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Domain Name Marketing Strategy
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Before you start reading through this ebook, here are some notes we took during the creation of this book.
The first three sections detail the nitty gritty behind domains, their history and importance when it comes to building a website. The remaining sections deal with an overview of creating a strong domain marketing strategy. Best practices change and techniques evolve, so we've taken an approach that emphasises learning over a procedure; intent instead of a systematic how-to. We want to give the reader the necessary tools to make their own judgements about what it takes to create a strong domain marketing strategy. Think of it as a starter guide. It has all the information you need to start planning a domain marketing strategy.
It's very tempting to think of domains as simply a name, but with the right domain strategy you can turn that annual fee you pay into something that will grow your online presence.
We'd also welcome you to send and share this with whomever you want. We wrote this not just as another picture ebook or glorified PowerPoint to be scanned in ten minutes. Instead, take it and digest it. If you have any questions or want to discuss building a strong domain marketing strategy, we're always here to help.
Sincerely,
The Think Profits Team,
804 Pacific Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 1C2
1–877–597–7888
www.thinkprofits.com
What Is A Domain?
A domain is your property. A stake in one of the few things you can really own online. You can throw a copyright on every piece of content. But nothing can really stop anyone from right clicking and selecting “save,” not to mention the power of Ctrl+a with Ctrl+c. But that domain is really yours. Unless you are a victim of cybercrime, no one can take your domain away from you.
What’s in a name? It’s you. A domain is everything; it shows what you do as a business and what you’re all about. It’s the first ten seconds of an interview, the first impression you can’t undo. A misspelled, clunky, overly long domain might as well spell a cheap suit and sweaty palms.
It’s worth pointing out that throughout this book, and in the real world, when talking about domains, we are not referring to http://www.example.com, the URL, rather just the “example” section. The parlance of the web isn’t always in line with how we communicate, so if we refer to any specific part of the whole domain, we’ll point it out.
The constituent parts are important not only in the understanding of what’s below, but as you’ll learn, it’ll help you navigate the world of domain registrars. For example, the difference between a domain that drives traffic and one that doesn’t could be something as simple as a variation to a top-level domain (TLD) or hyphenation of a longer domain. The anatomy of a URL can be like a puzzle. Knowing how to manipulate a part separately can make the whole task less daunting.
The History of Domains
The domain name system (DNS) was established as a way to make internet protocol or IP addresses more user-friendly. IP addresses are critical to how the internet works, but they are a string of numbers that you’d have to enter in order to gain access to a server and the HTML document contained within. Designed as a way for scientists to share research papers, to the creators of the internet it must’ve seemed like a great idea to use long numeric sequences to get access to a research paper, I mean many of them were doing hard science, what’s another number? However, asking users to remember those long numerical addresses was never going to work. Instead, the DNS system was established to make remembering a little bit easier.
The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) was formed informally as a way to administer IP addresses and top-level domains. As the internet expanded, the US Department of Commerce initiated the creation of an organization to take control over domain name management.
On September 18, 1998 the internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) was established as a means to privatize and manage internet names and addresses, and would allow for competition and global participation in internet management. IANA became a department of ICANN, which continues to manage the assignment of domain names and IP addresses.
What is domain name marketing strategy?
Domain marketing is the practice of using internet addresses as a way to expand the potential number of visitors to your website. It allows businesses to use domains to improve their website’s standing. Domain marketing steps beyond finding the right domain name for a website. It seeks to use domains as part of your internet strategy.
This strategy is part of digital marketing as a whole and it’s a great example of the power of digital marketing. It’s very easy to treat a website as just something you have to do, a checkbox that needs ticking before you can be considered a legitimate business; I mean who doesn’t have a website, an out-of-date business that’s who. What digital marketing does so well is to side step that concern. Instead, it views a website not as a something in line with branded stationary, but rather as components that will expand and grow your business.
Talk to any designer, developer or writer and they’ll tell you that a website is a must because it makes you relevant. What seems like a straightforward design, compelling sentences and functioning website components is actually the result of a team thinking about each aspect in detail. We feel that this same logic should apply to something as outwardly simple as a domain. Looking at a domain as another component of your website, instead of that thing you need to get to that final website, will move it from a cost your business has to endure into a cost that brings in revenue.
Finding Trustworthy Domain Registrar
It’s never too late… Possibly
My domain must be gone by now. It’s tempting to think like that. The truth is there are millions upon millions of domains still out there. With over 735 active TLDs and a recommended URL max length of 255 characters, the combinations are endless. In fact, it’s a 735 x 25526 level of endless.
You’ll never know if it’s too late to find a domain if you never look. Taking the time to search for and discover a range of different domains is the first thing you need to learn to do.
How to find a domain
Find a domain registrar; it’s that simple. There are many out there and on the face of it, they all work. There will be a search bar somewhere on the page, all you have to do is type in your desired domain, and odds are a few options will pop up.
It might seem simple and easy, but like with any service there are those who strive to satisfy their customers, and others that view them as sponges that need to be wrung out dry.
Permission to Spam: Watch out for cheap companies. Low rates and special deals are great, but they could be masking other revenue sources. Often, in order to make up for their unbelievably low rates, these businesses sell your email to others without your knowledge, or they will sell you other services by spamming you themselves. That $0.99 domain might come in exchange for 9,000,000 spam emails. Look closely at the terms and conditions, if you see language explicitly stating that they won’t share your private information you’re safe. If you don’t, then assume a spammer will be getting your name soon.
Recurring Fees: When you register a domain, you agree to pay a one-time annual fee. Many registrars will offer the option to automate this. A year is a long time and it’s possible that they’ll just reregister your domain each year. This does facilitate the whole process, especially if you have a few registered domains. However, businesses that don’t explicitly mention that they’ll automatically renew your domain or give you an easy opt-out function are best avoided. The automation of fees is meant to help you, not give a registrar a renewal fee because you forgot about it. Basically, multi-year renewal.
Sneaky Fees: Some of the less savoury registrars will have additional fees that pile on and on to your domain. Suddenly that $0.99 a year name has an administration fee, a onetime activation fee or any other fee that the company makes up is required in order to get your low price. Additional services are not the same as sneaky fees. Many accredited registrars will offer hosting, email or web support as well as other services.
Transfer Conditions: Fees to transfer domains aren’t unusual and are normally quite acceptable. However, be aware of special conditions, like when and where you can transfer a domain to, or exorbitant transfer fees.
It is Your Property
Remember you own the domain; it’s your property, as long as you keep paying the renewal fee, and the registrar is there to facilitate. You want one that will work with you, not against you. For example there might be some charges for items were the registrar has to do some work like making your name private, forwarding to another website or even hooking a website up to it. However, charges that prevent you from accessing your domain are a gigantic red flag that the registrar is just trying to squeeze money out of you.
How Much Should I Be Paying?
The short answer is somewhere between $10.00 and $20.00 CAD. Supply and demand will play a role in the game though. A premium domain will cost more. E.g., cars.com is always going to be worth more than cars-in-vancouver.com.
If someone else is holding onto a domain, you can reach out to him or her and negotiate a fair purchase price. Note: this will not get you out of the annual fees to a registrar; you’ll still be liable for those. The second you go down this path you are stepping outside of the system and we can only speculate. If you do, it’s probably better that you contact us (section VI) and see if we can help you. Quality registrars can help you acquire a domain as a third party or agent. This is a common approach used by larger organizations. Often by going through an agent, they can obtain the domain for less than you could do on your own.
A List Of Good Providers
Beyond those third party services, it’s worth pointing out that we are a registered and accredited domain company and have been since 1997. Simply contact us, and we’ll check to see if everything is available. We’ll also put together a quick report showing you the potential for other domains and, upon request; we can put together a comprehensive domain marketing strategy. We also have domain asset management and auditing services.
