VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Neil K. Hess

I know a little bit about seo and marketing, but I was wondering if anyone had any tips or resources for picking out a good business name or URL?
_________________
http://neilkhessvo.com

Bish · Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2013 6:20 pm Post subject:

My own personal taste is for your real (or dba) name wherever possible. I'd grab NeilKHessVO & NeilKHessVoiceover as well to give you options and better search results... or even NeilHessVO (I don't know if you're wedded to your middle initial or not). Unless you have an established brand or a strongly marketed niche name, I think that's the way to go. YOU are your brand. Avoid anything that ties you down geographically as it's a global business (unless, of course, you're an Englishman in New York).

Personally, I dislike self-aggrandizing names The Voice of Neil, MegaVox, VocalGuru, and other such nonsense. Others like them though.
_________________
Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls.

Bill Roberts · Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2013 7:33 pm Post subject:

Double ditto on what Bish Said!
_________________
-----
VO-BB Member # 764 (Dec 2009)

Bill Roberts · Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2013 7:34 pm Post subject:

Double ditto on what Bish Said!
_________________
-----
VO-BB Member # 764 (Dec 2009)

ChrisMezzolesta · Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2013 7:41 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the reminder Bish, I just snapped up some domains. What I'm gonna do with em though, who knows.....

The hissing of omelets, the breaking of legs/Don't shoot til you see the whites of their eggs
_________________
Chris Mezzolesta, Voice Talent
800.356.5519 www.voiceatile.com

Bish · Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2013 7:59 pm Post subject:

The only downside with the name thing (as I found out to my major annoyance) is if you're suddenly hijacked by a fictional character (Fringe fans will know what I mean). After grumping about it to Mel she suggested I do the standard name-hijack thing... so I got myself TheRealPeterBishop.com Smile

_________________
Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls.

ChrisMezzolesta · Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2013 8:04 pm Post subject:

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiii......don't think I'm gonna have a problem with that Smile

_________________
Chris Mezzolesta, Voice Talent
800.356.5519 www.voiceatile.com

Bill Roberts · Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2013 8:07 pm Post subject:

Bish,

I just checked my name "WilliamBrady" and found a CyberSquatter has it tied up till 2022 on a parked page. ya think I should pull the "TheREAL" deal on him...LOL!!!
_________________
-----
VO-BB Member # 764 (Dec 2009)

Neil K. Hess · Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2013 8:51 pm Post subject:

Bob Bergen · CM Joined: 22 Apr 2008 Posts: 981

Yourname.com

Or, yournamevo.com

Lee Gordon · Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 1:38 am Post subject:

ChrisMezzolesta · Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 6:17 am Post subject:

True dat...though for those applications there's always Your Porn Name...name of childhood pet and street name you grew up on...You won't believe mine but it's true....Shawn Handsome! (arrrggghhhhhh) ShawnHandsomeVO.com - uh, No. Laugh

_________________
Chris Mezzolesta, Voice Talent
800.356.5519 www.voiceatile.com

JoeActor · Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 7:19 am Post subject:

Agreed with the above... Name or Name+VO are good starting points.

Whatever you choose, it should be relatively short, easy to remember, and easy to type.

Sometimes names are an issue if they're too common or difficult to spell. In this case, maybe a catchy site is better.

Also, beware of choosing a web site that has an alternate pronunciation such as ExpertsExchange (real site... think about it)
_________________
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
Joe J Thomas
www.JoeActor.com
www.SoundsGoodToYou.com

Mike Harrison · Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 8:13 am Post subject:

Having the perfect domain name is terrific. But the domain name doesn't mean all that much if the goal is SEO.

We want prospective clients to find our websites. But how many prospective clients across the country or around the world know our name and that we provide voice-over services?

We want to be found by those who don't know us based on the service we provide and whether it needs their needs. The goal is to have prospective clients type in a few separate terms or a phrase that describes what they're after, plus some additional characteristics to narrow their search, and find our site quickly in the results.

And, while it's nice to see our actual name (or business name) in search results, at the moment the results come up, the prospective client still doesn't know us, so name is still irrelevant. We have to think as though we are the prospective client: we must make it as easy as possible for them to find us.

Because we know all too well that a search using vague terms will yield more results than anyone could imagine – let alone seriously consider – the more we can clearly define our services, hopefully with some uniqueness, the better.

More often than not, the first line of each search result, the largest and underlined text, is taken from the website's title tag, the text that appears across the top of a browser window. Ultimately, we want the unique words that define our services to appear there, so when a prospect performs the search and begins scanning the results, the qualities he or she is looking for will easily jump out at them. But there's a limit to the number of characters in the title tag that a search engine will use.

Below the text of the title tag is usually either the page's description tag (also with a limited character count) or an excerpt from the page's body text. That's why it's also very important to have body text that includes as many of our unique service characteristics as possible, but in a way that reads like our end of the conversation if we were explaining to a prospect the service we provide. We do not want the body text to be just those unique characteristics loosely tied together with other words. The actual domain name does appear in results (but non-linked): in Google and Bing, just under the first line; in Yahoo!, as the last line. Thus, if we do manage to snag a domain name that is or uses our name, it will be seen there.

Any text in search results that is in bold are those terms the prospect used to conduct the search.

When prospects find our sites based on the qualities they're looking for, they will definitely learn our name when they get to the website. The website's job (like a commercial) is to pique their interest and convince them to at least contact us. If we, then, are able to land a project and complete it to the client's satisfaction (hopefully beyond, by surpassing expectations), they will remember our name.

Finally, what JoeActor said with regard to domain names: shoot for one that is memorable, short and easy-to-type (with words whose spelling cannot be easily confused that of with other, similar-sounding or similarly-spelled words).
_________________
Mike
Male Voice Over Talent
I have taken leave of my sensors.

Neil K. Hess · Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 10:56 am Post subject:

Excellent points. Do you happen to know anyone who would help (free or paid) or consult on how to modify your website to optimize it for SEO or to figure out which keywords to focus on?
_________________
http://neilkhessvo.com