Auto Media Blog

Many people reading this may wonder...What is Domaining?

To make it simple it is purchasing multiple domain names to be used in the promotion of a specific program, sale or manufacturer event.  Here are 16 Tips specifically for car dealerships when choosing additional domain names:

1. Keep it Simple.....The longer the domain name, the more difficult it is to remember and the more often there will be typo's by people trying to get to your site
2. Buy domains related to Manufacturers promotions.  For example Nissan recently had the "Nissan Tent Event".  Why not buy a domain that ties out to promo?  Leverage the manufacturers broad spend.
3. Buy a .Com Name if Possible and remember the shorter the better
4. Dont be afraid to buy .Net and even .Biz, if a .Com is Not available.  Or a shorter version of the name you are looking for is available as a .Net or .Biz.  DotCom's are the most well known and get allot of "direct type" visitors, but A great name is a great name regardless if it is DotCom.
5. Opt for a shorter As mentioned above a shorter .Net is better  than a longer .Com For example, DecemberToRemember.Net is better than TheLexusDecembertoRemember.Com (They are both pretty long but are very well known by consumers)
6. Try different variations of "keywords"  when buying a domain, but think like a person searching the web, how would you look for a car?  That is a great place to start when choosing a domain.
7. Use tools, perhaps the best tool out there to give you an idea is Overture Keyword Selector tool BUT use the SEO Chat version offered here: http://www.seochat.com/seo-tools/keyword-suggestions-overture/
8. Type in your "manufacturer" name like "Toyota" and see what the most popular searches are, and whittle down from there.  The sheer volume of searches will blow your mind when it comes to autos, AND here is a quick fact; The overture tool only reflects Yahoo searches...Multiply the numbers you see by 2.2 to have a tenative idea of  how many searches were done on Google.  Look At the attached screenshot for a glimpse of the #'s of Toyota Searches.
   
   Overture Screen Shot
9. Geographic domains.....Ahh the bread and butter.  We will be vague on this only because if you have something that is working well for your self why share it with competitors, but here is a hint people search by area when looking to buy a car.  Does that help?
10. Avoid "-" (hyphens) when you can unless it is a Great Domain like New-Car.Com, otherwise there will be allot of typos as well or worse yet, people going to the identical domain, owned by somebody else with out the hyphen.
11. Avoid excessive use of #'s as they are not often searched.
12. Avoid domain names that are not .Com, .Net, and .Biz.  Some people put a high emphasises on .Org domains but they don't really apply to a commercial business.
13. Buy a .Mobi, This is the extension for Mobile phone use.  They have not taken off yet......BUT recent domain sales seem to show that .Mobi is gaining traction.  Poker.Mobi sold for a whopping $150,000 this month.
14. Stay generic as possible.  If your dealerships name is Sam and Sons Toyota of Jibum, break down into simple speak: SamsToyota.com. 
15. Link your domains to your Main Sites Home Page. Preferably in the footer.  This will give your landing pages a higher probability of being indexed by search engines. 
16. Last and most importantly...CHECK YOU DEALER AGREEMENT, Many Manufacturers do not allow their dealers to have more than one domain name...Scary but you can work with the manufacturers to get important exceptions.

Any thoughts?  Feel free to post.