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Domain choice is a hugely important step in any new PPC to affiliate campaign. I touched on this subject briefly almost a year ago in this post about display urls, but I wanted to expand on that. Your choice of domain names to host your landing pages will have a big impact on conversion rates. So here are some quick strategies I usually follow concerning domains to be used for PPC.
1. Always buy a new domain for every offer. Don’t try to use the strategy of buying a general domain and then splitting it off for every offer you test. This will lead to lower conversion rates and may kill what could be a promising niche before you even get started.
2. Don’t buy a overly hyphenated domain that looks spammy. A domain like buy-my-products-now.com does not instill confidence in the consumer. Short, dot com names have always worked best for me. Never buy dot orgs.
3. I have had some success buying names that sound similar to the offer. This way when the searcher clicks from the landing page to the offer page, they are often unaware anything has changed, especially if you are keeping the same look/feel of the offer page. This leads to high conversions.
4. Most often, buying a domain with the keyword in the title works best. When someone sees the keyword they searched for also in your display URL, it reinforces the relevance of your ad. That follows through all the way to the conversion.
5. Once an offer shows promise, I buy multiple domains. Domains should be split tested for conversion rates just like ad copy. It’s amazing how keeping everything the same, except the domain name can affect conversion rates. I have seen a 7.2% increase in conversions by picking a better name. How many names should you buy? I would keep testing until you are satisfied you have the best domain possible. I have tested10-15 domain names on my most long running offer now.
Keep in mind, these strategies are for PPC to offer campaigns and are different that strategies for building a long term site. I am not factoring in brand building or SEO like you would if you were building an a site for organic results.
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Thanks For the tips. In regards to point 3 I think it is important note that some offers do now allow affiliates to use variations of their domain as the display URL. So make sure your read the terms or you may end up loosing your leads.
Yes, that’s a very important point. I should have made that more clear. I’m not talking copying the offer domain in your domain (which could also be a TM problem), but more keeping with the feel of the offer domain. Never hurts to run it by your AM to make sure.
I’ve always avoided trademarks. I have short-term and long-term objectives for my campaign. After using my resources to build a domain, the last thing I want to deal with is a trademark issue.
Great information, thanks!
How about typo domains Chad? Have you tested offers for typo domains and I’m sure they can get SLAPPED for quality score…
PPC newbie, Orlando
Just curious - why should you never buy a .org? I’ve always thought that they may add some credibility to the domain, since most .orgs are very highly credible sites. Sure, they may be harder to remember, but PPC isn’t so much about return visitors. Just wondering what your reasoning for this was.
Thanks!
I’ve found that some consumers dont really know what a .org is and are afraid to click on it.
The big question is…can you get a good vertical domain ?
Seems like all the domains are taken and you cannot use trademark keywords in PPC unless you have that domain.
Thanks
Hm I can’t say I’ve split tested domain names much, good tip, will implement.
When I hear, “split test everything!” I never applied it to domain names. If you break down the entire process of PPC again and again, I’m sure you can always find something new to split test and optimize. Thanks for the help Chad.
Chad:
Any thoughts on short but meaningless domains, such as these false examples:
nifun.com
karad.com
bivap.com
As opposed to kw rich such as:
stopsmokingadvice.com
losingweightsolutions.com
ringtonesuperzone.com
Thanks!
For PPC, I would go with the keyword type domains.
All my natural search .orgs do really well… Personally, I think the most undervalued extension today is the .org.
Probably just another example of why testing is so important. In all the niches I have split tested a .org its failed miserably. But I can think of a few where it might work better.
Makes sense to me - “most” people looking in the Sponsored Links are buyers…and buyers are more likely to buy when they see .com.
- Dave
[…] Keep in mind, these strategies are for PPC to offer campaigns and are different that strategies for building a long term site. I am not factoring in brand building or SEO like you would if you were building an a site for organic results. article from:www.cdfnetworks.com […]
[…] - I have talked before about the importance of testing multiple domains in your campaigns. The display URL is a critical part of your ad, and you never know what will […]