I obviously own my name domain (LaneBailey.com). I think every real estate agent should make the attempt to own their domain... if for no other reason than it makes a great email domain. In fact, I think that the use as an email domain may be the most important.
Let's face it... new consumers aren't running around with our names on the tip of their tongues... but if they know us, it is VERY useful to say "Email me at Lane [at] Lane Bailey [dot] com." It is also good for our referral base to be able to have our name as a contact point. A client may find it easier to remember our name than our catchphrase or a funky-clunky website name.
So, how are we to remedy these divergent ideas? Actually, it is quite easy... Multiple domains.
For many, the options would be limited to their name with a .com, .net and .org extension. Personally, I think that the .net and .org extensions aren't all that great for our purposes. I administer a website for a charity event. We have the .com and .org extesions for the website. EVERYTHING that we have printed for the events has the .org extension, but hits to the .com redirect outnumber the .org.
So, I would say that it isn't all that beneficial to get the .org and .net extensions for a commercial website. But, despite not being highly utilized, it might be good to get the .mobi and .info extensions. I haven't purchased the .mobi for my name, but did pick up the .info for my name. Don't scramble, I don't have anything up there yet... and I will probably purchase the .mobi version at some point.
But the domain...
Don't chince... Get a couple. I have LaneBailey, GwinnettGarageGuy, GarageHomesUSA and LilburnDwellings (the last one I don't actually have... that is a company domain). Matt Fagioli, my broker, has hundreds... if not thousands... of domains. Aside from my name, each domain is designed to help the search engines figure out what the domain is about. In my case, each domain has unique content, but that doesn't have to be the case. A primary domain or two can be set up with unique content, and the secondary domains can be redirected to the primary domain. I actually have another domain, LaneGetsResults.com... it redirects to LaneBailey.com. It was the first domain I bought for my real estate business, and for a while, it pointed to my old broker's supplied website. When I left the brokerage, I was able to bring the domain with me... If anyone had that address and typed it in again, they would find me. I could also use it for a future project if that was a better fit.
Stategy points...
- Own your name. If nothing else, use it for your email.
- Get other domains that are appropiate to your farm, niche or marketing.
- Make sure that you have a few options with extra domains.
- Point old or unused domains to your primary.
- Get a good analytic program and see if there is a star domain that gets typed in more.
Also, I don't get anything for mentioning that GoDaddy has some extensions on sale at the moment... I got my .info for $.99, and trasnferred a .com for $6.99.
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