How to use a domain name in your digital marketing strategy

Having a domain name that stands out in your communication can help make your message more effective

Marketing is not what it used to be. The Internet has radically transformed how we conduct and promote our business. Today, with digital marketing at the forefront, there are abundant resources and venues available than ever before.

Do you want to drive more leads to your website? Or maybe generate more awareness about your product? If done tactfully, digital marketing can help you achieve all this and turn your business into a profit.

However, even with digital marketing, there are two big challenges:

1. Businesses do not have clear goals of what they want to accomplish from their marketing.
2. Everyone is doing somewhat the same thing, in turn, adding to noise instead of being heard.

How to create a robust digital marketing strategy?

A good digital marketing strategy addresses the two challenges mentioned above in these simple ways:

1. Create S.M.A.R.T. goals

A successful marketing strategy stems from clear objectives and the way to set said objectives is to ensure that they are S.M.A.R.T - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. Think of what you want to achieve in a year and then break down those goals into quarterly and monthly goals.

Having clear objectives helps you form a plan that is aligned to achieving something instead of shooting in the dark.

2. Highlight the uniqueness of your brand

There are millions of brands out there and thousands that are in the same industry as you. So, what makes you special? This may surprise you but one of the best ways to stand out and make your presence known is to get the smaller details right.

One such tiny yet impactful detail is your domain name - something most entrepreneurs/marketers underestimate. Having a domain name that stands out in your communication can help make your message more effective.

For example, www.learnflutelessonsonline.com is a long, cumbersome, and dull domain name. There’s little chance that anyone will notice it, let alone, remember it. But what if your domain name was www.flutelessons.online - one that clearly communicates your brand message?

The importance of domain names

One way to determine a business’s success is if the website is attracting and engaging incremental traffic constantly. If you fail to get your website right, no amount of Facebook or Google ads will be able to help you.

Your domain name shadows these following aspects:

1. Brand Positioning

A good domain name helps you establish your brand and what it has to offer. For example, www.lifestylemag.online.

2. First Impression

You introduce your business with its name. That’s your first impression. Guess what would be the first impression of www.directpay.online?

3. Marketing Touchpoints

Good domain names add that extra zest to your digital marketing efforts. They can be used as touchpoints that attract and engage your users. For example, www.huntapartment.online will help you make your message more effective.

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The key to good domain names is the domain extension. Back in the day, the most common domain extension used was .COM which stood for ‘commercial’ sites. However, today there is a multitude of options available in domain extensions that make domain names more brandable and meaningful. For example, a domain name on .ONLINE immediately establishes your online identity. Additionally, the fact that the word online is available in 25 languages is an advantage as it helps you build a more global brand.

5 ways a domain name can be used in your digital marketing strategy

Your domain name is one of the most versatile marketing tools. Depending on your goal and the marketing campaign that you’re running, you can tailor your approach.

For example, a domain name can be used to simply point to a page on your website. Or, if you have the marketing budget then, you can create a campaign-specific landing page or even develop a brand-new micro-website.

Mentioned below are some creative and effective ways where you can use domain names for enhancing your marketing strategy:

1. Create highly targeted campaigns

A good way to get the maximum juice out of your marketing campaigns is to give it its own unique identity on the Internet. For example, you can use a unique domain name to direct users to a specific landing page where you want them to engage. This could be a special event, giveaway, trade show registration, loyalty program or even a video commercial.

Let’s assume you’re launching a campaign for your skincare product then you can have a domain name such as www.[productname].online that leads to a landing page where users can learn more about the product and register in a giveaway to get a free sample. This approach reaps multiple benefits and it allows you to:

• Target specific audience
• Garner more attention
• Try creative ideas
• Try various types of messages and gauge which one performs well
• Track specific campaign results

2. Give your products their own unique identity

Every business has its one specific star product that they promote a little more than the others. In such a situation, giving the said product its own unique identity can help it shine brighter.

The eCommerce giant, Amazon, did that with Kindle-- the domain www.kindle.store redirects to Kindle’s product page on Amazon’s main website.

For example, if you’re into teas and want to advertise a particular tea, you could register a domain name such as www.spicyscent.online and redirect this to the product page on your website.

3. Create branded short links for additional exposure

While scrolling through social media, you may have come across links such as bit.ly or virg.in. Most new entrepreneurs are under the false assumption that sharing branded links on social is an expensive affair.

Branded links help scale your brand awareness significantly by leveraging every corner of your digital real estate without costing you a bomb. Consider this for example:

1. bit.ly/4FF76V
2. pay.online/digital

If you were to just look at the links, which one of them comes across as more meaningful?

A branded link, such as "brand.online/content" increases trust and raises CTR (click-through rates) by up to 39%. Having a meaningful domain name on a new domain extension can help you get great branded links that can aid brand credibility, and improve user engagement.

4. Get on-topic backlinks

Good-quality backlinks are one of the key ingredients to good search ranking. And anchor (the specific words/characters on which a hyperlink is set) text makes these backlinks even more powerful. When the words in the URL match with the words of the anchor text, it adds extra credibility to that link.

It gives the search engine an indication about the content and link being relevant to each other which eventually helps with SEO. For example, when the anchor text ‘gardening services online’ gets a backlink to www.gardening.online, it helps strengthen your backlinks.

5. Add a creative twist to your marketing campaigns

Market saturation is something most marketers always complain about. But in the problem lies the opportunity. When it comes to getting the most out of your promotional efforts, a domain name can lend multiple benefits. Especially when it comes to search and memorability.

For example, consider these following possibilities:

• Particular season or event: springevents.online
• Campaign slogan: getactive.online
• Location: womensalon.online
• Specific day: blackfriday.online

Look for name generators to come up with some creative names that are cool and help your digital campaigns stand out.

Conclusion

Domain names are a wonderful tool to give your digital marketing campaigns a fresh and unique feel. However, you don’t need to create hundreds of them to succeed in the competitive marketplace. A good domain name on a relevant domain extension such as .online can go a long way in enhancing your marketing campaigns, which would create more opportunities to grow your business and keep your existing customers engaged.