21 replies to this topic

[Ken Fisher]

Complicated For Me...Been Wrestling With This For Months

 

Situation: I have an ideal name (bought five years ago) in so far as being SEO effective with good keywords but it’s far too long as mentioned in another thread. Why? There are many variations people use for general search in this industry. Plus it has 21 characters and three words. I’ve been down that road before with another domain but with a two word phrase and 17 characters. It wasn't that bad, but I expect this one to be far worse.

Some original advice in how to deal with the long url was to brand a short memorable name. Or get one to stick and have it direct to the long url. In this case we have two advantages or do we?

Long url- keyword rich.
Short url- memorable and not “what’s the name of that site”

Problem: I’m having initial problems with people associating the long url with the current short “branding” name. I’ve come up with a newer name that’s being auctioned with time left of over two months. Any experience with those go daddy domain auctions? Is it worth my time to contact direct and just make a bid and get it out of the way? Or is this a bid and wait game? I can wait but…

 

About the project. Been online for only five weeks ..plenty of time to change some direction as there will not be content on the site until mid summer or so.

 

[iamlost]

I am terrible at picking names. A few comments that may be worth considering as you winnow:
* Google (if you care) has changed it's stance considerably with regard to keyword laden domain names. They used to be given an extra boost but that was removed some time back in favour of named entity recognition which includes brands. Of course if a keyword domain site had managed to turn those generics into an entity, i.e. brand, they weren't usually adversely affected by the change.

* a brand is 10/90 proposition:
---10%: the business can build it by consistent repetitive usage;
---90%: the business' audience build it by increasing recognition and usage;
Note: given the power of the audience in this regard you need to pick something that is preferably simple and easy to remember; and then use it on and off site.

Note: a simple easily recognisable logo can help.

[tam]

Ideally, you need something that does both: short, memorable and conveys what your company does. Not much to ask

 

I would get a sheet of paper and write down every word you can think of related to what you do, and see what you can come up with, and then I would ask your target market what they think. Tell them you're thinking about their concerns and would like their help to come up with something that works for them and you.

 

My main sites are 'findpetboarding' and 'therabbithouse' not the shortest but they say what they do and I think are fairly memorable. It's tricky finding urls in competitive areas though.

[Ken Fisher]

Good point about the exact match domain (EMD) algo change at Google. That's been on my mind as well. I'm now leaning away from using that long domain in lieu of a good five letter acronym that has the letters TV in it as the site is video related. For ten bucks...why not...snagged it today. I think I can make this work. If keyword links maintain some sort of importance these days and down the road I'm sure to get all sorts of variations that goes back to what was a problem with people using so many keyword variations as an industry term. Now it may become an advantage?

 

Perhaps I can make it work like Louisville KY does. They have signs like this all over...because it's pronounced so differently.

 

http://www.washtenaw.../louisville.jpg

 

...just thinking out loud.

 

I'm still interested in that auction mentioned. I saw one three months ago that had absolutely no interest/bids yet it is a very good keyword domain but with a dot net extension. It expired after three months. Now it's back with the same four digit minimum bid.

 

For some reason I don't have much trust in domain auctions. That's why I'm looking for anyone with experience.

 

Thanks lost!!

[Ken Fisher]

Oh my Tam. Rabbit houses! I never owned one so I have no idea how I would find one on the web...probably use cages, I didn't know they made houses for them. They ARE definitely not welcome around my house with my extensive gardens. In fact my neighbor started breeding them for food a few years ago. I was so annoyed thinking I'd have a HUGE problem and they'd be all over the place. The parents became cannibals (weird I thought)...problem avoided.

 

http://cabininthemou...h/label/Gardens

[tam]

That's your garden? Wow!

 

Scamp is a 'house rabbit' he lives indoors and uses a litter box, so it's the electrical chords rather than plants that get chewed. In fact he even has a positive effect on the plants, I believe rabbit droppings are considered the "black gold" of manures

 

I'd tend to avoid anything that needs explaining how to say. I've no experience with auctions.. maybe it would be worth approaching the owner directly with an offer, particularly if it has been on sale awhile.

[Walter]

I'm now leaning away from using that long domain in lieu of a good five
letter acronym that has the letters TV in it as the site is video
related

 

Hey Ken, is the site about videos or wood floors?  "TV" starts people down a path, if in truth your site is about wood flooring or home improvement you're going to have to pull them back in that direction.  If you could modify "TV" with something that indicates what the theme of the site is, that might work.   floortv.com . . . . floorvideos.com or  or something like that.   But if you don't modify the "tv" I think you're emphasizing the wrong thing.   What if its a generic acronym that you spell out in your header for example wfv.com and then a header that says "Wood Floor Videos".   

 

I can't vouch for the actual names, but I think I'm suggesting a direction.    I think you'll make it easier on yourself if you go with a sanitized generic name or a name that's naturally related to the theme of the site

 

Walter

[Ken Fisher]

What if its a generic acronym that you spell out in your header for
example wfv.com and then a header that says "Wood Floor Videos". 

 

Yes That's the direction I'm going.

[Ken Fisher]

Update:

 

I now feel like the original idea with zzvidz was a real train wreck. It's no wonder why I had so many problems. Thanks for all the thoughts! Opinions on new name/look?