The Next Step, Hosting
Having a domain isn’t the end of the process. In order to get a website up and running, you’re going to need a hosting company. This is outside of the domain marketing strategy but it’s still worth exploring, if only to show the connection between a domain and a website.
Hosting is the term used to describe a server that houses a website. In its simplest form, a website is a collection of HTML documents stored on a server. When someone types in a URL, the domain connects with the server and pulls out the HTML documents.
Creating a Memorable Domain for Your Brand
Your domain is your brand. Just like the name of your business, it’s the first thing people see. It’s a signal of your professionalism and legitimacy. Visitors will connect the term to you. Imagine Google not owning google.com or Yahoo! not having yahoo.com. Personally, I can type in google.com, yahoo.ca and so on much faster than my own name. Over the years, even my fingers have connected these domains to their owners. A good domain physically affects our ability to interact with a company.
A memorable domain also gives you the chance to customize your business’s online presence. In its simplest form, you can start running emails with your own dedicated domain. It might sound simple but with the amount of fraudulent emails flying through inboxes, yourname@gmail.com might work for family, but for anyone who’s spent ten minutes online it’s a flag for a scam. Image is important and having your professional emails branded helps to legitimize your online presence.
Domains are commonly used to load up different portals like a client intranet or other web portal. This is great for those who are looking to turn their website into a workhorse. Into something, that provides value for their organization by automating aspects of it, it all starts with a great domain.
Creating a Memorable Online Identity
Over the years, we’ve discovered a few nifty tricks to help you select your domain. Sometimes the perfect domain isn’t available but all is not lost, there are a few ways to work around it. In addition, when it comes to building your domain marketing strategy, these tricks will become vital when selecting a wide range of domains to capture additional traffic.
Brand and Domain Selection
Since your domain is your public face, it’s important to think about it. You wouldn’t throw on an old suit and go into an important meeting. The same goes for your domain. The good thing is you don’t have to pay hundreds of dollars for a tailored domain name. Always purchase your legal name and any trademarks. Even if you don’t want to use it as your primary website address having that domain is important. Also, look for similar products. A specialty butcher might want to include bratwurst.com as well as currywurst.com.
Hyphenate
A space looks like %20 to the internet. Suddenly, great store.com would be great%20store.com or greatstore.com, it’s best to separate words with a hyphen. There is some debate as to whether a hyphen (-) or an underscore (_) is the preferred method to separating out words in domains. We have found that using a hyphen is a better practice. It looks and reads better.
Rule of Clarity
First and foremost, copy should be readable. Second, it should look good. This prioritization is key. A short and simple domain is more memorable than a creative, but convoluted one.
Add extension words
This is good when your preferred domain isn’t available. Adding an extension word such as web, online, digital and so on is a great way of finding a domain that works. The best extension words are terms often used in your industry. A mining equipment supplier that uses mining-digital.com might want to think of mining-resources.com or mining-global.com.
If .com isn’t there then stay home
It’s no surprise to anyone that .com is the most common TLD around. It’s also the TLD associated with the United States. If possible, aim for a .com. It might be the American TLD, but it’s also very much an international TLD. If .com isn’t around, then your country’s TLD is best. If that’s not available, then region specific TLD are also available.
Get all major TLD
Avoid the last point by getting all the major TLDs. At least get a .com and your country’s domain. The more you can get, the better control over your online brand you’ll have. By the way, this is the first step in building a domain marketing strategy (see section IV).
Work in a keyword
What is it that your business does? Do they make shoes? Maybe your store name is Cobblestones. www.cobblestones-shoes.com would be a great way to work in a keyword. There is some nuance to this practice, and it’s why working with a domain marketing specialist is important. Keywords come at the cost of attention. They lengthen a domain and are thus less memorable. But a well thought-out keyword that compliments would ameliorate this effect. E.g., cobblestones-shoe-store-vancouver is a great use of keywords but it’s less memorable than with just shoes. Finding a balance between the two is important. As a rule of thumb if the keyword compliments the domain, then it’s worth exploring.
Easy to remember is easy to spell
Sometimes we type faster than we can spell, recieve.com and reiceve.com and rcieve.com probably get a lot accidental entries. As a good example, type in gooogle.com, it redirects to the mother google.com. Spelling mistakes abound, as do sloppy typing finders. When searching for a domain, avoid words that are easily misspelled. See section IV for a hack around this.
Cross Cultural
Make sure your domain does not mean something else in any other language. One example that always comes to my mind is the old car brand Nova. When Volkswagen tried to expand into Latin America, they forgot to check what Nova meant. In Spanish the words No Va translates as does not go. Volkswagen tried to sell a car that literally said does not go. Also, sticking to cars, the French brand Citroën never sold well in the United States due to its English translation of Lemon.
Best Ways to screw up your domain selection
A domain is better than no domain and if you keep the previous advice in mind odds are you’ll end up with a worthwhile address. However, there are still some pitfalls to avoid when thinking about purchasing a domain.
Only One Top-Level Extension
Only getting the .com or the .ca can hurt you. Imagine someone typing in your domain from memory. How many times have you wondered whether a website is a .ca .com or other version? Purchasing other TLDs is important in making sure the right people are coming to your website.
Looong names
It’s easy to fall into this trap especially when you are trying to stuff in keywords. Unsurprisingly, a long name is harder to remember than a short and snappy one. Even if your company has a long name thinking of an abbreviated version for the purposes of your domain might work in your favour.
Beyond the memorable factor, after some point, search engines will stop reading your URL. Google, for example, has a character limit of approximately 255 characters. This is important in SEO, as the URLs for your different pages will become truncated because of your long domain.
This is why we recommend that a URL never extend beyond 255 characters. Note, that includes: www.example.com and www.example.com/example.
Words With Similar Letters and Names
Sometimes, people go word blind. They become so familiar with a term that it becomes second nature, so much so that you fail to see it in the context others would. Try to avoid falling into the traps of those below:
- Kids Exchange URL: www.kidsexchange.com
- Who Represents URL: www.whorepresents.com
- Experts Exchange URL: www.expertsexchange.com
- Pen Island URL: www.penisland.net
- Power Gen Italia URL: www.powergenitalia.com
- Mole Station Native Nursery URL: www.molestationnursery.com
Names that have nothing to do with your product or service
This is more common than you’d think. Odds are someone has good intentions but a lopsided strategy. Using a valuable domain like vacuums.com to sell a wide range of household supplies sounds like it would work. However, people are searching for a specific device, a vacuum. They might also be looking for cleaning products, people who vacuum probably need some as well, but the domain is so specific that you might get some tangential sales but stick to specific domains for specific products.
Relying too much on Geography
This is something to be careful of, the internet is by definition global and it’s a great way to break down barriers. Once limited by geography, now someone in Azerbaijan can put in an order without too much trouble. So keeping to a broad sounding term is a great way to signal that face. Zippo.com implies international, while zippo.ca or even zippo-vancouver.ca implies that Zippo only services Canada. If you operate internationally, make sure that your domain reflects that.
Avoid cutesy or text speak
Bst or best, ur for your or even you’re, really any shortcut you’d use to conserve characters isn’t recommended for a website, especially a business website. Beyond its effect on a brand, it typically falls under the easily misspelled advice. If your website is bst-vaccums.com, people are more likely to spell it correctly, and unless you own best-vaccum.com then you’re just going to be sending traffic to the wrong place.
There is one exception and that’s using a TLD creatively. Bit.ly and believe.in are a couple of examples, but it should be noted that they are simply incorporating the TLD into their domains. The browser and search engine crawlers that are reading the domains see them as separate. Thus, it’s possible to fall into one of the earlier pitfalls especially the ‘nothing to do with your service’ one.
