Learn/Redirect-Alternative-Domains-for-More-Traffic

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You've built an easy-to-navigate website. You've got great, informative content, complete with the keywords that matter for your business. What more can you do to direct the right visitors to your website?

One strategy that can make sense is acquiring one or more domain names related to the domain where your site lives, and then to redirect those domains to your website. This can help you capture visitors who:

  • Mistype your site's name
  • Search for your site or others like it with a specific term
  • Can't remember the exact name of your site, but can remember a closely associated term

You can check whether any domains ending in .com, .net or .edu now redirect to your website by using AboutUs Redirectory. Go to the page about your site - for example, www.AboutUs.org/MyWebsite.com - and look for the Redirectory tab in the left-side navigation menu. Click on that tab to see domains that redirect to your site's home page, and to other pages within your site.

Below are a few types of domain redirects that can make sense for a business owner.

Typo Domains

Some domain names are really easy to mistype. That's not always a problem for someone using Google, which offers suggestions for alternative spellings for mistyped search terms.

But lots of people type the domain name they're looking for into their browser's navigation bar, bypassing search engines altogether. And don't forget that while Google is the search giant, one in three searches is made on other search engines, which may not be as successful at "guessing" the search term someone actually wanted.

That's why it can make sense to buy domain names that represent common mistypes of your website's domain name, and redirect them to your site. Doing this can help you capture the visitors who might otherwise fail to arrive at your site.

A few examples:

  • Amozon.com redirects to Amazon.com
  • Azappos.com and Ezappos.com both redirect to Zappos.com
  • TimeMagain.com and TimeMagazin.com both redirect to Time.com.

Your Website Name with a Different Top Level Domain

Most people assume that all website names end with .com, so that's what they type when they're looking for a website. Webmasters know this, so they'll often make sure their company or organization purchases the .com version of the domain name, and redirect it to the correct website name.

For example:

Wikipedia.com redirects to Wikipedia.org
Craigslist.com redirects to Craigslist.org

If your website's domain name doesn't end with .com, you might want to buy and redirect the .com version of it, as well as the .net, .org, .biz and several other versions of your site's name.

You may not have been able to buy the .com version of your desired domain name, which is why you now own MyWebsite.biz or MyWebsite.net instead of MyWebsite.com. That's fine - just get the other versions and be on the lookout for when the .com version expires, so you can grab it. You can use a service like SnapNames to make sure you don't miss out on a domain name you want.

Logical Variants of Your Domain Name

People often remember the name of a site they want to check out - sort of. To help these people get to your site, it's a good idea to purchase each variant of your domain name that someone might think really is your site's domain name.

For example:

  • DefianceBikes.com redirects to DefianceBicycles.com
  • Both NYT.com and NewYorkTimes.com redirect to NYTimes.com. In fact, 37 different domains redirect to NYTimes.com.
  • FlyVirgin.com redirects to Virgin.com, the site of Virgin Airlines.

Product Name Domains

  • AirJordan.com redirects to Nike.com
  • IPod.com redirects to http://www.apple.com/ipod/?cid=oas-us-domains-ipod.com, a page that's all about the iPod.
  • Corvette.com redirects to http://www.chevrolet.com/corvette-family/, a page that's all about Corvettes.

Advertising Slogan Domains

JustDoIt.com redirects to Nike.com. (You probably know that "Just Do It" is the famous slogan for Nike Inc., maker of athletic shoes and other gear. 

===Changing Your Company Name===


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