When I started in the web business seven years ago (That's a lot of internet years...) I had this idea. I wanted to call my business WEB I.T. And so, of course I wanted www.webit.com to be the web address. I even had a logo idea. I wanted to use a cartoon frog. Say "webit" in a deep gutteral tone and you'll know why. Of course the idea was already snagged up...FROG AND ALL! If you check out webitservices.com - that's pretty close to what I was thinking although I will say they look way better than what I had in mind at the time.

I've come to realize over the years that I should do the domain searches first but not get caught up in the idea even if the domain you're looking for is available. Keywords in the domain used to be huge. But like most search engine optimization strategies, once the tactic flooded Google with a bunch of mis-information, the value of having keywords in the domain diminished as an SEO strategy.

I don't care what all the experts tell you to do - I recommend that you choose a domain that your clients will remember. For me... I could have had www.daytonlocalseo.com. It's hard to resist buying it, even as I write this. But truth be told, SEO is an acronym not necessarily familiar to my market - The Yellow Cats. So is there real value in it? (yellowcats.com is taken too, I checked - damn!)

You will find me using terminology that is not known either in the SEO world or even in my market for that matter. Effective communication is about speaking to your clients in their lingo. I would be better served by naming my site dumptheyellowpages.com. That would probably catch a couple even. Ultimately, we like to dream up our own language that describes our market and our concepts. It'll catch on, you watch. You don't forget what a Yellow Cat means once I tell you. You understand what bubble up means relative to my business.

From a technical standpoint, keywords in the domain do help. But don't cry if your idea is already taken, get creative and be original. The web levels the playing field for sure. The mistake is getting caught in your own web. There is no fame in mediocrity. Stand out and speak directly to your clients. Forget the SEO mumbo jumbo. Ok, don't forget it. Be aware of it. But don't let it drag you into mediocrity. You'll end up just being another one of those guys...whoever those guys are.