Avoid generic or already branded names
Shampoo.com would be a great get. However, if you are a struggling shampoo salesman having such a domain could actually hurt. How many people are searching where to buy shampoo? There is a percentage, probably a good percentage, but there is also a percentage of people looking for tips, tricks, types and all sorts of information on shampoo. Such an approach could just leave you with a lot of noisy traffic.
Type it out
Is it easy to type, how about on a phone or with one hand? Domains that stress our fingers also stress our brains and are less memorable. This is also where TLDs matter. Type out bbc.com or bbc.co.uk; which one is easier to type on a keyboard? Which one are you more likely to use? Think about that when picking out a TLD. One that flows on a keyboard is better than one that does not.
You should also keep mobile in mind. Every year mobile chews up more and more internet traffic. Design your domain around the assumption that someone is typing it with one hand on a bus while trying to hold onto the top railing.
Memorable is key
A big pitfall is to prefer a computer and search engine crawlers over actual visitors. Selecting a domain that contains a killer keyword is great for SEO and search engines. However, not factoring in human interaction could cost in user experience. Remember that your domain is very much part of your website. For some reason we’ve trained ourselves to think of a website as a collection of graphics and text, but in fact, your domain is part of both. Its name is important in telling the user what you’re about. Something that flows, a collection of letters that are short, easy to read and a domain that is indicative of your business is just as important. Balance between computer and people. Remember both its SEO potential and how users will be interacting with it.
My First Domain Marketing Strategy
If you’ve followed the previous first sections to a tee, then you will have accidentally created a domain marketing strategy. Because, in its simplest form, a domain marketing strategy is taking the time to think about how your domain will affect your visitors, brand and SEO potential. That’s it. But before you go, there are still some nuances you can take into account when implementing those three concepts.
This is advanced to the previous beginners guide section. Here you can take all the information laid out and start to apply it towards a domain marketing strategy that’ll point you in the right direction.
Beyond .com
It’s important to make sure you own all the different TLDs for your main domain. If you own www.example.com you’re also going to want www.example.ca, www.example.net, www.example.org and so on. This will ensure that your competition or similarly named companies cannot take your brand away from you. Imagine you’re lucky enough to get your company’s name as a .com. It’s a great find. However, your competition can simply buy up yourname.ca and throw in a redirect so that any mistaken visitors who type in yourname.ca are sent to the competition. Having all the TLDs will prevent this.
Keep a list of URLs and TLDs you have or could have. This first step will help you organize everything and show you potential gaps, exploits, and domains of which you could take advantage.
The Importance of Keyword Research
So we’re going to build a big long list of potential domains. Starting with a long list of different TLDs is a great first start. The next step is some research. If you already have a list of primary keywords for your business then you are off to a great start. If you don’t then it’s best to consult some SEO experts and they’ll point you in the right direction. Think of variations on those keywords, common misspellings, synonyms; even an antonym or two might be enlightening. Think of all the ways that keyword could be used.
The point of all this research is to let ideas fly. Even if the domain seems outlandish and silly write it down, write down everything. Just build that spreadsheet. Even go as pedantic as pluralizing or hyphenating different parts of your domain; e.g., poutineinmontreal.ca, poutine-in-montreal.ca, poutines-in-montreal.ca. At this point, you are not looking for the right domain you are building the foundation that will lead you to the right domains. Just build that list and once you think you’re done, add ten more lines.
Whittling Down That List And Why You Need A Domain Marketing Registrar
See section II for more information on registrars in general. Finding a reliable registrar is important and especially if you are going to register multiple domains with them. Dealing with one domain at a rotten registrar can be a nightmare, imagine ten or a hundred.
This is why we recommend finding a registrar that is aware of domain marketing. The big and famous registrars tailor to a very wide audience. They are great if you are looking for one domain for a personal project. When you are dealing with that huge spreadsheet of domains you’ve compiled, a more niche approach works best. A person at the other end who can look through it, give feedback and then register everything for you could make the process easier in the long term. Plus, owning all those domains will mean some micromanaging on your part.
At this point, you’re trying to achieve two main things. The first is to use the registrar’s database and access to ICANN. The second is to whittle down that list. It’s probably blotted and full of domains that’ll never be of any use. After the brainstorm, it’s time to clean up.
All you need to do is type in your domain to see if it’s available. If it is then great, it stays on; if it’s not, then bin it. Many registrars will give you the opportunity to contact the owner, so even if the name isn’t available for purchase then you can privately arrange to buy it.
Alternatively, we are a domain registrar ourselves and if you send us your list, we’ll be able to bulk search the availability of all the domains. It’ll save you all that time taken to type in domains one after another. Plus we’ll also be able to point out which domains are worthwhile.
Cutting Out The Junk
Once you’ve finished that step the next is to cut. This is where the previous sections play an important role as well as the quality of your brainstorm. A domain marketing expert will help in this regard, as they’ll be able to really chew down that list. Fortunately as domain marketing experts, we can point out the big things to focus in on. How experienced you are in dealing with domains will play a huge role in finding the gems amongst the junk.
Cut anything that sounds unusual when read aloud: URLs that made sense when read on a screen could have a completely different meaning when said aloud. Imagine saying your domain name to a client; the domain had better translate from speech into text easily.
Domains that cause you to strain and stretch when typing should go: A domain should flow. If you ever have to stop, think too much or if typing it feels like a math problem you just can’t solve, then it should go.
Memorable and Short: If you can’t remember the domain you’ve used, do some market research to gauge customer responsiveness to it. Anything that’s too long should find itself under the delete key.
Primary versus Secondary Domains
If you already have a primary domain, then you’re in good standing. There are a few questions you might want to ask before jumping ahead though.
- Do any represent my business better?
- Are any shorter and clearer than my current one?
- Do any specify/summarize what my business does?
- Are any SEO friendly?
- Are there any I just like it more?
If the answer to any of the above questions is yes, then you might want to consider changing your primary domain. This will be a great strategy in the long term, but it might cause some headaches in the short term, as odds are you’re going to have to update your existing website, links and any external link sources.
Secondary domains are going to build the bulk of you domain list, these are the domains that you’re going to use as part of your forwarding strategy.
Forwarding Strategies
Now that you’ve whittled down that list, it’s time to start buying. Each registrar is different. Some are more involved, but all you really need is a credit card, and an email address; the extent to which you’ll need more than that will depend on the service provider you select.
Now that you own all of the domains it’s time to start implementing your strategy. Unless you have a programing background, it might require the contracting of a developer for a few hours work. For the sake of argument, we’re going to assume that you have the necessary development skills in place to implement your forwarding strategy. We’re also assuming that you’ve found adequate hosting for your domains.
All you are going to do is take each of the secondary domains and add a 301 redirect into them. A domain in its simplest form directs a browser to a server. The browser pulls information from the server (this is why when hosting a website you need a domain and hosting). The domain points at a server and the server sends the browser the information and voila—website.
Those secondary domains will work in the same way by pointing traffic towards your primary domain. They’ll do this with a 301 redirect. There is some debate on the internet, but it’s the internet so it’s assumed that we’re debating about something, as to whether a 302 or a 301 redirect is better.
A 302 redirect is a temporary redirect. It’s best used for when you want to move content temporarily. Like when building a webpage, you might want to redirect the traffic away from the page. It’s particularly important if you’re tinkering with your site’s architecture.
301 redirects, on the other hand, are permanent redirects. They are useful when pointing traffic towards a specific domain. They also have the added benefit of passing on “link juice”. The realm of SEO links create authority and tell search engines that the page being linked to is relevant, and thus worthy of a better PageRank. A page with a 301 redirect tells the search engine that the area it’s being pointed to is relevant. A 302 does not do that.
