Domain Names and Search Engine Marketing

Domain names and Search Engine marketing
The name of a Web site is one of the most important identifying elements of a web site. In the business of marketing domain names, premium domain names are often valuable, and have particular characterizations: Premium domain names are short and memorable, and may contain words that are regularly searched on search engines or keywords that help the name gain a higher ranking on search engines. They may contain generic words, so the word has more than one meaning, and they may contain common typos.
For selecting a good domain name, there are many factors that need to be taken into consideration.

• Select a domain name that reflects the contents of the web site.
• Select a domain name that contains web site's keywords.
• Select a short domain name that will be easily remembered.
• Select the best domain extension.
• Avoid using abbreviations, numbers, and dashes in domain name.
• Ensure domain name is not a trademark Infringement.

A good dot com domain names associated with a business may not be available. In that case, try to purchase it from the current owner or try alternative domain extensions.
Value of a domain name
Various factors influence the perceived value or market value of a domain name. They include

• The natural or "organic" traffic that can be attributed to web surfers typing in a domain name in their web browser as opposed to doing a search for the site through a search engine.
• Branding opportunity. The ability to have a term recognized and easily recalled as a brand for a company or entity.
• Re-sale value. The ability to spot trends and predict the value of a name based on its length (short is preferred), clarity, and commercial use. The word loan is far more valuable than the word sunshine.
• The appropriate TLD – For a commercial business that operates in a global environment, a name that uses the .com ending may be the most attractive choice. For a nonprofit organization, preferred TLD is .org.

Generic domain names have sprung up in the last decade. Certain domains, especially those related to business, gambling, pornography, and other commercially lucrative fields of digital world trade have become very much in demand to corporations and entrepreneurs due to their importance in attracting clients.
Ways to market a website:
Your web site is not going to be listed by search engines, as soon as you publish it. It will take months too indexed by search engines. You may try manual search engine submission, but still it will take 1 month to 6 months to get indexed on major search engines like Google and Yahoo.
Traditional Marketing Techniques
Put your URL on your business cards, stationary, brochures, and any other traditional marketing materials. Send e-mails to friends, family, and acquaintances to spread the word about your site. Create e-mail updates for your site users and potential site visitors. Hyperlink to Other Sites Related to Yours. You will build more traffic from Web sites that point to your site than you will from most search engines. Many Web sites point users to related sites of interest. In fact, other Web sites may put a link to your site on theirs. You should do the same if the Web site is appropriate for your visitors. Consider writing a short e-mail to relevant Web sites letting them know that you have just come onto the Web and offer them a link on your site. And they may link back to your site.
Pay per click (PPC) marketing
PPC marketing is an advertising model used on search engines and content websites, where advertisers only pay when a user actually clicks on an ad to visit the advertiser's website.
Search engine indexing
Search engines are index software agents that are programmed to seek Web sites and categorize them into a cohesive manner, in order for data to be searched. When visiting a Web site the agent records all the text on every page and categorizes the site based on different criteria. A search engine will find the site even if you do not register it; however, registration speeds up the process.
There are blanket submission services that will register your site to hundreds of search engines. However, it is best if you register your site on each of the top search engines. Doing so will give your site a better position in the search results.
The top search engines include:
Google,  Alta Vista, Yahoo, MSN and Web crawler.
Tips for Getting Top Listings in Search Engines, SEO (Search engine optimization) tips
Getting a top listing in a search engine is not an easy task. The millions of sites and the ways people are programming their sites make it impossible to guarantee placement in any given search engine at any given time. However, you can greatly increase your odds of a higher placement by doing a few simple things to optimize your site for searches:
Have a relevant domain name and tag line. Your domain name is one of the most important criteria in placement. Consider it carefully. 
Use keywords in the <TITLE> tag and make them as descriptive as possible. Do not underestimate the importance of a good <TITLE> tag. List the name of your site, insert a colon, and then include a short sentence describing each individual page.
Be sure your text is relevant and descriptive on each page. Pay attention to the location. Search engines can distinguish between the location of your text and how frequently it appears. Therefore, use the same words throughout to describe key products, concepts, or information you want the user to search.
Make good use of text and word choices in your HTML, and use the <H1> through <H6> tags wisely as search engines note the differences in the size or priority that you code text on the page.
Use <META> tags on every page of your site. <META> tags are coded between the <HEAD> tags. The common <META> tags are: Keywords - use as many related keywords for your site as possible; Name - site name, Description - your tag line or a brief sentence describing your site.
Search directories
There is an important difference between a directory and a search engine. A search engine utilizes software to automatically create a database of Web sites. A directory or guide will not list your URL if you do not register with them. They do not use agents, so they have no way of knowing your site is out there unless you tell them. Directories are usually divided into sub-headings, so you need to let them know where you want to be placed. The most frequently used directory is Yahoo.