A company that's redesigning its Web site recently called me to discuss the possibility of my firm assisting them with their SEO efforts. First, I congratulated them on being one of the few companies to consider SEO prior to re-launching their site (that's the way it's done, people!). Then we talked about their domain name.

This company was planning to move their site to a new domain because the old domain (and by "old," I mean 10 years old) no longer represented the company. As many of us do, they typed in about 100 different domain names into GoDaddy's search and eventually found an available domain name that was more in line with their core business.

One problem: their domain name choice was absolutely horrible. It had five keywords crammed together. It was confusing, hard to recall, and terrible for branding, SEO purposes, and any other measurement that you wanted to put to it.

But, the domain name only cost $9.99 per year. What a deal, right?

With a little searching, I discovered an unused domain name that was an exact match to their "most important keyword phrase," was originally registered in the 1990s (good domain age), and had an overall clear history. However, it would cost $20,000.

Their reply probably won't surprise you: "We can't afford $20,000 for a domain name!"

"Are you sure?" I asked.

Check the Math

We knew that this exact keyword phrase generated approximately 180,000 searches per month because this prospect bought PPC ads on this exact phrase for many years. And, based upon some studies, we know that a number one organic search engine ranking could get them up to 56 percent of all of the clicks. Even if we "only" had a number two or number three ranking, we could expect at least 10 percent click-through ratio.

This client was also discussing cutting way back on their Google AdWords campaign because the CPC wasn't getting them the return it once did. They know they can make money on a $2.50 CPC, but in recent months, the CPC has skyrocketed to $5 (or more) per click.

Let's do some math: $2.50 CPC times 18,000 clicks (a 10 percent click-through from 180,000 searches) equals $45,000.

That math works. And the prospect is now reconsidering what they can and can't afford.

With that said, having a domain name with the keywords in it does not guarantee you a top search engine ranking. Nothing guarantees you a top ranking.

However, for this particular client, using a 301 permanent redirect, we would be able to redirect a domain name with a great history and a great number of quality links to this new domain name. This new domain also has age, relevant, existing content and pages, and links. With proper considerations for SEO throughout the redesign/development/information architecture/content writing process, there's a very good chance -- in this particular instance -- that they could rank in the top three for this "most important keyword phrase."

And, if the click-through ratio is "only" one percent, they will realize value from this domain acquisition in just a few short months. It will pay dividends for years to come.

A side value of acquiring a domain name that has a very popular keyword phrase in it (and a ".com" top-level domain) is that you may also see "type in" traffic. Some people, rather than search for a keyword, type a URL into their browser's address bar. There are many domain name owners (called "domainers") who base the value of a domain name off of this metric (type-in traffic), alone.

Dead sites, dying sites or sites languishing in various stages of inactivity can give even the most seasoned webmasters nightmares. Quite honestly, inactivity (or any other signs of morbidity) is a term I hope to never utter in conjunction with my site. However, I realize if I am not careful, I can get complacent and let it creep upon me, or my site to be precise. Thankfully, there are ways to prevent such unwelcome and ill-fated eventualities, and help a site live a full and healthy (read, active) life.

Because I know that there are many out there, living in constant fear of their site dying on them, in dire need of some site-revival intervention, I shall list 9 ways that will surely help breathe new life into a site.

1.    Don’t Take A Break From Building Content: Imagine that you are a restaurateur… will you ever consider serving your customers stale leftovers? Of course, you won’t! Setting up a website is just another way of serving your customers, by providing them the freshest and most relevant information. If you fail to do that, you won’t ever have any repeat customers (or visitors). This customer satisfaction angle aside, not updating your site can negatively affect your search engine rankings too. So, if you wish to see your site thriving with a steady stream of traffic, and stay high up on the SERPs, it is important that you regularly create content and update your site.

2.    Build Links: Most people make the mistake of disregarding the substantive importance of links and building links.  In addition to the obvious SEO benefits link building offers, it will also help you be connected to other relevant sites. The whole web works on the principle of interconnectedness, so a site that chooses to isolate itself and refrains from connecting with other sites cannot be anything but a failure.

3.    Give Your Site A Makeover: If the current design of your site seems old and tired, don’t hesitate, initiate that redesign that you’ve been thinking about. Take inspiration from some of the most popular sites on the web; surfing the web, more than anything, is a very visual experience, keep that in mind while you decide on the design.

4.    Update On Popular Demand: If updating the whole site on a regular basis is beyond you, try, at least, to update the pages that are visited the most. This way, even if you don’t succeed in attracting new visitors, you won’t lose out on the old. Writing on current events, or the latest developments in your field, while choosing a nonconformist, if slightly controversial, slant is a great way to hook people.

5.    Get Your Trackers In Place: Have a website analytics tool in place to track the visitor activity on your site; this will give you an idea about the traffic volume, top traffic sources etc and help you isolate the problem areas.

6.    Update Your Sitemap: Keeping your sitemap in order is the best way to ensure that your site is regularly indexed. Be sure to update it every time you add fresh content to your site. The sitemap.xml protocol allows you to present a list of all the pages on the site that are available for crawling to the searchbots. You can update your sitemap by resubmitting it to any of the major search engines using the appropriate tools (for example, Google’s Webmaster Tools), as the protocol is recognized by all of them.

... so we finally started a Prodigy27 Blog, it only took us four years :-)

I came across this article today and thought about the importance of email security as we move more and more towards a "paperless" society.  It makes me think, if they were able to access email address, what else can be accessible by Cyber Attackers?  It forces us as consumers to stay on our toes when it comes to protecting our information.  So I scouted out an article with tips on being safe...it's super old, but relevant.  Check it out along with the original article below - Click here for "12 Ways To Protect Your Online Privacy".

yw

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It's unfortunate, but the largest email security breach has taken place this past week. Epsilon, an online marketing corporation who sends out over 40 billion emails a year had their list of email addresses stolen by sophisticated cyber thieves. Epsilon handled the email campaigns of some of the largest corporations in the country: Best Buy, Walgreens, JPMorgan Chase, Capital One, and more. The breach has put many internet users on heightened alert, and for good reason.

Epsilon Email Breach Should Heighten Everyone's Awareness

Many have stated that the breach didn't cause a whole lot of damage, as all the cyber thieves stole was a list of email addresses. However, with these addresses they can conduct one of the largest phishing attacks we've ever seen.

In an interview with a local news affiliate, Steve J. Bernas president & CEO of the Better Business Bureau serving Chicago & Northern Illinois gave this advice to users everywhere, "It's fairly common for identity thieves to impersonate credible organizations with what appears to be legitimate email messages seeking to verify account information" he continues, "Along with attempting to get personal information phishing attacks are often the source of potentially harmful computer viruses."