That’s why we recommend using 301 redirects when building your forwarding strategy. One-by-one you’re going to install a 301 redirect protocol into your servers. This will ensure that all those secondary domains point towards your primary domains. So now those common misspellings, similar domains and all those quality domains you’ve selected will tell search engine and visitors where the real important content is.
Direct Navigation and Keyword Domain Marketing
In the early days of the internet, some websites who had premium domains noticed that they were receiving traffic that was bypassing search engines. They discovered that users were simply typing in their domains navigating directly towards their websites. By 2005, just as Google was starting to dominate, a report by WebSideStory’s StatMarket division calculated that approximately 4.25% of traffic was a result of direct, type-in, traffic. This is where the origin of domain marketing was born. The more domains you had the more potential direct traffic you could capture. However, 2005 was a long time ago in internet terms. With the advent of the searchable URL bar in most browsers, the role of domain marketing has changed.
Now, simply typing in terms into your web browser will autocomplete a strong domain marketing strategy is even more important.
But doesn’t all of this sound very much like section I stuff? What’s important about this recent development is that keywords within your domain are even more important. The previous sections alluded to caution when thinking of keywords, and it’s true, when it comes to a primary domain. However, your secondary domains won’t necessarily be hosting a fully-fledged website, so go keyword crazy with them.
Because more and more users are using the URL browser bar, using domains that are keyword rich will help to improve the amount of direct navigation traffic your website is attracting. This can be done separately from the research done above or at the same time, but get a list of your strongest keywords. Keywords that currently generate traffic and keywords to target, ones that could generate traffic in the future, are what you want to keep your eye out for. If you don’t have such a list on hand, then contact us and our SEO strategists will have a look for you.
Once you’ve compiled that list, follow the steps talked about above. If appropriately targeted, these domains will naturally capture traffic, especially if those domains are capturing traffic associated with keywords related to your products and services.
Isn’t The Gold Rush Over?
‘Surely, the internet gold rush is over?’ some of you holdouts might be saying. The internet has been around longer than this year’s graduating class, there can’t be any more domains available.
The gold rush is very much alive. In fact, the term is outdated as it implies there’s a limit. A creative domain marketing strategy done today, ten years from now or in the latter part of the century when we have internet 2 will always find new domains to use.
The only way to miss out on it is to not try at all. There’s virtually no downside to at least sketching out a domain marketing strategy; well, virtually no cost.
One Domain Is Cheap, Two Is Acceptable, But More Than That Is Just A Waste
While multiple domains will increase your bills, they’ll also grow your business by protecting you. We’ve already talked about the more offensive strategies you can take. Finding domains that are searchable and direct traffic towards you as well as countering human errors: like misspellings, forgetting the full domain and so on, but a domain marketing strategy also has a defensive aspect, it protects your brand.
The best way to see this is imagine you only own one domain, www.example.com. You sell examples and you’ll likely get a ton of traffic because it’s a great domain. However, there’s nothing to stop someone registering:
- www.examples.com
- www.e-g.com
- www.forinstance.com
- www.sample.com
- www.illustration.com
- www.representation.com
- www.caseinpoint.com
These are all synonyms of the example URL. Only owning one domain opens your brand up to copycats. Owning those other domains will increase your domain registration bill, but it’ll also protect you against losing business to similar companies, or just malicious domain registrar squatters.
Beyond simply protecting a brand, a domain marketing strategy can create strong web architecture for your business. Website architecture goes beyond simply having a well-designed website. Your website exists in a server(s), but it also partakes in the larger experience of the internet. Having outside domains pointing towards your home is a signal to both search engines and users that your website is worth their time. It’s like a reference with a well-constructed index. The more expansive, the easier it is for a reader to find the section that’s important to them.
The other advantage is that down the line if you decide to expand, say into another country, that TLD might just come in handy. It gives you the flexibility to adapt in the future.
It’s Never Too Late
It’s better to do something than to do nothing and hope. A domain marketing strategy is a proactive approach to building a web presence. When most people see a website they see a polished product, even the horribly designed ones with 1990’s chiptunes were at one point polished. However, to a website developer, that polish is a sign of the care taken during construction.
The best websites are planned down to the last period; every component thought of as a separate project. From the way that the background draws the eye into the centre of the page to how the company logo fits with the colour scheme. It’s also how the form interacts with the database that runs the whole machine, and about thinking and compensating for every moving part before the first piece of HTML is written. It’s about seeing something as tiny as a domain as integral to succeeding online.
About The Authors
This book was written in collaboration between everyone at Think Profits. We are a digital marketing agency that’s been around since 1997. Operating out of Yaletown in Vancouver’s downtown core, we’ve been building up expertise in digital marketing strategies for almost two decades. With our years of experience in developing websites and creating content that achieves page one results, we decided to share some knowledge with this ebook.
We actually started as a domain and hosting service and very quickly expanded to a full-service marketing agency, thus we feel that this ebook is the distillation of our oldest service into something that experts and beginners can benefit from.
TESTIMONIALS
We would like to take this opportunity to apprise you of the experience we have had in working with your company over the last two years. Finding a company that we could trust to take a sincere approach with our best interests at heart was a major concern to us. Since we hired your company to redevelop our website, we have noticed a significant increase in the traffic generated to our site. We feel that a properly designed and functioning website represents an invaluable tool to support our sales channels and administration, which of course saves us valuable time. Prior to working with Think Profits, we found our web service providers to be inconsistent in their level of service and expertise. Moreover, they often did not demonstrate a clear understanding of our goals, objectives and values. We would not hesitate recommending your company to anyone who is looking for a solid proven web company with whom to trust internet projects.
David Sacks, President & CEO
Imasco
The website audit session fueled my thinking into determining what type of site I currently have, how I can improve it and increase business.
Cheryl Kanhai, General Manager
Maxim Software Systems
I would sincerely recommend a website audit to other businesses. An hour that was well worth my time. Thank You.
Ryan Soderberg, Sales & Marketing Manager
Marriott Hotels
I found this company the most professional organization I have dealt with. From our first meeting, it was clear, they had done their homework on my industry and new exactly how to explain theirs to me. Very thorough and complete. They have energized me in to a successful way of thinking again. I would sincerely recommend a web site audit for other businesses.
Janice Ponce, President
Tulip Hill Inc.
The session was a real eye-opener, straight forward and thought provoking. I would sincerely recommend the website audit to other businesses.
Dave Greenfield, President
Windsor Plywood
During my Web Audit experience with Shawn Moore of Think Profits I was able to learn how to increase Google search ranking, internet marketing potential and the quality of stats. I recommend other companies learn what I have.
Tim Sandhu, President
Diesel Software Ltd.
I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses. If you are considering a website deal with professionals. Check out the person you are going to deal with. Deal with a company that have all ‘in house’ services.
John Brugman, President
C. Brugman Associates
I loved it, it was very good and we were very pleased with the information we received and would recommend the Website audit to anyone.
Rick Reimer, President
Burglar Stop
I would recommend their services to any person who is planning to do any sort of marketing on the internet versus just creating a web site.
Andrew
I look forward to working more with your company over the coming years and would be happy to recommend your services.
Jeff Stephenson
Grey Friairs Realty
The entire system, program and marketing strategy that ThinkProfits has brought to our table has been a very targeted one.
Anna
There is a proliferation of one person shops doing this and they don’t have the depth to handle a lot of situations or the proven track record that Think Profits has.
Rory S. Brown
I wanted to thank your company and staff for the tremendous help in bringing this difficult process together.
Craig Marr
Marr Weld-on Hinges
Think Profits.com knows web optimization.
