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It's a well-known fact in the SEO world that Google shows enormous favoritism in its rankings to domain names that contain one or more of the keywords being searched for. If your domain name is a close match to the search keywords all glued together, it's as easy as fishing with dynamite to get on page 1 of the SERPs for that search phrase. While some (like me) might argue (like, against Rand) that it's a flaw in the algorithm, it's not a bug--Google deliberately favors this kind of match. If the search is a company name, well the reasoning why [that phrase] .com should rank #1 is obvious...and for everything else, well...it's pretty reasonable for Google to presume that a site named, for example, www.lightbulbs.com is probably pretty much about light bulbs. Whether it's the BEST site for light bulbs is of course another story. The net result of the world realizing that Google works this way is pretty predictable: mass buying of keyword-rich domains, and trying to turn those into top rankings and monster-sized site traffic. We're seeing three tactics here:

1. 301 redirection of keyword-rich domains
2. content-rich doorway pages on those domains
3. moving existing sites onto those domains

Read the rest of MichaelC's article

The web is full of opportunities, and chances are, you’ve already taken advantage of many of them. Maybe you’ve started up your own blog or joined a social networking site. Whatever you’ve done on the internet, you have done on someone else’s platform. You have to follow their rules and agree to their terms, and at the end of the day, nothing you “own” is really yours. This is why it’s important to have a domain name. Although getting your own domain name is a must in today’s world, many people are still without one. The main reason for this is because you have to pay for it, and why pay for something when you can get a version – a restricted, not-really-yours-version nevertheless – for free? But there are many advantages to having your own domain, and they’re all worth the cost. First off, a domain is a larger site on the web such as Google. There are many smaller sites that are part of this domain, and users can set up blogs, post comments, status updates and photos, and have their own email accounts and documents. But at the end of the day, everything you do is on the domain that belongs to Google. Read the rest of the PrivacyCouncil's article here

When you are looking for the perfect domain name to represent your brand online, an option that is rapidly gaining popularity is premium domains. Premium domains are domain names that have been registered previously and are now back on the market for resale. Premium domains are often short, memorable names that are made up of simple key words and search terms. You may also hear these names referred to as after market domains, pre-registered domains or secondary market domains. Premium domain names have been increasing in popularity over the past few years because of the low availability of .com names. Since most of the intrinsic combinations of .com names are taken consumers have found that turning to the premium (or pre-registered) domain market gives them a chance to find a domain name that they could not have registered through traditional domain name searches. Some registrars (like Register.com) now include premium options in each domain name search that consumers execute on their website. The majority of premium domains have a .com TLD but there are also .net, .org and .biz names available to appeal to various businesses and organizations. Industries that are highly competitive (lawyers, consultants, real estate agents) or businesses looking to register their exact company or product name can really benefit from a premium domain because an intuitive, memorable name can help businesses differentiate themselves in a crowded market. A premium domain will be more expensive than a new domain (premiums range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars) depending on the name. The price is determined based on marketability, spelling, traffic, and economic trends. Highly notable domains have stronger branding potential, are easier to remember, and attract more traffic – so they may bring a higher price tag – but depending on the name and what you intend your site to do for your business, it may be worth the investment. More from Register.com

I’m usually touting the benefits of keyword domain names in many articles. In this post I’d like to analyze another common domain name type, brandables. A brandable domain is often thought of as a short, made-up word such as Google or Twitter, however this isn’t always the norm. There are different types of brandable domains, even those that do use keywords, so let’s dive in and see what they are all about. First, a quick word on why a quality brand is important. A recent study shared by eConsultancy found that just 3% of traffic to eCommerce websites comes from social media, while a staggering 46% comes from brand familiarity. Your domain is your brand. More from the DotSauce blog