There is a lot of traffic in common misspellings. That is probably what prompted Google to implement its ever-so-handy ‘Did You Mean?’ feature for searches! However, browsers aren’t so smart – they just take you to the place you typed in, and a lot of domains with common misspellings of popular sites get a lot of traffic that way. It’s called typosquatting – and is it a real SEO tactic? No … and yes!

Typosquatting

Typosquatting might take several different forms:

  • Using an almost identical domain – for example, www.fotlia.com instead of www.fotolia.com
  • Using a different domain extension – .net instead of .com
  • Different domain phrasing – for example, www.intelligentdesigns.com instead of www.intelligentdesign.com

Why should I typosquat?

You can pre-emptively typosquat, to ensure that nobody else decides to do it for you – this would protect your business assets. You could also typosquat simply as an addition to your main site. Make it obvious that you own the site as well, by using the same branding, design, logos and navigation – otherwise people may well be scared off your site, thinking that you’re an illegitimate squatter!

Why shouldn’t I typosquat?

Well, unless you acknowledge it openly, having misspellings in your domain or through your site just makes you look unprofessional. You might get traffic, but will you meet your internet marketing goals – will people actually convert? It’s a tangled web … one that you should talk to an expert about :-) .

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