Anna Styllianides
Biz Travel Brokers
Customer service is everything ok, they are the ultimate company that I’ve seen with respect to customer service, they put it first and foremost in what they do.
Dan Hewitt
There is a proliferation of one person shops doing this and they don’t have the depth to handle a lot of situations or the proven track record that Think Profits has.
Steven Marks
We would not hesitate recommending the services of Think Profits and Shawn Moore to any company looking for results on the internet.
Mark Endersby
Midway Tire Ltd.
I would be happy to recommend your services to anyone looking for a professional internet service provider.
Allson Chenier
KD Furniture
We were all very impressed with your team approach professionalism and end result.
Jeff Gilbank
Milieu Family Services
The high level of product and services you deliver to your customers is impressive.
Brett Crosby
Quantified Systems
It’s wonderful to have someone at the other end of the phone that can answer every question or deliver whatever assistance that I need.
Anna Stylianides
Your website performance review delivered key insights and the valuable knowledge we needed to help us make very important decisions about our website and internet marketing strategies. I would recommend companies to take advantage of the review if they want to approach how to leverage what the Internet can offer their business.
Jeff Matsuda, CFO
Fujiya Japanese Foods
I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses.
Allan Abosh, President
City Sheet Metal Co. Ltd.
I would sincerely recommend the Website Audit to other businesses. I received education on how the web works, how to see our website from a customer’s point of view and ideas on how to move forward. We appreciate the honesty and we liked the no pressure approach. Shawn instilled confidence and we look forward to moving ahead.
Jeannine Wood, Office Manager
Ivanhoe Contracting Ltd.
I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses. I learned how to choose a domain name for the greatest success and how to develop an internal database. Shawn is extremely knowledgeable in all aspects of website development, especially how to develop a website that will come up in number one, two or three positions on Google.
Jerry Shepard, President
Jerry Shepard Bookseller
I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses. I learned how to use a multi-prong approach, how to get on the first page of Google and the complexity involved in that. If you want professional results, use a professional team! I very much appreciated Shawn’s professional presentation, especially providing me with options to suit my budget.
Peter H. Scholl, President
Aroma Oil Biz
I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses. I learned about secure data transmission/encryption, security certificates and using a form to collect data, engage prospects and prequalify them to shorten the buying cycle.
Michael Schuster, President
Hidden Concepts Inc.
I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses.
Smitty Miller, Information Services Officer
Tourism Training Institute
Your effective style of gathering and summarizing of information at the preliminary stages helped our group focus on the need to know as opposed to the nice to know. I would be pleased to speak with any of your future customers should they wish to contact me.
Deborah Austin
University of British Columbia
I would highly recommend other businesses to take advantage of the website Performance Review if they are seeking expert advice and solid solutions for improving their website and online marketing initiatives.
Phil Orazietti, VP General Manager
Reliable Parts
I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses. The top three most beneficial ideas I learned about in my meeting with Shawn were how to improve search engine optimization, suggestions to develop a user friendly site and the importance of professional design for customer credibility.
Jeff Brown, President
Pratt Lambert & Brown Insurance
Other businesses would greatly benefit from a Web Site Audit. I learned what to look for, how to establish myself online and information regarding Google Ads. Think Profits is completely professional and absolutely knowledgeable in this field.
Sandy Brown, President
Real Smart Inc.
The website audit was very inspiring, with Shawn’s presentation and his knowledge of the internet. We learned about the e-commerce opportunity and Google rankings. We sincerely recommend to other business to take advantage of the website audit. The experience was extremely valuable – money and time well spent!
Lori Sue Gelz, Director of Sales
J L Satchel Shop Ltd
In my Website Audit I learned that my site is useless and it is very hard for a client to make contact with my company. My site will never be ranked, as Google cannot read it and there are a significant number of people searching for the keywords that are relevant to my industry. Think Profits is impressive from the way the business is run. I have rarely been at the receiving end of my own philosophy. You lay out everything in basic terms, lay out expectations and there are no surprises. It was clear and straightforward. Thank you!
Reisa Pollard, Owner
Beyond Beige Interior Design
I sincerely recommend other businesses take advantage of a Website Audit. I learned that my website needs more work than I thought how Google ads are positioned and several excellent tips that will help us make more money from our website, regardless of whether we work with Think Profits. I thoroughly enjoyed the very well organized and informative discussion with Mr. Moore and am now inspired to take our website to the next (and far more profitable) level. Shawn’s candid and clearly well-educated opinions about our web presence helped me better understand where our site stands and where it needs to go.
Rob Driscoll, President & Publisher
Business Edge Inc.
During my meeting it was confirmed how weak my existing site is and I gained information to make my site truly better. Think Profits can help me.
Maureen Dennis, President
Clay for Kids
I would sincerely recommend a Think Profits Luncheon Seminar to other businesses. I learned the seven steps to search engine optimization, the importance of content in a website and how important keywords are.
Jason Butcher, Director of Sales
Creative Spirit Communications
During the Think Profits Luncheon Seminar I learned how unsecured my site is, and how valuable a website audit is. Adding video to my site is beneficial for search engine rankings. I would sincerely recommend a website audit to other businesses.
Greig Soohen, Senior Account Executive
Marketwire
The best part for me during the Think Profits Luncheon Seminar was the overall big picture. Even though some websites look good, they are not doing the best job possible. I would sincerely recommend a website audit/presentation to other businesses.
Carla McNeil, International Champion Recruiter
During my Website Audit, I learned that there is a lack of searchable content on our site and how to fix basic housekeeping errors on our website. It is very important to have a domain name strategy! There was a good variety of information and the experience was overall valuable. I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses.
Michaella Miller, General Manager
James Hoggan & Associates Inc.
During my Website Audit I learned much more information about my website and how to fix the problems. I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses.
Alex Lahijani, Director
Ace Laser.ca Inc.
During my Website Audit, I learned about the whole internet business in general, keyword searching, security etc. I learned online strategies to become dominant in the market place. I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses.
Chi Lippman
Living Balance International Trading Ltd.
My Website Audit was well organized and slick. Among many things, I learned that NCC is missing key members to maximize site ROI. I can appreciate the precursor to a comprehensive service proposal that already has me nodding my head “yes” at the right moments. I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses. Very informative and worthwhile use of my time for a nominal price.
Don Antle, VP Marketing
NCC Financial
I would highly recommend a Website Audit to other businesses. I realized how much work I need to do, the potential of what we can do together and I am excited to get going! The Audit was very well systematized and documented. It was the best hour I have spent in many years.
John Clerides, Owner
Marquis Wine Cellars
I suggest you do not change anything about your Website Audit, it was very interesting! I learned how to promote a website and the secrets of online marketing. I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses.
Ilan Halfon, Owner
B & N Cosmetics
I sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses. I learned that I was not in the game regarding traffic and keywords. I was missing a Privacy Policy and a Security Certificate, Javascript is a “fail” and I need a new website. Shawn was professional, a good listener and knowledgeable. He focused on things that matter most; things that both make and save $$$.
Jack Daly, CEO
Professional Sales Coach Inc.
During my Website Audit I learned about the importance of site security, the layout of the pages and all of the options available. I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses.
Doug Nightingale, President
Nightingale Electrical Ltd.
I appreciated the candid feedback during my Website Audit. I learned that a website should be a natural step progression — make it easy. Metrics are very important to measure results. I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses.
Mike Vanderpol, President
Vanderpols Eggs Ltd.
Shawn made the Consultation worth every penny and more. I would sincerely recommend a Website Consultation to other businesses.
