How Important Is The Domain Name?

[0b1kanobee]

In picking/finding/choosing a domain name, how important is the name?

So far I have determined:

1) Using an existing one that has been around is better because it has history yet you have to find one for sale ect. ect.

2)It should be short as possible.

3) It should end with .com

MY BIGGEST QUESTION IS: does it make a difference for searching (SEO) if it says "davesinsuranceplans.com" VS. "Floridainsuranceplans.com"

ALSO does anyone know a good place to get a premium wordpress theme? If so, can anyone recommend a theme?

I'm Googling "premium wordpress themes" and there is so much info and I don't understand any of it. Someone is going to help me with my site but I have to 1) find a theme 2) pick a domain 3) and get a hosting account for it

Here are a couple of sites I think I like:

1) O'Quinn Insurance Agency Blog - Just another WordPress site

I can't seem to locate #2

Well I actually like Todd's website too!! Where can I get this theme?

http://www.trkingim.com/

 

[ksigmtsu]

It used to matter a lot more. There is no promise it wont matter again, but google did drop the value of the domain name in terms of importance.

 

[Sales71]

I think the name is not that important anymore u have to pay to go to top of the page for search. That's what counts. If u do multiple states I would not have a state in the name.

 

[Josh]

I've picked up domains that were keyword relevant that spiked to page one within weeks (low volume/little competition if any). When google changed their system recently for a little while affordablemarketinglists.com wasn't page one for "affordable marketing lists". The good news is that it corrected itself.

I actually like the change as it sits now. My best guess is that it's helping me rank for things I wouldn't otherwise. To use your situation as an example, let's say someone already owns Floridainsuranceplans.com (which they do), if your site (eggplant.com let's say) has nothing to do with insurance, but your content is all about florida health insurance plans, you are more likely to rate against sites like floridainsuranceplans.com because you are actually putting in content about it.

To put that in application. If you search for "magnalogix" you'll find that the page right behind magnalogix.com is actually someone who has some unpleasant things to say. In fact, the guy complaining actually ranks ahead of magnalogix.net even though it's an exact match. Make sense?

The good news for us is that Brook is a whiz at this stuff and can make the magic happen at a reasonable cost. I'm having him do some work on my Free web hosting, free domain name, free domain hosting-LimeDomains site and I have great expectations and have every confidence they'll be met or exceeded.

 

[tlmarketing]

keyword relevant domain names are easier to push up the seo rankings than domain names that no one would search for.

templatemonster.com offers solid wordpress themes with install for low price.

 

[YouGotMyMoney]

I use WooThemes. They have quite a few free themes, Free | WooThemes.

As to domains, I found 2 for sale at the godaddy auctions site that are over 4 years old, yesinsurancequote.com and terminsurance4sale.com, I believe both for under $10 plus registration fees.

another thing I look out for is when the site was indexed, some of these dropped domains mb 4 yrs old but if they were just indexed back in jan, you may really have only a 9 mo old domain. There are other registars you can check that sell dropped domains or auctions b4 they are dropped.

 

[Alston]

If you do pay per click, the domain name shows up in the ad. I think that for PPC the domain name matters a lot.

The domain name isn't very prominent in an organic search engine result. It may not matter too much for SEO, but it probably makes some difference.

An appropriate domain name can increase click through rates even if it has no direct impact on SEO. This may have an indirect SEO benefit.

 

[0b1kanobee]

So if you pick a not so good name, can you change it down the road?
Can you have more than one domain name linked to your site?

I see our resident term life Texas guy appears to have more than one domain name but I don't really know. Just looks that way to me.

I guess besides what I just asked, I would like to know how much damage control and tweaking can be done at a later date? I just want to get this up and running. I'm just hoping it's not like firing a gun and once you pull the trigger, very little you can change.

 

[STIBROKER]

I see our resident term life Texas guy appears to have more than one domain name but I don't really know.

That is because I have built keyword subpages off my main url address....in word press sites this is very easy to do.....so yes main url name really does not matter as much as what you stick behind it sometimes.....how else would this site be on page 1 for "family health insurance"...........

Get the BEST INDIVIDUAL HEALTH INSURANCE DEALS to =<>= START SAVING MONEY =<>= with!

 

[0b1kanobee]

What is up with that domain name? is it some kind of joke? Seriously........I don't get it. Is that something somebody on the forum did?