A recent report (CNNMoney) listed states that are experiencing a shift (decline) in their population figures in relation to the past two years economic woes. California was ranked first in losses, New York second, and Michigan third. Everyone has heard about California’s financial difficulties. And most everyone is aware of the auto industry’s seemingly constant trouble achieving profitability (and consequent layoffs).

Generally speaking, citizens will migrate to areas of the country where new job opportunities are coming into play. Other factors which contribute to population shift are climate/weather, cost of living, state tax rates, ethnic/racial profile, and the presence of family support.

As long as there exists a substantial core “audience” for a city or locality, then a particular geo domain for that area will retain value and relevance.

Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans and displaced a large segment of the population. However, the city itself enjoys such dynamic history and tourist appeal that reconstruction was quickly on the agenda of real estate development firms who aimed to capitalize on New Orleans’ fame and relevance as a great American city. Consequently, as a geo destination, New Orleans has sustaining appeal.

Developing a geo domain is a bit simpler today than it was two years ago. That does not mean that it is necessarily an easy process. Quality content, frequent updates, and selling advertising are everyday challenges best taken on by a small dedicated team as opposed to a single individual who is operating solo. That being said, geo domain sites can be built one piece at a time and incrementally expanded with time and development capital.

The arrival of minisites, WordPress, and web development platforms like DevHub have greatly simplified the process of erecting a basic geo domain website.

Whatever a geo location’s population, there is niche content that will well serve that particular town or city. So, experimentation may be required in order to learn what a city’s residents and businesses want (or need). The geo domain, in a best case scenario, will reflect what the majority of site users really want … perhaps real estate for sale, local job listings and job search, area news, entertainment links, an online business directory, or other. The right combination is a process of understanding the locale and the people and businesses who call that geo destination their home.

I am an avid geodomain enthusiast and investor. For those of you who are examining geodomain investment opportunities, you may find yourself a bit puzzled as to the most appropriate choice when it comes to “city abbreviations”.

Which is best? StLouis or SaintLouis, FortWorth or FtWorth, FtLauderdale or FortLauderdale? This is where the internet really shines and can provide good information on which to base a decision. For a variety of reasons, some cities gravitate to the common abbreviation while others opt for the full name (non-abbreviated). Before moving forward, let us agree that both versions (abbreviated & non-abbreviated) will generate traffic and user recognition.

Using our friend, Google, let’s compare the number of indexed web pages to find our answer.

• St Louis (101,000,000), Saint Louis (27,500,000)
• Fort Worth (52,700,000), Ft Worth (5,630,000)
• Fort Collins (12,300,000), Ft Collins (984,000)
• Fort Lauderdale (27,500,000), Ft Lauderdale (10,700,000)
• St Paul (45,400,000), Saint Paul (19,700,000)

Both varieties in the above examples produced ample web pages with “St” and “Fort” seeming to be most in use. I remember being somewhat indoctrinated to “St. Louis” while growing up due to seeing lots of TV ads for products that would be ordered out of St. Louis, Missouri.

So “St” became quite familiar particularly in reference to the St. Louis Cardinals (StLouisCardinals.com) and eventually the St Louis Rams (StLouisRams.com). My conclusion is that this same logic holds true as well for geo-targeted domains like StLouisJobs.biz or StLouisRealEstate.com.