Domain name choice

[prowmed]

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Hi,

I'm new around here and eager to have a go at affiliate marketing and am hoping to get some advice on choosing a domain name.

Say I intend to start a website reviewing 'widgets'. (though I'd rather not say what particular widgets I have in mind right now!). As to be expected, all the obvious best names such as widgetreview.com, widgetreviews.com (& co.uk) have already been taken.

There are some variations on the theme that are available but nothing quite as snappy:
e.g. widgetsreview.com that picks up some traffic according to google keyword search.
There are also names I prefer but get no exact searches such as whatwidget.com or wreview.com

This is a project I intend to spend a fair amount of time on and produce some really good in depth reviews of widgets. I would hope that I could build up search engine rankings based on the content alone rather than the domain name, but I have no experience in these things so don't know how hard it can be. There are already some reviews of widgets on the web but I believe I can do a better job of it.

So my question is this. Should I go for the name where I would get at least some passing traffic based on exact search terms (widgetsreview.com), or should I go one of the shorter names which I prefer but will not help me at all for SEO?

Any advice would be appreciated!

Paul

[peonau]

To be honest, that answer depends on the volume of traffic you could get for your exact search domain.

Over a longer period of time, your non exact match domain could rank as well, provided you build links and apply other common place seo strategies.

If the shorter name is more brandable, I'd advise you to go for it ( especially as you seem to be in it for the long run)

[forexaffreviews]

Over a longer period of time, your non exact match domain could rank as well, provided you build links and apply other common place seo strategies.

Completely agree to this. If over time you can get a decent traffic flowing, the domain name shouldn't matter all. Try to focus your efforts towards developing content and good distribution and the site will improve in due time.

[guycookson]

I would go for the shorter, more memorable domain name. Visitor impressions will be formed by perceptions of the name - an awkward name that's clearly been chosen simply for SEO reasons may devalue your site. It's worth considering repeat traffic too, which is more likely with a better brand.