SQL expert, SQL guru, SQL consultant... that SQL guy?

bookmark   Revised Wednesday November 15, 2006

According to Domain Surfer, which has an index of 30 million domain names (as of 31 December 2002), there are 2,529 matches for SQL. (Update: 54 million as of October 2005, with 4,755 matches for SQL.)

All the good ones are taken, but I wasn't looking for a domain name. My aim is improve how often this site, my business site, turns up in web search engines for keyword phrases involving SQL. I want my site to be found by people searching for an SQL expert, SQL guru, or SQL consultant. Domain names figure into the calculation for relevance of search results, but not as strongly as well-chosen keywords, in conjunction with content that accurately reflect those keywords (but this shouldn't be hard in my case).

My idea in using Domain Surfer was to see which SQL-related domain names have been registered, more or less just to get ideas about which keyword spaces these names might occupy. Sadly, some really good SQL names don't even have web sites.

This was not my first time looking, either. Every consultant, independent contractor, telecommuting freelancer, or self-employed IT (information technology) worker needs a position description or job title which instantly identifies his or her specialty, skills, strengths, and, ahem, “value add proposition.” For people in organizations, the job title usually fills this role, even if it is sometimes restrictive or misleading (and, sadly, difficult to change). An independent contractor is free, nay, encouraged, to adopt a job title more descriptive than “self-employed.” A distinctive and accurate job title is required, just like every web site needs a good tagline.

It would not be immodest for me to use the description SQL expert or SQL guru, because of my experience and because people have often called me those names (cccasionally other names as well, but all of them complimentary insofar as SQL is concerned).

Alas, all the good keyword phrases are heavily populated in the major search engines, not that this should be a surprise.

SQL expert, my most desired phrase, because it honestly describes my key skill, is actually the name of a commercial database-related product. Or two.

SQL guru used to be a web site containing many good SQL tips, but the domain is now for sale and they won't even let archive.org show the old versions.

SQL guy had possibilities, but it, too, is the trademark of yet another commercial product.

Google gives "about 25,000" results for SQL consultant, in addition to numerous sponsored ads. The sponsored ads remind me—on the first and every page of results—that ranking well in search results has an additional component nowadays: the amount you are willing to spend.

So my quest must continue.