Whether you have a great product or service you’re already selling online, or you’re just about to launch a new online store, you’ve probably discovered how difficult it is to snag a great domain name. Maybe you have a catchy brand or product name all ready to-go, only to find out that every conceivable version of ‘.com’ and ‘.net’ domains are already taken. Now what?
Perhaps you’re getting ready to sell your handmade goods on Etsy or an assortment of precious collectibles on eBay, and are considering all the marketing that goes into successfully attracting customers. How do you make a smart connection between your direct online shop, selling on one or many marketplaces including Amazon and your social media streams on Facebook, Twitter and even Snapchat?
The good news is that there are lots of new, purpose-driven domains available today for everything from personal branding to virtual business. In fact, almost 1,000 new domain name extensions have been introduced in the past two years. If you’re selling online, you need to checkout one of the newest and most powerful offerings available today – welcome to the age of Shop-Domain. Imagine being able to snag PennyPosh.shop or KillerCoffee.shop – just about anything that relates to your brand name or what you sell, online or offline.
Now that a whole new world of possibilities for a great domain name just opened up, how should you go about choosing the best domain name. Here are some simple guidelines to follow:
· Shorter is better – no one likes to type a novel in the browser bar
· Easy to spell and read – don’t be so clever that shoppers can’t find you
· Broadly understandable – avoid numbers and slang spellings that don’t translate well
· Original – make sure you distinguish yourself from the crowd and invest in building your brand instead of a competitor’s
· Memorable – keep shoppers coming back and recommending you by word of mouth
Most of all focus on keeping it simple, but authentic to your brand and what you sell. Don’t make the mistake of overdoing it by trying to include keywords and search engine recommendations. Chances are you won’t see that much organic traffic from this choice alone anyway.
While the market for eCommerce has experienced phenomenal growth every year for the past five in a row, most countries only have an online retail market in the single digits, meaning we’re just getting started.
Now that you’ve chosen an awesome new domain name for your online store, what’s next? Here’s some practical advice on how to attract more online shoppers, meaning more sales.
Most owners underestimate just how much marketing is needed to build and sustain a viable ecommerce-based business. When you’re just starting out, you need to be prepared to commit maximum effort to jumpstart your business. The majority of online retail sites fail simply because owners don’t realize just how important early marketing efforts are unable to gain the necessary traction to remain a going concern.
For the first six months we recommend the following priorities:
· In the first month you must launch your basic site including taking a variety of payments
· In month two focus on improving your site with more bells and whistles to give your shoppers the best experience and your team the easiest way to keep track of inventory and quickly fulfill orders
· In the next four months you should be dedicated to getting your operation running smoothly and marketing non-stop across every low-cost channel available
While it may be a tempting plan to rely on paid advertising to ramp-up your online store in the beginning, this can be a risky and expensive gamble. While pay-per-click options like Google AdWords and Facebook Ads can drive an avalanche of traffic to your site almost overnight, the results can be disappointing – from single page visits to abandoned shopping carts, none of which translates into sales or long-term, repeat customers. Even if you do see an initial pop in sales, remember what each of these customers is costing you in smaller profits.
In the beginning, we recommend pursuing low- or no-cost, long-term programs including search engine optimization, email marketing to opt-in customers, a vibrant and visually-rich social media strategy full of cool posts, engagement with consumers and promotion of products and your brand.
There’s never been a better time to get started. What are you waiting for? Get your Shop-Domain today!
Marc Müller
http://www.domainregistry.de/... (English)
http://www.domainregistry.de/... (German)
