How Onions and Domain Names Can Make a Difference

When thinking about developing an e-commerce website, agricultural products seldom come to mind, particularly when they are narrowed down to specifics such as sweet Vidalia onions grown in Georgia. An interesting story making the rounds among web development and search engine optimization forums deals exactly with this situation; a web design professional browsing around for domain names noticed one that caught his eye: VidaliaOnions.com. The year was 2014, the previous URL owner allowed registration to expire, and it was up for auction.

Peter Askew entered a bid for the domain name, but he did it not so much on a whim; being from the Peach State, he knew about this savory strain of onions, but he was not sure if he could actually come up with a worthy business model to justify the domain purchase. He did recognize the potential of the domain name because it was straight to the point. Even though Askew was not familiar with agricultural e-commerce, he knew enough about SEO to recognize that he was holding on to a domain that could really take off. The name alone kept coming back to him, thus prompting him to start off with keyword research on Google Trends. He learned that chefs from around the world often mentions Vidalia onions as being key ingredients in recipes that would otherwise taste completely different, and then he decided to reach out to farmers in his home state.

After sitting down with three farmers, Askew knew that he had a good business partner, one who was willing to explore the possibility of developing a business-to-consumer model running on an e-commerce platform. An important factor in this decision was that the farmer was passionate about growing onions, particuarly the Vidalia variety, for which he had already earned an agricultural award; in SEO circles, such recognition translates into authority.

Askew did not limit his marketing efforts to SEO. He punched all the right buttons: billboards, sponsorship of a local sports team, and even a telephone line for prospective buyer. This last move proved very valuable because home chefs feel more comfortable talking on the phone to people who know onions, and now Askew is occasionally known as the "Vidalia Man." For more information click here https://www.deepsouthventures.com/i-sell-onions-on-the-internet/.