If you are looking to start a new website, here are a few things you want to pay attention to when registering your domain:

• Keywords: unless you want to have a 5 word domain name, you don’t have that much flexibility as far as keywords you can fit into your domain. That does not mean you should not try. BestiPhoneApps.com has a better chance of showing up high for that term than let’s say iPhoneland.com. There are other factors involved. But if you have a matching domain, you’ve got a better shot at getting the most out of your SEO efforts.
• Short domains: the shorter your domains, the better. If you can’t get those key phrases in your domain, you are better off choosing something short and somewhat meaningful. Short domains can help you on Adwords and sites such as Twitter. They are easier to remember too.
• Brandable: if you want to be in your business for long-term, you are going to have to brand yourself or your business. A terrible domain can be a big hindrance here.
• .com, .net, .org, register them all: I can’t tell you how many times I have spent hours building a website only to have a copycat grab the .us version of my domain and copy my work. It’s not pleasant and not good for your customers either.
• Register alternatives: you should always use tools such as DomainsBot.com to register other alternatives to your domain just to be on the safe side. I have seen top SEOs acquire other short domains and redirect them to their home-page (use the right type of redirect of course). Let’s say you are selling laptop accessories. Wouldn’t it be nice if you acquire laptopaccessories.com and redirect it to your shop’s home page?

Picking a domain name is a big decision for your business. Make sure you go choose the right partner and domain names to give your business a better shot at success.

MakeMoneyOnline.com is sitting in the middle of the first page of the results on Google. Now you may tell me that this site has so much great content on how one can make money online that it’s ranking is justified. You be the judge.

There is no question that you can game the search engines with links and other black and gray hat tactics. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. If you have the exact keyword people are searching for in your domain, you have a decent chance of getting ranked high on top search engines, even if your content is not top notch. Don’t get me wrong. Your ranking is not going to last forever if you just purchase a domain and don’t a decent effort forward. But your domain matters. Even if you can’t register every domain in your niche, you should always register domains that have your very top keywords. It’s not as if domains are expensive. That would not only give you options, it would also keep spammers from getting high rankings just by owning those domains. So don’t underestimate the power of your domain.

In reality, search engines (especially Google) do pay a lot of attention to your domain and the words in it. It would depend on the market that you want to be involved in as well. For instance, you can’t expect to rank in the top 10 for the word “best credit cards” with the domain bestcreditcards.com. Not unless you go through the extra trouble of optimizing your content and getting links to your domain. The credit card market is so competitive for your domain to pull the weight. But how about “Best HDTVs?” Let’s take a look:

As you can tell from the highlighted words in the domains above, your keywords in your domains does matter. And it gets better. In many less competitive market, your domain name can be a big difference maker. I have seen it in action in many smaller markets. All you need to do is have the right keywords in your domain, and you get ranked in the first couple of pages. Maybe Google is being too lenient or maybe it’s a big part of the algorithm. Either way, I recommend every small business owner to acquire these “key” domains even if you are not planning on using them. You never know when they become handy. Of course, you can always formulate a content strategy and build niche specific portals with your domains, but that’s a whole other story.

Registering a domain is just too easy these days. There was a time that you had to pay a lot of money to register a single domain. But these days you can get one for $9 or so. The sooner you start getting into the business of long-tail domains, the better off you are. There is no guarantee for how long Google gives a special attention to keyword rich domains, but the strategy does work for now. And it’s not as if you will be stuck with your domains for life. Your domain does matter. So start registering the good ones before others do.

Take the term “credit card rankings” for example. It’s true that you can get ranked for this term using Wikipedia and other authority sites, but if you look more closely, sites that have these words in their domain have a better chance of getting ranked higher. With more competitive keywords, your domain will not be enough, but those less competitive terms can still drive traffic to your website, and who wouldn’t like getting ranked on the first page of Google.

In reality, your URL is not the only thing that matters when it comes to your SEO ranking. But it is certainly a big part of the equation. And if you are a niche marketer, you’ve got a real opportunity here to make a lot of money and gain a competitive edge over your rivals by registering all those keyword-rich domains. Google may have a very complex algorithm, but you can still dominate Google with the less competitive keywords as long as you register the right domains! Who says domains are overrated!

I have talked about in the past about the importance of choosing the right domain for your blog or your business site. It’s really a no brainer. If you have a catchy, short, brandable domain name, you have everything you need to put yourself in a position to succeed. A domain name is not going to make you successful, but you significantly improve your chance of getting free traffic and building a solid brand.

But what some folks have forgotten about is the important of having your main keyword phrase in your domain name. A lot of SEOs would tell you that having your keywords in your domain is relatively important. I am going to push it to the next level. I believe if you have a very competitive keyword in your domain name, you have all the tools to make a killing on the Internet. I know this is not big news for some folks, but you’d be surprised to see what kind of sites are getting ranked on Google just because of their domain names.

I don’t know if it’s a glitch in Google’s algorithm, but a parked site should have no business getting ranked on the first or second page of the SERPs. It certainly shows the flaw in the Google’s algorithm. A site with only a solid domain name and a solid title with no real content should not be ranked anywhere on the first 5 pages. I am sure as time goes on, Google is going to find a way to move these sites back down the SERPs. But right now, having the right domain locked up can get you in the top 3 pages without much effort (depending on your niche).

But right now, the potent combination of keyword in title and keyword in domain name can give you a serious competitive edge over your rivals. Maybe it’s not fair, but that’s life…

Search engine optimization really about the audience first and search engines second. You can’t optimize for search engines and expect to keep your readers happy as well. I know a bunch of people keyword stuffed the heck out of their sites, but not only they got banned, the practice was not an audience friendly one. I understand why James Martel believes that an affiliate site is better off if it has keywords in its domain name, but if you have a paragraph as your domain name, your users won’t remember it. So you’ll lose a bunch of traffic that you would’ve gotten with a shorter, sweeter domain name. Search engine optimization firms are focused on getting you the best rankings possible, but the better ones take your audience into account. You can’t and shouldn’t sacrifice everything for the sake of reaching No. 1 position on Google. Ranking won’t matter if you don’t convert.

Search engine optimization really about the audience first and search engines second. You can’t optimize for search engines and expect to keep your readers happy as well. I know a bunch of people keyword stuffed the heck out of their sites, but not only they got banned, the practice was not an audience friendly one. I understand why James Martel believes that an affiliate site is better off if it has keywords in its domain name, but if you have a paragraph as your domain name, your users won’t remember it. So you’ll lose a bunch of traffic that you would’ve gotten with a shorter, sweeter domain name. Search engine optimization firms are focused on getting you the best rankings possible, but the better ones take your audience into account. You can’t and shouldn’t sacrifice everything for the sake of reaching No. 1 position on Google.