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Domain Names for Photographers - Start your own website |
| Date Added: May 25, 2009 04:32:55 PM |
| Author: PhotographersDB |
| Category: |
| A few years ago I spotted an opportunity within the Photography industry - a gap in the market so to speak. I'd only been a photographer for a few months at that point, still learning and building my portfolio. Being a web designer primarily - the first thing I did was build myself an online photography portfolio. I needed a domain name - an address for my online portfolio... and it was no surprise that the best domain names were all taken up. I knew that the domain name was one of the most important things - probably THE most important thing in terms of being online. It needed to be easy to remember and something that would help me stand out from the millions of other "photography portfolios" online. What I didn't want was a MyNamePhotography.com type of domain. These names are way too long and somewhat cheesy / tacky. No offence to those who use stuff like that - but for me it just doesn't give the right impression for a start and they are hard to remember - long and not great for business cards. Some Pointers So here's a few pointers for choosing a good domain name for a photographer...
Keep it Short Short domain names are much easier to remember - for example "Photos.com" vs "MyOnlinePhotographs.com" - they are also easier to type and it reduces leakage of traffic that can be caused by typing errors in longer names. Its hard to keep it short if you use the word "photography" because that alone is already 11 letters long - but read below - because its not necessary to use that word in your name. Some of the biggest / most well known sites don't even use the keyword in the domain name. Avoid-Hyphenated-Domain-Names Using a hyphenated domain name eg. photography-portfolio.com can be good as a second domain that points to your main site - it can be useful for SEO purposes, to bring traffic from search engines. But its best to have a main domain name like "TotalPhotos.com" which you use for branding purposes, on business cards, fliers etc. If you MUST use a hyphenated name then stick with just one hypen - anything more makes the name look bargain basement super cheap & very tacky. Stick with .com Domain Names Try to stick with .com domain names - they are king. Having a .com helps more with SEO and can be seen as authoritive compared to lets say a .info - of course it depends on the name, but if you can get the .com version of the same name (even at slightly higher price) it usually is well worth it. Keep it Simple Don't try to be too "funky" with your domain name - you have to keep in mind that whatever name you use - you will be able to say it to someone and they will know how to spell it without being told HOW to spell it. The more ways a name can be spelt - the worse it is for you in terms of losing traffic and potential clients. Here's an example: Gr8Photoz.com - you'd say to your friends "go to my site Gr8Photoz.com" without spelling it - what they would hear is this "go to my site greatPhotos.com" - alternatively they may try "greatPhotoz.com" but unless you tell each and every person how to spell it - you'll lost customers/visitors. Doesn't always need to include "Photography" Another thing that most photographers tend to do is include the word "photography" or "photographer" in the domain name - its not a bad thing - infact its good for SEO. However, sometimes adding the keyword "photography" in the domain can make it very very long - especially if its more than three words. Using your own name + keyword photography can make it very long... something like MarkPhotography.com is fine, but thats not available - so most "Marks" tend to go and register their firstname + lastname + photography - making it superlong and extremely hard to remember and type. You can find names that describe your field - eg. WeddingPhotography.com - thats a super premium domain name, but it'll cost you a million or two lol. So in such cases, you would be better off going after a brandable non-keyword domain - cheaper alternatives. Short names are best in most cases - (see the example uPhotographer.com below) - but some of the biggest photography companies in the world don't even use the word "photo" or "photography" it their domains. For branding purposes its not necessary. Some example: Getty.com - iOKee.com - Shutter - iStock etc. etc. Check out the example name for sale (FaceFusion.com below). There are of course some exceptions to the rules - but in most cases its best to stick by these points. Test out a potential name before registering or buying it... ask a friend or family member what they think of it - tell them the name and see if they can spell it without making any mistakes. Ask them if they would remember it after a week. Check out Some of the Domain Names Below The domain names below are all for sale for very reasonable - in some cases dirt cheap prices. I'd also be happy to help you find a good name - so if you want you can leave a comment here with your email address and I'll get in touch with you.... click on the images for more information or to see how to buy the domain names.  www.uPhotographer.com - Premium Domain
Search for them on sedo.com - offers from $60 welcome. |
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