Jean-Guy (John) Bourdeau
Think Profits is extremely knowledgeable about Search Engine Optimization. Your Presentation was well worth the time spent and highly educational. I think you are scientists and artists at the same time.
Griffin Jones, Corporate Relations
Alternet Systems Inc.
During my Website Audit, I learned of the inability of our website software to be fully optimized and some of the key attributes that Google requires/expects. Also, an SEO program takes time. I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses. Nice office space
Johann Tergesen, President & COO
Burcon NutraScience Corporation
During my Website Audit, I learned of the strength of NRG on Google searches and the interaction between the website and media press releases. There is a potential for a restructured website. I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses. It was a very eye-opening experience and made me think of a lot of things we could be doing.
Brian Owen, President
NRG Research Group
I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses. I learned about SEO rankings, our own website info and the 8 ways to get on page one of Google and the major search engines. Everything was perfect.
Rehman Abdulla, Manager
Metalcraft Technology Inc.
During my meeting, I learned opportunities for selling my work, search engine optimization and Google’s product suite. It is slightly overwhelming to see all the available marketing opportunities that now exist on the internet. It was a very educational experience. I would sincerely recommend a Website Consultation to other businesses.
Julian Worker, Writer, Photographer
Julian Worker
During my Website Audit, the overall presentation blew me away compared to what I was expecting. I learned how much opportunity we are missing out on and about the importance of keyword research. The eight points of successful internet marketing helped to give us clarity as to how this fits our overall strategies. I would seriously recommend a Website Audit to other businesses.
Greg Fraser, Vice President, General Manager
Surround Technologies Inc.
I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses. The three most beneficial things that I learned during my meeting are one, on the landing page, give users a choice in the call to action for better conversion, drop the call to action higher up in all landing pages so readers don’t have to search for it. Also, under free consultation, explain what the process is, to help users with the “what’s in it for me?” factor. Two, build our content on local pages for better local search. Three, update recent success page, expand with stories about a handful of clients, how they felt, what happened, what they settled for, what they’re doing now, to add the emotional touch; then blog about the successes. Steve Gursten and I appreciated how kind Shawn Moore was, and how he was genuinely willing to help. Shawn gave us many tips and practices to to make our Website more searchable now. He spoke in understandable terms, and his advice is very doable. Shawn was also thoughtful, considerate and did not try to pitch. Thank you so much for this opportunity and for your services. We took away about 20 helpful suggestions from that one-hour meeting alone.
Steven Gursten, Partner
Michigan Auto Law
During my Website Audit I learned how complex a website must be in order to take full advantage of the search engines; the importance of appropriate landing pages for multiple purposes and that explaining who we are is not enough. We need to focus on what people want and respond to it accordingly. We were very impressed with the knowledge Keith portrayed throughout the meeting and felt great confidence in what you could accomplish for us. The Website Audit was very educational and explained how we can improve our web existence. I felt that we were a bit short on time, however, that time we did have was used wisely. I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses.
Tamara Bruins, National Client Services Manager
Creative Housing Solutions Canada Inc.
I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses. I learned about search engine optimization, online press releases and blogging. Larry Moore and Keith Kidwell were excellent and prepared with all the information I needed to know.
Bob Mangat, President
Homevestors Wealth Corp.
Thank you Keith and Larry for all the information and feedback. It was great to have a third party objective analysis. I learned how important it is to gather emails and information and to have a telephone number at the top of the home page. There was great value in the Website Audit. I would sincerely recommend an Audit to other businesses.
Garett Hennisan, IT Manager
Society of Kabalarians
The three most beneficial things I learned during my meeting are the eight ways to get to position number one on Google, the capabilities of Think Profits and the emphasis and methodologies of your company. I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses.
Gabriel Pineda, Marketing Manager
International Paving Concepts Inc.
The Website Audit was very valuable, filled with great information and content – very interesting! I learned about blogging, Google language and website housekeeping items. I would definitely recommend an audit to other businesses.
Heidi Shortreed, Administrator
Ray's Beauty School
During our Website Audit, I learned we need to update our website, internet terminology and that we have sales opportunities for the website. I would definitely recommend an audit to other businesses.
Kevin Bell, Sales Manager
CHUM Radio Victoria
Dear Larry and Keith,
Thank you very much for the Presentation this morning. We learned a lot and really appreciated your objective view and advice. Love your business cards — thinking outside the box!
Lorenda Bardell, President and Office Manager
Society of Kabalarians
During my Website Audit, I learned about possible ROI, the methodology for Google rankings and the usefulness of blogging and Google News. The email capture information was interesting as was the information regarding what my competition is NOT doing on the web. I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses.
Avi Moore, Mortgage Planner
Origin Mortgages
I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses. The three most beneficial things I learned are: there is a duplicate copy problem on my website, security is important on the contact us page and the benefits of online booking. Thanks a lot for your time!
John Parker, President
Fresh Tracks (Canada) Inc.
I found our Website Audit with Keith and Larry to be very informative. I didn’t realize everything we should be doing that we’re not currently, and how we should be adjusting what we are currently doing to market our company. The three most beneficial things I learned during my meeting were regarding blogs, links and press releases. I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses.
Peter Steinfort, General Manager
Care Pest & Wildlife Control Ltd.
I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses. The first most beneficial thing was meeting Keith and Larry. They showed us different ways to increase traffic to our website and the various opportunities still available to dominate our internet position. Our meeting was very informative and idea rich in helping our company to dominate our industry.
Anthony Hung, Partner
Care Pest & Wildlife Control Ltd.
Larry and Keith were very thorough and informative during our Website Audit and I would sincerely recommend other businesses go through this process. I learned about Security Certificates, Privacy Policy and ways to lift our profile on Google other than paying for placement. We have lots to consider going forward with our site.
James Scott, Executive Board Member
Calgary Musician's Association
During our Website Audit, I learned how important a website is to business and the various diversified tools for marketing. We have discovered an untapped market and consequently the potential for great profits. I would sincerely recommend a website audit to other businesses. It was excellent.
Neil Olsen, Director of Sales & Marketing
OHM Medical Training Services Inc.
I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses. The three most beneficial things I learned were, how big the market is, things we can do to increase sales and the potential for us to grow. I really enjoyed my time.
Edward Mak, Director of Operations
OHM Medical Training Services Inc.
I learned about SEO – all 8 steps to getting onto page one of the search engines was very educational! I enjoyed the Monkey and Banana conversation/concept. I learned the concept of designing a site that embodies the BIG picture. The staff at Think Profits is very professional and knowledgeable!
Patti Glass, Corporate Marketing Specialist
Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd.
The Website Audit was a highly informative presentation. I learned how to get on page 1 of Google, the importance of home page content and about the Monkey and Banana. I would sincerely recommend a website audit to other businesses.
Doug Clark, Managing Director
Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd.
The three most beneficial things I learned during our meeting were: the importance of text navigation, Pay Per Click information and the importance of direct navigation. I would sincerely recommend a website audit to other businesses. It was a good, clear presentation.
Mike Torillo, Marketing Coordinator
BackCheck, a Division of Checkwell Decision Corporation
During the Website Audit with Think Profits, we received a complete report, allowing us to take and use, as we like ~ without pressure. I learned about the importance of correlating tags to content, architecture and the eight steps to get on page one of Google. I highly recommend this service to other businesses.
Tim Ansley, Dept Head, Marketing
BackCheck, a Division of Checkwell Decision Corporation
During our Website Audit with Larry, I learned how to optimize our search, that we need to secure our website and how important it is to be number one. The information presented was extremely useful and the style was perfect for our company. I would sincerely recommend a website audit to other businesses. Great service and expertise.
Kevin Starke, Senior Analyst
Habitat Enterprises Ltd.
