Name/Domain - should it be relevant to forum content?

[Chalky]

I have searched and found this topic reassuring, but as it's quite old I thought I would ask afresh.

My forum is at sabrinova.com, named Sabrinova.com, and has a very smart but simple sabrinova.com logo at the top.  It isn't named that by plan, but rather because while I was messing about investigating forum software, I used a spare domain name that I already had to try it, found SMF and got carried away with the development before I really thought about it.  I'm quite happy with the name, it's unique, memorable and short to type.

However, one of my members feels strongly that when our forum becomes publicly visible (it's currently a closed forum), the name and domain should be relevant to the content if we want new members to find us and to take us seriously.  I argue that there are no good theme-relevant domain names left and that search engines and new members will find us based on the forum content rather than what we call ourselves.  Also, I feel that having a nonsensical name may be useful in the future if our forum should expand, as we will not be limited to a single focus theme.

I would be grateful for any advice and insight into this while my forum is still young enough to get it right.  If a theme-relevant domain would be better, even though there are already similar ones around and the most intuitive ones are taken, then I am happy to buy one and go for it, but I don't want to waste the time and money if there's no point, or if it's even better to keep my unique domain name.

In case it's relevant, I have no intention at this point of adding advertising to my forum, so playing the numbers game with members isn't important, it's quality members in terms of their contribution to our community that we''ll be wanting to attract, but we'll still need them to find us.

Thanks

[TheListener]

Let's put it this way.

Would you name your forum The Bacon Boys if it were about a family of pigs?

[Chalky]

Let's put it this way.

Would you name your forum The Bacon Boys if it were about a family of pigs?

No.... but I think I'm missing your point.  Please can you explain

[TheListener]

Would you name the Domain the zoo if it were about young kids?

In other words ya want something related to ya forum.

BroadStar Radio is er a forum for my (soon to be live) internet radio station and MKAware is related to my forum about the area where I live.

Now do ya get my point?

[Arantor]

The bottom line is that the site's name is branding attached to the site. It's an avenue for marketing. Does 'Google' as a name tell you anything about the content or services offered by the site? No, but it is a brand name and it has value in and of itself. Same, really, with this site - 'simplemachines.org' does not have any relation to the product offered here, but it is a brand name.

I have no idea what your forum is about, it's closed to guests, which means the odds of getting new visitors in the door is basically nil, but they'll find your site (when it's open) based on the content available to them and whether it interests them and they have anything to share.

For niches that are highly competitive, it can be pretty important to have a domain name with key words related to the content in it, but I'm guessing that's not quite so much the case here, and that you should probably leave the name alone.

[ApplianceJunk]

Would you name your forum The Bacon Boys if it were about a family of pigs?

Would you name the Domain the zoo if it were about young kids?

Lol, I think them would be great domain names for them subject.

[Chalky]

Would you name the Domain the zoo if it were about young kids?

In other words ya want something related to ya forum.

BroadStar Radio is er a forum for my (soon to be live) internet radio station and MKAware is related to my forum about the area where I live.

Now do ya get my point?

Thanks Fossy   The difference is that my forum name isn't misleading, it's meaningless.

The bottom line is that the site's name is branding attached to the site. It's an avenue for marketing. Does 'Google' as a name tell you anything about the content or services offered by the site? No, but it is a brand name and it has value in and of itself. Same, really, with this site - 'simplemachines.org' does not have any relation to the product offered here, but it is a brand name.

I have no idea what your forum is about, it's closed to guests, which means the odds of getting new visitors in the door is basically nil, but they'll find your site (when it's open) based on the content available to them and whether it interests them and they have anything to share.

For niches that are highly competitive, it can be pretty important to have a domain name with key words related to the content in it, but I'm guessing that's not quite so much the case here, and that you should probably leave the name alone.

Thank you Arantor, that's exactly the way that I was thinking.  Unfortunately my forum has to be closed for now due to political reasons with the other forums that have already bought up all the most intuitive domain names and who have already had squabbles among themselves about the similarity in names.  That to me is another good reason for keeping our domain meaningless - it keeps us out of their squabbles and enables us to protest that we are not trying to compete with them.  We accept that we will never be the main forum on the subject, but we do hope to attract the right quality of members that we will all love and enjoy our forum as much as we founder members already do 

[JohnS]

If your forum remains closed it does not matter.

