All KW Domains (.org, .com etc) GONE! Best Option(s)?

Hey BHW, this is my first post! (It took me forever to type this post out and get the ends of the domain to actually go through the auto-mod system, so I assume the mods will realize the links are obviously not advertising or spam.)

Okay, so I have a bot for a popular game.

Let's say, for this example, its final fantasy 14.

My situation is

finalfantasybot d o t c o m, (and org, net)
finalfantasy-bot d o t c o m (and org, net)
ff14bot d o t c o m (and org, net)
ff14-bot d o t c o m (and org, net)
finalfantasy14bot d o t c o m (and org, net)
finalfantasy14-bot d o t c o m (and org, net)
ffbot d o t c o m (and org, net)
ff-bot d o t c o m (and org, net)
[or any others you guys might think better]

... are all gone.

What are the next best in line, to get my ranking as high as possible? The bot will get many organic rankings, but I want to maximize its exposure.

I've read that .co was the best, but since I'm a total newbie, I have no idea.

Also, what is your guys' take on dashes (-) in relation to marketing, SEO, etc? Does it positively or negatively affect things either way?

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Finally, in terms of the specific bot's name, say, for example, it was Final Fantasy Pal.

Now, since this is unique, itd be easy to get domains for, so the d o t c o m/etc unavailability isn't an issue so much.

So, the options are plentiful...

ff14palbot d o t c o m
ff14-pal-bot d o t c o m
ffpalbot d o t c o m
ff-pal-bot d o t c o m
finalfantasypalbot d o t c o m
finalfantasy-pal-bot d o t c o m
finalfantasypal d o t c o m
finalfantasy-pal d o t c o m
[or any others you guys might think better]


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What should my priorities be in terms of registering domains, both for the generic bot ranking domain(s), and the specific bot name domain(s), and SPECIFICALLY, why?

Thanks guys, BHW rocks! So much info on here, love this place.

Many people ignore the power of .co domains, generally you will find them available for the majority of keywords. They are powerful but a little bit pricey.

Sorry for hijacking thread, but what is better? And by better I mean easier to rank for in the search engines.

A top level domain name (org net com) that's less keyword specific
redcarswithfourdoorsnice.com

or a lower-level domain name that is specific
redcarswithfourdoors.im

I've been wondering about that for a while now.

blachhattin said:

What should my priorities be in terms of registering domains, both for the generic bot ranking domain(s), and the specific bot name domain(s), and SPECIFICALLY, why?

Click to expand...

You need to decide whether you're building a long term brand or a short term site.

1. Brand
The name should be short and memorable.

If it's a (worldwide/USA) brand, then the preference is .com (followed by .org/.net). Note that .com is preferred purely because it's more widely known by people, not because it has any SEO/ranking effect.

So you could go for something like:
FinalFantasySuperBot (.com/.net/.org currently available)
FinalFantasyRobot (.com/.net/.org currently available)
FFRobot (.net/.org currently available)

Check to see if the name has not been trademarked:
http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/process/search/#heading-1 (USA trademark check)


2. Shorter term site
Remember that having an exact match keyword domain is only ONE of over 200 ranking factors. Yes, it currently does have some SEO value, but it may not in 6-12 months time.

It's a pure myth to say that a certain TLD is better than another for ranking, unless you want to rank a site locally, for example to rank in google.de (germany), having a .de TLD will be a ranking factor.

Also, if you have a budget, consider buying an aged domain (that already has established some trust in Google).

huzah said:

A top level domain name (org net com) that's less keyword specific
redcarswithfourdoorsnice.com

or a lower-level domain name that is specific
redcarswithfourdoors.im

I've been wondering about that for a while now.

Click to expand...

The second option would be preferred as an exact match domain if the keyword was: red cars with four doors
As mentioned above, its only one ranking factor out of many.

I would only choose this if I wanted to rank in the Isle of Man (.im TLD)
And, most people would go for a .com if for example it was an affiliate site.

if you really want EMD, go for a hyphen.