Thread: choosing a domain name?

I am debating between picking a domain name based on my dance name, or using bellydance followed by the city I am based out of. Ex: "stagename"dances.com or bellydance"city".com. Any thoughts? How did you decide on a domain name?

I like websites that use the dancer's name instead of the belly dance and city approach because it is easier for me to remember the dancer's name and every repetition of that name helps me remember it even more.

For my own websites I have mahsati-janan.com and mahsati.com and for my troupe/dance collective I have qamari.org
If you plan on incorporating a directory for your city or something like that, then it might be better to go with belly dance and the city name

How about "stagenamebellydance". That's mine (danielabellydance.com). What's your stage name? If it's difficult to pronounce or remember, it might not make a good domain name.

I'm glad I didn't choose bellydance-"city".com because it would have been a hassle to change when I moved.

By keeping the same domain name when I moved, the links from other sites all still worked, which meant that I didn't break all pre-existing links and lose my search engine rankings. (The number of other sites who link to you influences your ranking.)

I also recommend choosing something that's short, easy to type, and easy to remember.

A recommendation I received many moons ago was to make the name reflective of what you do. Like daniella, mine is tahirabellydancer even though my full stage name is Tahira of Los Angeles. I think it is best to leave sites with the city names to people who are mainly doing events such as bellydanceNYC, etc.

{{{{HUGS}}}}

I prefer sites with the domain having the dancer's name. To me, city in the domain name means that it's a school predominantly or is the general belly dance site for the area.

Originally Posted by *Shira*

I also recommend choosing something that's short, easy to type, and easy to remember.

In other words, don't use something like I have:

marketatthecasbah.com

Yes, it's very descriptive, but not that easy to read. So this is what I do now, based on what I saw our Rosey do on one of my advertisements:

marketatthecasbah.com

Much easier to read, but still long.

I'm thinking of forming an LLC for all my dance stuff. I already purchased a domain name for it, which I selected in honor of my mother, but it's just as long as marketatthecasbah.com!

Arrrrrggggghhhhhhh!

Deborah

when I picked mine I didnt want to use my name...since their are many "amara's " already out there...I chose something completely different

electricshimmy.com

my hubby actually chose the "electric" part...I wanted something unique and catchy.

Originally Posted by shimmygoddess

when I picked mine I didnt want to use my name...since their are many "amara's " already out there...I chose something completely different

electricshimmy.com

my hubby actually chose the "electric" part...I wanted something unique and catchy.

Very catchy! I like!

Deborah

I like namebellydance.com/org or if you have a BD school/studio you could maybe use that.

Thanks everyone. Looks like name is most popular. That's what I will go with.

I like 'name + what you do', too, unless you have a regional resource site. But as long as it is spellable and memorable, I am cool with creativity!

One piece of advice: I chose name + raqs. But I also have my name + raks as a domain, and just have it set to automatically go to my real site. Different people spell and remember it different ways, and I figured for a couple more bucks a year it was worth it.

My next project? MonicaRocks, for my non-Middle Eastern music projects. ;)

I used to have a domain name where I used raks. I found I was constantly having to spell it to the general public, and explain what it means. It really became bothersome!

If you're trying to get organic search traffic, think about what the GP will be typing into Google. Most likely it will be "belly dance" and "yourcity". Or "bellydancer" and "yourcity". They likely won't know your dance name, or the word "raks", and it's unlikely they'll be searching for "shimmy". If your domain name matches the search terms exactly or almost exactly, your site will come up at the top of the rankings.

However, if you mainly want people who already know you/your stage name to find the site, then they'll be typing in "yourstagename" and "yourcity"

If people will be typing in the URL from a business card or other visual advertisement, then a catchy name like "electric shimmy" can be good because it's easy to remember.

So it all depends on your goals, but always think about who your target audience is and what they'll do--even if it's not necessarily what you'd like.

Also, remember, if you have a private host, you can have lots and lots of domains for $10 each. Set them up as "add-on domains" and point them all to the same site. That way if someone types in "belly dance in Chicago" and you own bellydanceinchicago.com that site will come up first. But then when they click on the link, you can have it directed to "mydancenameraqs.com"

Best of luck, whatever you choose!
Mira