pixels. The QR code can be added to your business card, so the domain name length is not as important anymore. Anyone with a camera phone can hover over the QR code and the link will appear.
E.g., QRCode Monkey – QR Code Generator.
301 Redirect Your Domain Name
Login to your domain name hosting company and 301 redirect your domain name to your webpage on the internet. A 301 redirect is a way to reroute traffic from one URL to another one. If you need assistance call your hosting company or contact me.