Do you have a real estate website domain?

If you were to do a web search for “Buy a Domain Name”, your search would return millions of results. Why so many choices? Because each domain seller has different offerings, terms and of course, pricing. We want our REALTORs to be well informed before you buy, and here’s how.

What is a Domain Name?

No matter who is the host of your REALTOR website, you should choose and purchase a domain name. Your domain name is the web address that allows you to pull up the website and content that you’ve created.

STEP 1: Choose a Registrar

First, you will need to consider who you will choose to purchase your domain through. There are a multitude of providers out there who can sell you a domain. Before you choose one there are a few key items to consider:

• Price: What is the total per month cost to you?
• Services: If you have a web host (like our TRIBUS customers sure do) then you will only need your domain name provider to be a registrar for you. No hosting or extras necessary. Be careful that you don’t end up with a plan that hosting is a required fee.
• Forwarding: Will they charge you for domain forwarding? This only matters if you own multiple domains, which you may plan to forward to your main site. Some companies are sneaky and charge for this service or place a nasty logo of theirs onto your site unless you upgrade.
• Email: Do you plan to include email hosting? There are free services if you prefer to manage your own email (Google Apps being one of our favorites) but if you want access to support, it’s a good idea to add this to your plan.
• Sales People: Don’t let them over sell you! No, you really don’t need 25 domains secured for the next 20 years… that really does you no good. Unless of course you do plan to have unique website content on each and every one of them- then we say go for it!

STEP 2: Choose a Domain

Once you’ve selected a registrar, it’s time to buy a domain. Make sure you only search for domains once you’re ready to pull the trigger and buy – because registrars will often raise prices on recently searched domain names.

What does it really need to include?

• Try to avoid extra formatting (dashes) within your domain.
• Avoid trademarked words or phrases, especially when including the term ‘REALTOR’.
• Make the message clear and to the point. It’s best to steer clear of anything too vague or too long.
• Your first and last name is not the ideal domain name. This gives the search engine absolutely no help when potential clients are searching the terms “Real Estate”. The goal is to make it easy for them to find you.
• If possible, include the name of your primary area of influence and the term “Real Estate”, “Homes For Sale” or some combination of those.

STEP 3: Put Your Site on Your New Domain Name

The steps to do this will vary from one real estate website vendor to another.

If you’re a TRIBUS customer, simply contact our Client Care team with the details of your new domain name, and we’ll get you all setup. There will be minor DNS changes that you may need to make, but our team can walk you through step-by-step.

Have Patience

One final thing to consider is that just like a fine wine, domain names only improve in status and ranking with age.

Please be conscious of this when choosing a domain. Pick one that will last and remain true of your business for years to come. The longer you can own it, the better!