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Laura and Kevin
Firelight Web Studio

Laura,

What are your thoughts on registering similar domain names as a way to maximize site traffic from mispellings of your web address.

Here's a made up example:

USAforum.com
USAforums.com (plural)

All else being equal, am I correct in assuming that the singular name would be better for search engines but the plural easier to remember. etc.


thanks
Randy

Search engines don't care. They filter plurals and singular forms of words and consider them the same thing.

There are three instances in which we recommend registering more than one domain name:

1. When there is a common misspelling that is likely to occur. Your example of plural and singular is exactly that kind of situation. No need to be rabid about it trying to cover every possible misspelling though - ONLY do it when there is an obvious point of confusion.
2. When you have a .org. We recommend you also buy the .com, because PEOPLE, and Browsers default to .com.
3. If you are building a site that might become hugely brandable. Then register the top three tlds for that domain name - .com, .org, and .net.

Otherwise, there really is NO benefit to owning multiple forms of a domain name, even though there are people who want you to believe there is (most of them are selling domain names).

When you do have more than one form of a domain name, then you can point them all to the same website. Simply point the main one to the site, then Forward the rest to the same site.

That way the extras work as a safety net, catching misdirected traffic and bringing it right back to your home page.

Laura