Great hearing from a passionate teacher. We need some of the services provided. Larry was very honest, not salesy and it was a well-done presentation. I learned that internet strategy matters! Seriously. Also, that SEO is a do or not do and that a professional is required when doing a website right. I would sincerely recommend a website audit to other businesses.
Thomas Kineshanko
Habitat Enterprises Ltd.
During our Website Audit with Keith Kidwell and Larry Moore, we learned about the benefits of Pay-Per-Click, having a site map and how we should have more video/audio on our website. I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses. Excellent presentation!
Shawn Conner, Editor, Publisher
Guttersnipe News
Great meeting with Larry and Keith, very informative. We learned that our competitors beat us in many of the top eight ways to be number one on Google. It’s time for us to get to work with Think Profits! We also learned we should have easier access to our contact information on our home page as well as a clear services box on our home page for direct action. We have a better understanding of our site and our competitors. I would sincerely recommend a website audit to other businesses!
Mark Romic, Director of Business Development
CDot Networks Inc.
The Website Audit was very informative. Larry and Keith covered all the topics we wanted to know about. We received feedback on how our site was performing and ways to improve it. We now have a better understanding which makes change more achievable. I highly recommend other businesses take advantage of Think Profits.com Website Audit!
Vivian Wong, Office Manager
Clinical Sleep Solutions
During my Website Audit with Larry Moore, I learned about having a domain name strategy, adding a unique sales proposition and the weakness/areas of improvement required for our website. The way in which Larry broke down his recommendations point by point in a constructive manner made it very easy to understand areas of weakness on our website but moreover how to improve/fix those weaknesses. We are confident that once these changes are made we will be able to experience highly positive results. I would sincerely recommend a website Audit to other businesses.
Craig Nooyen, Marketing, Performance Appraisal Resident
Great Northern Insulation
I would highly recommend a Website Audit to other businesses. I learned about the importance of the Privacy Act and the use of various 1-800 numbers. Shawn did a very good presentation.
Brad Clarke, President
Sabell Corporation
I had Think Profits handle my internet domains and maintenance of the domains. They were always prompt, punctual and extremely creative. He has a great staff and the word “diligent”, is their best description.
If you have any internet needs, he is the best I know in this field.
Marc Vogel
I thank you for your time in this. It truly was invaluable. During the Website Audit with Keith and Larry, we learned about all the indirect ways we can benefit from the web (yahoo site explorer, prweb, etc.) We realized we have a lack of information regarding the customers’ problems; the little insights that we completely overlooked, such as privacy statements, verification and page folds. You did a very good job and we look forward to working with you further on this.
Luke Kress, Sales & Marketing Coordinator
QM Bearings
During the Website Audit, I learned how to make our website more attractive and easier to navigate, as well as how to increase our natural positioning. It was very intuitive and I sincerely recommend a website audit to other businesses.
Bruno Perron, President
CLASS Consulting
The three most beneficial things I learned during my website audit were: keywords vs content, keywords vs PPC and page structure. It was very informative on page structure! I would sincerely recommend a website audit to other businesses.
Matthew Percival, Engineer
Marine Plastics Ltd.
I would sincerely recommend a website audit to other businesses. I became educated on website design and Google. I learned the importance of ranking, keywords and Larry and Keith provided me with valuable information for future development. The audit was very informative and a well-structured informational session.
Peter Binley, Engineering Manager
Marine Plastics Ltd.
During our Website Audit, I learned basic understanding of website marketing and a broader understanding of Think Profits process. I realized that process is an ongoing one. I would sincerely recommend a website audit to other businesses.
David Taylor, President
Resman Holdings, Investor in Sabell
The three most beneficial things I learned during my Website Audit were that I should have landing pages for specific products; how important direct navigation is; and that my shopping cart should have specific keywords. All businesses should have a web audit. Larry and Keith could not have made this experience more valuable — it was great!
Karen McLean, Owner
Tsylos Park Lodge
I would sincerely recommend a website audit to other businesses. There is such a variety of marketing opportunities such as blogs and press releases. I learned that the small details make a big difference e.g., security and privacy. Direct navigation is very important. I liked the level of detail that was provided with the first meeting. The time was taken by Larry and Keith to provide great feedback and recommendations.
Josh Reimer
Tsylos Park Lodge
The three most beneficial things I learned during my audit were: the eight proven ways to rank high on Google; that SEO is quite involved and must be attacked from multiple angles. That a number one ranking is possible with the correct strategy.
Bobby Bala, CEO
Elite Home Theatre Seating
I sincerely recommend a website audit to other businesses. I learned about website listing and how to get Google rankings, links and domain name strategy. Thank you greatly! I just wish there was more time as it always seems too short.
Dan Wilcox, Owner
Dan Wilcox Electric
During the website audit, I had an orientation of a good website. I learned that an internet searcher has a mentality very different from a TV watcher and that many tools have to be in place to make it happen. Larry and Keith made me feel more confident that we can be successful. This meeting made me change the way I see the internet and I trust your experience.
Lise Bisson, President
Bosom Buddy Limited Partnership
Larry and Keith gave out several good points that could make a difference in profits that other agencies or books have not provided. The three most beneficial things I learned during my meeting are: there should be different landing pages for different baskets of key words; we should have a 10 word or less unique sales proposition for each landing page and I only have 3 seconds to capture my customer.
Doug Vaughan, Consultant
Bosom Buddy Limited Partnership
Hello Shawn,
Regarding our Website Audit with you, I just wanted to say that I had my doubts about the information that I was going to get out of this exercise. However, it was well worth the money!
Thanks again,
Stacey Ison, Vice President
Toronto Honda
I would sincerely recommend a Website Consultation to other businesses. I learned how to make money, how to make more money and to stick to the core concept. I am very pleased with the depth of the feedback from my meeting with Larry and Keith.
Jay Tenga, Entrepreneur
During my Website Audit with Keith and Larry, I learned the areas of opportunity – GEO, category and channels (communication). I also learned about the web construction process, time frame and benefits. I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses.
Frank Poratto, President
All World Packaging Supplies Ltd.
During my Website Audit with Keith, I learned: The basic criteria used by search engines to determine ranking of websites. The steps that one must take to ensure that your website appears on Page 1 of Google and the amount of control you can exercise in ensuring this happens. Content is king, the extent to which our current website does not support our stated goals. The importance of a consistent keyword strategy that is incorporated into every page and aspect of our site. The need to change our home page to better capture to attention of visitors immediately – an overview of what we do and who we are in one glance. Stronger external rather than internal focus. The options available to increase sales and measure return moving forward such as pay per click, video, social networking options etc. While we had entertained adding a retail component to our site, we have never considered these other options as relevant to our business strategy.
I appreciated Keith’s straight forward, succinct approach. He gave us a lot of information in a way that we all understood regardless of our level of technical expertise. I feel he did an excellent job of zeroing in on our stated objectives in terms of the audit and supplying specific solution-based answers to our challenges. In short he exceeded my expectations in every way. He successfully ignited the imagination of everyone in the session. E.g, one of our employees is off today and she has already called me before opening hours to say she has already made some changes to our current site and plans to work over the weekend trying to find a way to implement other simple interim amendments in keeping with Keith’s input. While we appreciate that our site needs more work than we can do without professional support, I am impressed that one of my staff was so motivated by the session as to take the initiative to make immediate improvements within her abilities and on her own time.
I honestly cannot think of any recommendations to make this session more valuable. I would normally say that it could have been better if done in-person. However, I think we were all more focused on the task through the web presentation. With the personalities of my team an in-person presentation would easily turned into a social gathering.
I have already recommended Think Profits to two other companies.
