How To Choose Domain Names For Affiliate Marketing

Q:Tom, I want to get a website domain with the primary purpose of promoting your products - the burn the fat ebook and the burn the fat inner circle. I have been researching and buying up domain names and now it's time to narrow down the selection and pick a few to go live with. I'm torn between using highly searched keywords or something else! For example, with the keyword suggestion tool at an SEO site I visit, weight loss is searched 2,266,642 times per month, Weight Loss Program 296,681, fat Loss 35,097, Lose Fat 18,939, Fat Burner 52,119, Body Building 532,798

The following are domains I am considering [names deleted for privacy]. Weight Loss is obviously the highest searched term, so I used weight loss in several of the domains I'm considering, but i like [domain name removed] because it is two keyword terms sandwhiched together. I would appreciate your thoughts! Thanks in advance!

A: you have a bunch of good ideas there. You are on the right track by including keywords in your domain name. One other thing you might consider in your choice: Does your domain name clearly telegraph to the reader what your whole site is about, or make a promise / benefit? In other words, does your website domain say something? Hopefully it expresses your unique selling proposition (USP), rather then just being a string of keywords. Why? because it's one thing to get ranked in the search engines, but it's another thing to get your search engine results page listing clicked-on.

When you're trying to narrow down a list of domain name choices, that one distinction might help you make your decisions much more easily. Some of those domains you listed do this, but others do not.

For example, www.FindFatLossProducts.com is fairly specific about what the site will do for you, but it could be even more specific - what kind of fat loss products? If you fine tune it a bit, domain names like this beg a click when someone reads the URL alone, provided they were looking for what your website promises to help them find.

If you add some descriptive text in your title tag, then you have a domain name which becomes the equivalent of a headline and a title tag that becomes the equivalent of a sub-headline or first paragraph of sales copy.

When domain names are chosen carefully, and especially when you give them good title tags, they beg the click better than random strings of keywords in domains.

Here are some more examples (just examples, dont know if these are registered domain names or not:

www.fatlossbuildmuscle.com. This one is just keywords - could be better

FatLossProgramCritic.com. this one is better in my opinion because it has a USP. This implies skepticism and promises reviews just within that short domain name.

www.15minutefatloss.com. This one has a USP and is so much better than a vague claim like www.quicklylosefat.com, which begs the question, "how quickly?"

www.WorldsFastestWeightLossTrick.com This one is probably too long, but just for illustrative purposes, this domain name has a definite promise as to what will be delivered when the reader clicks, and the language induces curiosity as well (curiosity is a powerful driver).

www.BestWomensWeightLossPills.com. This one is also on the long side, so again it is only for illustrative purposes, but its a good example of niching down. This one doesn't go after the hugely competitive keyword phrase, weight loss, but instead niches down - THREE notches down - to womens weight loss pills:

weight loss
women's weight loss
women's weight loss supplements
womens weight loss supplements (pills)

This is a good example of niching down in a keyword category. Also, if you are promoting burn the fat products, drawing people into weight loss pill and supplement websites with good keyword choices, then de-bunking the pills is a great strategy, being as I am not a fan of weight loss pills and do not promote them. For an example, see: http://www.burnthefat.com/fat_burners_exposed.html,

Remember, your chances of ranking on weight loss are pretty slim, but your chances on ranking for a subniche are much better.

Bottom line: A well-chosen URL is one where the URL - website name itself is part of the persuasive sales copy and it begs a click.

Last but not least, I noticed you included the word FREE in some of your domain name ideas. Keep in mind the type of reader you attract when you use FREE in your domain name. FREE is a great word in marketing, but it comes with a downside - freebie seekers.

Let me know how else I can help

- Tom Venuto, Author & Affiliate Manager,
Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle

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