using www.(yourname).com is SCREAMIN 1997

Josh,

I hope that you don't feel as if you aren't welcome as I think you make some good contributions to the forum and some good points. We don't all have to agree all of the time.

I am very interested in this subject and would love to discuss it further.


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Make it a great day!

Brian Rodgers, MBA
Brian Rodgers Seminars, Inc.
www.brseminars.com
1-800-339-8841

So if you are willing, I would like to ask this question. Let's throw out search engine placement, etc.

First, I have sold 2 franchises and a book of business in this industry which is why I ask this question.

If you were to purchase a real estate business from say John Jones, would his business be more valuable if it was branded without his name on anything including company name, website, etc. or with his name?

I'm not looking for an argument, Lord knows we have enough of those going on around here lately, I am just trying to learn just like everyone else here.




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Make it a great day!

Brian Rodgers, MBA
Brian Rodgers Seminars, Inc.
www.brseminars.com
1-800-339-8841

Most of the guys on the speaker circut suggest your name.com, if that is not available then get close but only use .com and stay away from .net ,.org. .us, .other stuff, because the general public will substtute .com as a natural action. your name allows you to move city wide, state wide or across the country????????????

duplicate

[This message has been edited by Jaber (edited 11-15-2004).]

i agree with domains like www.real-estate-oklahoma.com your wasting your money if you want to brand and advertise that as your site, you would just send traffic to www.realestateoklahoma.com.

although those type domains would have value for search engine placement that is about it.



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Wes Murphree
Investment Realty
http://www.SCInvestmentRealty.com
http://www.3NetLease.com
http://www.MultifamilyListings.com

I'm a firm believer in buying both since domains are pretty cheap (as a previous poster already deftly pointed out). If you can't get both, still get the hypenated one for advertising/marketing mediums that place a high value on readability. The way I see it, you really have to sit down and look at which senses and under which conditions is the prospect going to be exposed to your URL.

If I were planning to do a billboard lead generation ad I would prefer to use the hypenated version as it is more easily read than the URL that has the words running into each other when you are driving by quickly in the car.

If I were planning on doing a radio spot, I would definitely not use the hypenated URL.

I also think that one thing to remember with URLs is that the *URL* does not necessarily have to be the same across all of your chosen advertising mediums. Reason is that your target population won't necessarily be exposed to all the different medias that you choose to advertise your brand. For example, people may drive by your billboard each day on their way to work, but may never hear your radio spot.

As long as you keep your *business name* consistent you can tailor your actual URLs to each specific advertising medium without confusing the prospect and actually enhance retention by playing up/down to that medium's unique charateristics.

My opinion is take the advice from the Pro's www.powermarketingcenter.com (when it's finished)

As for domain names, it makes sense to provide great service to your clients and work your niche(s) -Therefore describing that service/niche with a domain name seems the right route to take. ex. (billingsfsbos.com,hotnewlistings.com,billingsexpireds.com,seattleforeclosures.com)

I would think www.yourname.com is only a private address you wouldn't choose to drive taffic too.

p.s. I wonder if you could advertise your UPB with a website. (firemeatanytime.com/savethousandsguaranteed.com)??

I'm tempted to act contrary to that opinion, especially with the ".tv" extension.

The # of websites will only continue to grow in the years ahead. Each of those new websites will need a unique domain name and others webmasters will be in the market for extra domain name variations to point to their main website address.

Knowing this (assuming that no new naming formats are created), it would seem to me that buying (speculating is what it really is) certain domains could prove lucrative if the web world turns out to be analogous to the world of real estate where, all things being equal, values generally go up as time passes.

I can see the ".tv" extension being especially attrative as the internet service providers of the world like Comcast, Echostar, etc., find ways to pump more video over the web at broadband speeds. The ".tv" extension seems to be the logical standard for this type of specialized "Tele-site". This will create the opportunity for the average Joe like you and I to be able to set up our own little tv station located at our respective domain name, say Mansion.tv, or the like and offer virtual tours, seminars, pitches, etc. Someday you might be able to access an infinite # of these Tele-sites or channels by simply logging onto the internet. Should be interesting to watch.

Another idea that I've heard used before is to buy the domain featuring your cell phone number (i.e. 8601234567.com, for example) and print up a main sign/rider that you can hang on all your yard signs. Afterall, if a drive-by is interested they usually stop to write down the phone number on the sign anyhow so why not tie your site in with this as well and point to your main site.

And the nice thing is that with the new cell phone portability laws you can take that number with you forever. If you're an agent, this would mitigate the pain/handcuffs of leaving your current firm in fear of having your old firm snag a caller looking for the now departed you.

Hello
Very interesting reading all these post but it looks like the jury is still out on this subject I am glad I started it.
I guess for the most part it looks like a 50/50 split as you may know if you surf the web you will see personal names as well as what ever works for them generic etc.
I for one like the ones that identify the product or business you are dealing with.
This is just my opinion now that is one thing we all have www opinion com
Thanks
Vance


[This message has been edited by accessamerica (edited 11-16-2004).]

Placement is so much more about relevant content than the URL, period. Meta tags, page titles, and domains having a HUGE impact like they did years ago has long been a thing of the past in SEO. Don't get me wrong, it still has its small part in the SEO algorithm but it is very, very small.

This is a very good one to use as a pointer to your real domain, I have been contemplating switching my number to do this. Maybe have an overlap period where I have both the old and the new number. My idea was to take it one step further, and do something like 590-JOSH, then instead of having a rider on your sign with your name and number, it would just be that, then also purchase the domain www.590JOSH.com and have that on a rider along the bottom of the sign.

-J

I still believe that having a descriptive domain name is still more valuable than one that is not. I believe this is true not only online, but offline. It takes much more effort and money to promote and brand a personal name. Although it's not impossible, most people don't have the time nor the resources to do it properly.

ChicagoHomes.com seems to make much more sense than JohnJones.com. There isn't one person on the planet earth that would question what ChicagoHomes.com is! JohnJones.com could be a Fuller Brush salesman!

If I was going to a search engine to search for Realtors or homes, I would NOT be searching for John Jones.... if I KNEW John Jones, I presume I would already know who he is and how to find him! What I AM searching for is real estate in Chicago.

Since domain names cost so little ($8 a year or so), it makes sense to have multiple domains INCLUDING your name - I mean it IS your name after all - but from a marketing standpoint I don't really think it's a good idea to use that as your primary domain.

In real estate, if you ever want to sell your business (including the online component), I don't think JohnJones.com will have as much cache as ChicagoHomes.com for resale.


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Nashua Web Design
Southern New Hampshire Real Estate & Homes
I Sold This House.com