But if you want search engines to find it based on the theme of the forum then it should have a relevant name in the domain. For example  everything else being equal if the word searched for is in the domain name you will rank higher that if it is not. If you do decide to go for a domain name that does not contain suitable search words then at least put it in a subdomain or folder that does have relevant terms.

But there are many ways to improve SE ranking but it will require just that little more effort to get better ranking that sites that have relevant words in the domain name or within the folder structure.

[Arantor]

That might be true, if it weren't for the fact that it's entirely possible to rank #1 for keywords that aren't in the URL at all...

OK, so I just did a search for 'Arantor' on Google. arantor.org is now the top answer but before I bought arantor.org, the highest match was this site. In fact, of the top 10, 8 of them are solely down to me. That's branding for you.

[kat]

You could always spilt the difference, Nova.

sabrinarife.com?

tenerinova.com?

saberifeanova?

sabrinavoastenerifeweirdness.com?

Or summat?

[JohnS]

I did not say it was not possible to rank highly without the keyword in the URL, but it is easier to do so. On rare keywords it may not make a lot of difference, but if you are competing with lots of other sites it could just be the item that helps you get a better ranking. People tend not to search on rare keywords and if the know your URL already the are not going to search for it, people will search on common keywords and that is where you get the competition.

[Arantor]

We're in agreement on that very point, if you read back through my posts. It tends what the forum is about.

[kat]

Good avatar, Arantor!

[Chalky]

Thanks K@, I love your inventiveness, but how are made-up words that include some letters of the subject better than the made-up word I already have?     Especially ones that are longer to type in....

As for the main subject, Arantor, I think the K@ has been let out of the bag, so to speak    (Any perceived secrecy isn't to do with you guys, it's the local politics) There are already a handful of forums on the same subject.  We want ours to be different, and it already is different, so we're quite happy to let the others take the "mass" traffic, but we still want like-minded folks to find us.  My co-admin and I both feel that these members will find us through our content, but as I said one of our members insists that we need a relevant name as all the others have.  I just want what's best for my forum 

[Arantor]

In which case the odds of people finding you will be based on your content, when you're open, rather than finding you by name - the bigger sites will all soak up the general traffic by keywords etc. and the solution will be to advertise and run based on the unique name and the feel of content attached to that name.

Also note, the local example given of MKAware for Milton Keynes, they'll be searching by Milton Keynes and finding the content that way, or seeing the domain name itself somewhere, which is incidentally much the same way as people will find your site.

[Chalky]

Thank you

[kat]

Have you thought of trying to smooth the waters with your competitors?

Maybe try to complement each-other?

You could have inter-forum quizzes, that kinda thing.

A group of fora that I'm a member of did that kinda thing and we found that a lot of members joined all the sites involved and we're like an extended family, now.

All totally loopy, of course.

[Elmacik]

I think Arantor's examples don't really apply here if you are not really going to offer a "product" or "service". Because given examples are valid for some kind of business/product or service. And as well, having arantor.org at the top of the search while you are searching for "arantor" doesn't apply either; because if someone is going to search you as "sabrinova" in Google, then he/she is already knowing about you and doesn't really need searching. (since the name is unique and meaningless; just like arantor is)

If it's going to be a discussion forum for a specific thing; it's still not essential to be relevant (as the quality content will still lead the searches to your site) but it would most of the times be a lot better having it relevant. Because people will be searching not your brand but the content you might be discussing about in your forum. Branding is necessary for a certain service you offer. (You can also name your discussion platform as a service; you decide what it is.)

If the case is about your branding; I would just agree with Arantor. Even going one step forward; I can say never use a relevant name; since brands had better be unique.

[Tricksmatrix]

I strongly think your friend is right.
When you are managing an open forum, the domain name should be relevant to the content so that people searching for you can actually find you. Giving the blogger's alias name or real name variant to the domain name lessen the weightage of the website in google or any other Search engine results pages. Even if you have succeeded in increasing most important search engine factors like backlinks, relevant domain name is always a plus point when it comes to targeted traffic.