 

I've never been good a color coordinating. That's the next step...

 

http://www.hardwoodf...-products2.html

[Walter]

Hey Ken,

 

I wonder about fading the image into a different color than white on the edges.  Otherwise, overall I think its a very nice looking site.

 

However, take my thoughts on the "look" of a site with a grain of salt, I'm never going to be mistaken for a graphic artist.

 

Walter

[Ken Fisher]

I wonder about fading the image into a different color than white on the edges

 

I was trying to make a good contrast...or did I miss on that too?

 

Probably have to read up on that too.

[tam]

I don't like the fuzz at the edges either, was that there before? Rather than fading a photo there, I'd look for a subtly textured background that looked a bit hardwood floor ish - very subtle though, don't go crazy.Of take your current photo and lower the contrast, colourize to match the site.

 

Does your drop shadow button have adjustment? If so, try reducing it a little, subtle drop shadows are the new in thing, big shadows look a bit dated.

[Ken Fisher]

Oh, I get what you're looking at. The background image?

 

I'm always experimenting and still learning new things.

 

I lost the taper effect when the container was expanded 60 px. Now it's back and the color or type of hardwood blends a bit better. Trying to figure out how to reduce the size of it from 48kb. I've used the save for web devices in PS. I guess it's a matter of pulling the center part of the image out that's not shown anyway, or putting two images side by side next to the container.

 

http://www.hardwoodf...-products2.html

 

I'm beginning to think I'll never please Tam. Btw girl, fix those broken (portfolio) links on your site. I was curious of your work and got A LOT of pages not found. Also curious about that home page?? My first impression was.. it's only one page...no real visuals.  I know designers can be fickle but curious as to why that design? Is that a Euro thing?

Edited by Ken Fisher, 06 February 2013 - 06:57 AM.

[Walter]

Hey Ken,

 

I don't think the stuff around the edge of the body should be white.  Tam's got a good eye for these things.  I wish there was some sort of "bat signal" we could send out for RissaBB and Seoigloo, they're very good at helping with these sorts of things too.  

 

Walter

[Ken Fisher]

You're killing me. My one proud moment a few months back! That took me hours to figure out..if we're on the same page

[tam]

 

Oh, I get what you're looking at. The background image?

 

I'm beginning to think I'll never please Tam.

 

 

Yep, that's where I'm looking, and I don't like the new one either

 

Btw girl, fix those broken (portfolio) links on your site. I was curious of your work and got A LOT of pages not found. Also curious about that home page?? My first impression was.. it's only one page...no real visuals.  I know designers can be fickle but curious as to why that design? Is that a Euro thing?

 

That design actually went up in 2002, it's ten years old ... so I can't actually remember the whys! I don't think it's dated too badly, if you don't look at the code (tables for layout!). I work on my own sites now rather than building other peoples, so it never quite makes it to the top of my to do list.

[tam]

This is more what I was describing... http://tamdesign.co....rdwoodfloor.jpg

 

Background is a slightly edited file (removed some knots) from here: http://wpliving.net/...unds-designers/

 

Btw, it also occurred to me that it's a little brown, having a contrasting colour is good, so I added a little red as an example

Edited by tam, 06 February 2013 - 01:52 PM.

[Ken Fisher]

1st PIC

 

Sorry. I can't do fake wood looks. It cheapens the product...especially that one. That small number of real wood floor image examples may hit your eyes the right way because maybe that's what you're accustomed to seeing over there. Older homes, buildings, much older flooring types. Here in the states people almost associate wood floors with fine furniture. Almost expecting perfection. Though I always insist you don't live on them, you walk on them.

 

I'll play around with the header and footer but please...red???????????????? Did you just throw that in to get a response?

[Walter]

Hey Ken,

 

if we're on the same page

 

 

Lets make sure.  On the edge of my screen where the wood background "fades" into white, I personally think it would be better if it faded into one of the colors in the wood flooring.  I think it focuses the eyes on the content of the site more.  The contrast between the wood floor tans and the stark white draws my eyes away from the content. 

 

I think we're talking about the same thing:

 

I wonder about fading the image into a different color than white on the edges

 

And....

 

I was trying to make a good contrast.

 I think contrast draws the eye, the stronger the contrast the more it draws the eye, or so I've read.   Do you want to draw so much attention to the edges of your site?

 

Sorry. I can't do fake wood looks. It cheapens the product...

 

Well.....if you every change your mind let me know.   I made this site for a friend and I think this is some damn fine fake wood....you elitist..lol

 

http://www.joesjerky.com/home/node/1

 

 

Walter

 

BTW....I don't think there is anything wrong with www.hardwoodflooringvideo.com  as a name.  Its semantically memorable and anyone clicking on it from Google is going to know exactly what they're going to get.   I think that's an issue of some importance.

Edited by Walter, 06 February 2013 - 05:33 PM.

[tam]

I bow to your flooring knowledge, I couldn't tell the difference in the pics. You could use your own image, I just meant fill the screen and don't make it too in your face or it detracts from the contents of the site in the middle.

 

The red is a little red, just the first colour I picked.