Which domain name should i choose for a air ticket search engine?

[usaccess608]

Hi,

i am deciding to buy a domain name for a air ticket search engine.

i want to target australia first and then worldwide in the future.

most of the names with my keywords "cheap flights" are already been registered.

I have tried many combination but could not find a proper name.

One question is does keywords rich domains (not exact) helps a lot?

also i was thinking if i can an keyword rich domain i could easily get links with the desired anchor text links.

would it be a lot harder to get a domain name e.g. flightscomparision.com while targeting the term "cheap flights" or "cheap fares".

Also i was thinking if i get a domain with "A" at the beginning i will be listed on top of directories.

below are a list of domains i am able to register.

amcheapflights.com

aucheapflights.com

abroadflights.com

flightscomparision.com

any other suggestions?

thanks

ray

[alhallinan]

Hi, Ray,

Typically, directories don't often sort by alphabetical order; they allow the user to choose how they view the results, or, they sort by showing the paid listings first.

With that said, here's what I usually look like when starting a new project & choosing a domain:

• Is the domain name brand-able?
• Can I have keywords in the domain?
• Do I have the option of buying a domain with a high Page Rank?

Right now, having keywords in your domain is a pretty significant factor, but there have been rumors of Google changing it's algorithm to put less weight on the keywords in domain.

If I was in your shoes, I think I'd go with "AUCheapFlights.com" just because it's brand-able & it has keywords.

I hope this helped!

[Dan-Petrovic]

I support the brandable domain option. No point registering keyword rich domain unless it's a short lived affair.

[alhallinan]

I'd say that I'd have to disagree with, "No point registering keyword rich domain unless it's a short lived affair."

Why is that?  I completely disagree.  Most of my successful websites all are based around keywords, and I've had them for years...

[DavidKonigsberg]

I think you should pick a name you can brand that has some of your keyword in it -my suggestions below

LoveCheapflights.com

CheapflightsAce.com

ZipCheapflights.com

CheapflightsAngel.com

[vforvinnie]

I agree, this type of site will benefit from brandability.

It's definitely nice to get keywords in your domain.  This will give some sort of an SEO boost, but also tell your users right off the bat something about your site.  I think for a site like this you are gonna need to do more than just strict SEO (social media, facebook, etc) and a branded domain will be very beneficial in that sense.

[alhallinan]

I always agree with domains with keywords in them for sure.

[PDubLasVegas]

I think I would have to disagree.  AUCheapFlights.com is not as brandable as FlightsComparison.com.  That would be my choice.

[CPU]

There are well documented advantages of keyword matched domain names and although there is talk of the advantage being diminished I would be suprised if it lost all of its advantage. As is mentioned on other responses the keyword matched domain isn't as brandable and doesn't sound as interesting.

If the site is going to be accompanied my marketing via other channels, TV, Radio, Magazines etc then a branded domain name may work better. If its traffic is to be driven purely from its performance in search engines then the keyword domain may be the route to take.

Isn't flightscomparison.com already taken? Also listing the exact domains you are considering may not be the best bet as an unscrupulous individual could register them all before you knowing you were interested and try and sell them back to you.

[usaccess608]

thank you for your reply.

do you think i am 15 years too late as google is acquiring ITA.

http://www.google.com/press/ita/