Judy Lindenbach, President
Gourmet Depot Canada Inc
During my Website Audit with Keith, I learned: the importance of refined “keyword” strategies.Not only its importance on Page one but strategically input throughout the entire website.To quote Keith: “To keep the scent (wording) strong thought out the entire conversion process”.
The importance of our main page (stronger externally as opposed to internally focused) – how we only have 3 seconds to grab their attention. As well currently, how the descriptions used under our Products’ category does nothing to sell them – not only as wholesale products but also for the delicacies they are.
Keep your website fresh — ongoing. Constantly tweak or add content, optimize images or file structure and review key word opportunities. To connect with A or B Clients — use their verbiage.
There is nothing I can think of to make this experience more valuable. Flow and break-down of presentation was terrific – high value content. Keith’s approach worked well with our team of “non-techies” — we all understand what it is we need to do moving forward and secure the visits from the customer base we want and need to move forward. I highly recommend a website Audit to other businesses!
Andrea Favreau, Owner
Gourmet Depot Canada Inc.
During my Website Audit with Keith, the three most beneficial things I learned were: suggestions for site navigation, suggestions to improve the conversion process and suggestions for focusing on the theme aspect of USP. The suggestions that you gave were very valuable. Many of the points you made were valid. You just confirmed some of the problems I was facing and that these issues need to be addressed to improve my conversion. There were a few suggestions that I never thought of. I would sincerely recommend a website audit to other businesses. For myself, I found this more valuable than the mentoring program I took part in.
Elaine Engerdahl, Owner
EE Learning Company Inc.
The Website Audit was the best $1,000.00 I’ve spent in some time. From Larry and Shawn, I learned beneficial website information, pay per click information and future achievable opportunities. I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses.
Bob Fell, Owner
Consumer Credit Counselling
During our Website Audit with Larry and Keith, I learned where our company is missing the mark and how we can better the website step by step. I learned new terms such as PPC and landing pages. The Website Audit was very informative and very helpful. Larry and Keith used down to earth language to help explain the unknowns of the web to a lay man like myself.. It was extremely valuable!
Kelly Donahue, Graphic Designer
Task Tools
I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses. I now have a deeper understanding of how good ranking results are achieved, as well as E-commerce possibilities for our business. I generated some more ideas for my social media strategy currently being developed. The Audit presentation is well organized and easy to follow.
Chris Waldner, Senior Product Manager
Task Tools
I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses. I learned the search engine optimization process and how it works. Also, having multiple language pages will boost up/help the rankings. Thank you Keith and Larry!
Susan Pan, Accountant
VanWest College
After meeting with Larry and Keith, they helped me to understand the value of a well constructed landing page. I would sincerely recommend a website audit to other businesses. I found it very helpful to relay website needs to ownership.
Jeanette Kramer, Marketing Manager
VanWest College
During our Website Audit with Keith and Jeff, we learned how to fix the mistakes we are making with Google, received ideas on medium-term improvements to lead generation and conversion and now have immediate improvement opportunities for our site. I would seriously recommend a website audit to other businesses! There was a lot of value in a short period of time!
Rob Goehring, VP Marketing
Contigo Systems Inc.
The website audit really opened my eyes to website copy writing and layout. Shawn’s practical, nuts and bolts approach addressed all my concerns and I am thankful for it. I would sincerely recommend this website audit to other businesses.
Vaughn Manley, President
In-Side-Out Home Inspections Inc.
Larry was patient and did not rush through the material. If something needed repeating he did so without any hesitation. Kept asking if we understood (individually) what was being said. Some people just rocket through and don’t bother to ask the audience/students whether they understand or not.
Hanah Amin
During the recent audit of our website, we learned that there was a lot of housekeeping to be done and that SEO strategy is very important. We realized that there is a lot of work to be done to our website, and feel that we received a pretty good analysis.
Mr. Hermann Fruhm, President
Megapro
Our recent website audit was very valuable to me as I learned the importance of website and content optimization, as well as a few tips on keyword searches. I would definitely recommend this service to any business.
Uma Sharda, Graphic Designer
Megapro
[Think Profits] had a good handle on our company as well as our industry.
Jim Smart, IT Manager
Euro-Rite Cabinets
The web site audit provided us with an independent third party review of how we can improve our web site in order to accomplish our SEO and SEM objectives. A number of items came to light that we should be utilizing and implementing such as: having a domain name strategy, use of banana boxes, adding a privacy policy, adding a security certificate, developing landing pages, improving our testimonials area and many more.Thanks
Mike Santiago
Del Fisher Insurance Inc.
Exceptional customer service… The site has increased lead generation, traffic to our site and email responses increase. Your strategies and expertise have proven to me that ThinkProfits.com are experts in the Internet field.
Patrick Dang, Former President
Sprott Shaw College
The creative process – working with Lisa, Tim and Melissa – was very enjoyable. I appreciate the passion, professionalism and creativity they contributed to the process. I thought the entire development process was well organized and executed.
I would, without hesitation, recommend Tim and his production team to anyone thinking about leveraging the Internet to expose their business.
I would sincerely recommend a website audit/presentation to other businesses.
Kam Ghuman, President
GLC Controls Inc.
We hired Think Profits to conduct a thorough brand audit and needs assessment to improve Prestons Restaurant’s position in the market. We have since engaged them to assist with the newly developed brand marketing through SEO and a social media strategy. Their expertise has become instrumental in our online marketing decisions. We have engaged the Think Profits team and look forward to working long term with their firm.
Judy Adams, Regional General Manager
Coast Hotels
Over the last decade I have worked closely with the Think Profits Digital Marketing team. Their expertise is one of the best in their industry, hands-down. They have become an extension of our in-house marketing team and continue to add value to our business as a trusted digital marketing agency. I am pleased to recommend Think Profits to any company that wants to take a serious approach to leveraging all of what the Internet can do for their business.
Patrick Dang, Former President
Sprott Shaw College
We were given an honest outside opinion on our website. It made us realize how non-user friendly our site is, along with security and disclosure statements we are missing. We were shown how many keywords we are missing out on. We were shown how a quality web site with proper keywords and content would affect our presence on the internet, which will result in an immediate increase in contacts and revenues. I don’t think that in one session any more information should be put forward as that was enough to get the wheels turning. We look forward to reviewing an outline and estimated cost to take us to the next level.
Gerry Abday, President
QSD Inc.
I would highly recommend other businesses to take advantage of the website Performance Review if they are seeking expert advice and solid solutions for improving their website and online marketing initiatives.
Phil Orazietti, VP General Manager
Reliable Parts Ltd.
Great overview. Very insightful. So much to take in, will be glad when you show us how to exercise these practices! Can’t wait to implement.
Glen Dobson, Business Development
Euro-Rite Cabinets Ltd.
We hired Think Profits to conduct a thorough brand audit and needs assessment to improve Prestons Restaurant’s position in the market. We have since engaged them to assist with the newly developed brand marketing through SEO and a social media strategy. Their expertise has become instrumental in our online marketing decisions. We have engaged the Think Profits team and look forward to working long term with their firm.
Judy Adams, Regional General Manager
Prestons Restaurant + Lounge / Coast Hotels
During my Website Audit with Keith and Shawn, I learned how search engines have evolved and consequently, how much our site needs work! I learned the need to have a 3rd party specialist to come into our marketing mix. I would sincerely recommend a Website Audit to other businesses – excellent presentation.
Ken Mayhew, President
Penfolds Roofing Inc.
During my website audit with Think Profits, I learned about the importance of domain names and the value of internet tools, which show the amount of people searching for relevant keywords for my business. I would seriously recommend a website audit to other businesses.
Maria Teresa Huatco, Sales Consultant
Western Star & Sterling Trucks of Vancouver
