I switched to host my websites with 1and1 internet earlier this year because my internet service provider, blueyonder, didn’t seem to be meeting the needs of a small business, and although I had been using their personal web pages to run Sandcastle Holidays, I wanted to do things with my website which I didn’t seem to be able to work out how to do on their servers.
The thing about using 1and1 is that they make it so easy to buy new domain names, so you’re always being tempted to just buy another one whenever you think up a new idea. They’re so cheap (you think to yourself) – under £10 and you too could have your own dotcom.
So when I decided to look at marketing Sandcastle Cottage as a short break destination, I was unsure whether I needed to buy a new domain name, or whether by clever use of an existing domain name I could use one which I already owned.
I logged on to my 1and1 account yesterday and took a look at the domain names which I already own:
www.sandcastleholidays.co.uk – the one where we bring together our two properties on one site, and also publish information about our company and my web design services.
www.sandcastle-cottage.co.uk – the site which we use to promote Sandcastle Cottage, our self-catering cottage in Crail, Fife which is a great place to have family holidays.
www.sandcastle-in-the-city.co.uk – the site for our self-catering holiday apartment in the centre of Edinburgh where we offer short breaks, weekly lets and longer stays for visitors to Scotland’s capital City.
www.2crail.com – the site I’m developing to hold information about what there is to do when you come to Crail on holiday – the one where we ‘sell the location’ if I think about John Winkler’s comments about selling the area to potential guests.
www.2edinburgh.com – the site I want to develop for Edinburgh which does the same job as the site above, but offers a personal view on what’s hot and what’s not for visitors to our fair city.
www.2edinburgh.co.uk – the site I was using to gather together the websites for the members of our group of self-caterers in central Edinburgh, but which didn’t get off the ground after initial discussions. The members of the group weren’t all in favour of having a marketing tool which wasn’t properly optimised and managed. I may come back to this idea later. However, in the meantime I decide to offer the domain name to www.sedo.co.uk for parking and possible sale.
I can always change my mind later and start re-using the domain name if it doesn’t sell.
Having done that, I decided to opt on the side of economy, and try setting up a sub-domain for one which I already own to do the marketing of the short breaks at Crail. So, I set up www.short-breaks-near-st-andrews.2crail.com – it doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, and won’t be easy to tell people over the phone, but that’s not the point of this exercise is it? We’re getting key words into the URL and then making the web page very relevant – aren’t we? Time will tell if this is the right approach.
