Choosing the best GEO domain

[alexbanks]

Hi, I have just signed up! So I am a newbie to this forum. I have searched around and had a few of my questions answered already.

I have several domain names and I would like to know which I should use as my primary domain, and what I should do with the others.

The domains I have are,

GEO+rentals.ca <-- canada extension
GEO+properties.com
GEO+accomodation.com
rent+GEO.com

As you can tell the topic is real estate / rentals in canada.

After my own research, I think the GEO+rentals.ca is the best domain to go for, as a quick search on google keyword's tool shows it gets searches (exact). My only concern is someone else has the .com extension. But they are no where to be seen on search engines as their website is quite bad.

I initially wanted to use my companies name as the domain, but this would mean it was 27 characters (4 words) long, although I do have the initials of these 4 words as a 4 letter domain.

In terms of getting results, am I correct in choosing the GEO+rentals.ca domain? if so what should I do with the other domain names. I have researched parking these domains or simply re-directing them but the correct method is really hard to find with little experience.

Many Thanks

Alex Banks

 

[Shane]

I disagree with you. The .ca extension already identifies the region. Despite Canada's acceptance of the .CA you must remember .COM is king. I personally believe geo domains are only useful if you own the .com (unless it's a REALLY STRONG keyword). You can take a look at the difference in price between 4 letter .coms, .nets, .orgs and .ca's (You can hand reg 4 letter .ca's). While short domains and geo domains are vastly different the price reflects overall value and acceptance of the extension.

-Shane

 

[alexbanks]

Hi Almost, thankyou for your response.

Whilst I understand .ca identifies the region, I only rent properties in one area of Canada, Sorry I should have made that clear. It is quite a popular area and my reason behind choosing that domain was because it yields the most natural search traffic. I am just trying to find what domain would bring me the most traffic.

If I was to use this domain as my primary domain, I am confused as to what to do with the other domains. Should I set-up mini sites or have these re-directed? Which (from a professional point of view) is the best practice to use?

Many Thanks

Alex

 

[Shane]

Now I understand. I thought you were looking for investment domains (I should really learn to stop skimming posts).

First off, you are absolutely right 27 characters is wayyyy to long; I wouldn't even write 27 letters on a birthday card to my mother. I personally would use the 4 letter domain you already have for your primary website. I don't see keyword+geo as being a professional option for an offline business (jmo).

From an SEO stand point, it doesn't really matter which domain you pick as long as you create genuinely useful content. I've found exact match domains are only needed if you intend to provide very shallow content. Google is slowly taking away exact match domain weight in their ranking algo.

From a business stand point you need to focus on BRANDING. With property it is important to convey professionalism, trust and reliability. Without the aforementioned factors your conversion rate will be negligible, at best.

The exact match domain option would be your best option if you were going to use affiliate links or a lead gen program. Since you are a legit offline business you should buy around your business name. The 4 letter .com, that you already have, in conjunction with the corresponding .ca would be your best bet.

This is just my opinion so take it with a grain of salt.

Regards,
Shane

 

[alexbanks]

That's a very good reply! I fully understand your views on Branding.

So with that in mind, should I set the .ca extension of my 4 letter domain as a 301 redirect?

Many Thanks

Alex

 

[Shane]

I would actually use the .CA as your primary URL since you operate locally. It's really just personal preference though. Which do you think would make a potential customer more comfortable? Would a .CA entice someone to contact you about a property? You could also do some testing to see which converts better. I'd imagine the .CA would get a better click through rate in the SERPS. Another thing to consider - You could leverage the geo properties of the extension in conjunction with smartly named webpages. For instance, You have local listings in Kelowna, BC.. Your URL could read XXXX.ca/bc/kelowna - Which sheds a ton of light on what the page contains .

 

[Biggie]

if you're depending on SE traffic, after development....then the number of letters in the domain is irrelevant, as long as they describe intended location/niche'/business/service,etc.


why?

because users will be clicking on a "link" in a search engine (not typing in the url), until the name is fixed in the minds of return or referred visitors.


still, 27 letters is only 2 more than "chicagorealestateattorney.com' which was sold for $$$$ and reusableconstructionmaterials.com (a hand-reg) has 29 letters but is on 1st page of G for terms and earns $0.78 > $1.28 EPC

though those are .com, and you're using .ca, it's even more imperative that you use a descriptive keyworded domain.


in a case where you have the acronym for the lengthy domain, i'd use the longer domain, when that domain is made-up of the keywords i'm trying to rank for.

i'd probably redirect the shorter domain to it and or maybe include the acronym in content of site to achieve association with those letters.

once the acronym has established association, then later you may consider using it as main url, but keep the longtail.


imo...

 

[Shane]

If you look at heat maps of the SERPs you will immediately recognize that just ranking doesn't matter anymore. For competitive niches it's about establishing trust from the get go. Additionally with the introduction of "rich snippets" via schema.org's micro data creating an appealing and easy to read URL in addition to proper optimization will multiply your CTR.

I'm not saying long tail doesn't work but the same principals work for non-match domains. If you had the domain "EggsAreYummy.com" and used rehashed content about hiking in Kyrgyzstan - you wouldn't rank for the search query "eggs are yummy". However if you reverse the situation and have the domain "HikingInKyryzstan.com" you could still rank for "eggs are yummy" by writing relevant content.

At the end of the day exact match domains are much like vanity license plates... Just cause the plate reads Ferrari doesn't change the fact you're in a 80's Civic Hatchback. And no that muffler doesn't make the car any faster.

 

[Biggie]

And no that muffler doesn't make the car any faster.

if you say so...

 

[alexbanks]

Thankyou for all the advice guys! The longtail domain I have is actually just the company name with property management on the end, so it's not the best domain.

I think I will stick with the 4 letter domain as it is already my established site, I am in the process of changing the site.

Thanks guys!

 

[Eric Loiselle]

Hi the name is Eric and i am new here,

So first hi everyone and i want to ask biggie a question:

1. what about a keyword name like bestlawyers.ca or bestairlines.ca

are those good keywords to buy in your opinion?

Thanks for your input,
Eric