SEO Friendly Domain Name
How to select a domain name that is search engine optimised
When launching a brand-new website, selecting the appropriate domain name is one of the most crucial decisions that you will need to make. Domain names are one of the factors that are considered to play a part in the game that is SEO. These techniques have been developed by SEO strategists over a long period of time in order to assist in gaining higher ranks on search engines.
In this post, we will investigate how the domain name you choose can affect the SEO efforts you make and the search ranks you achieve. When choosing a domain name that is optimised for search engine optimization (SEO), there are a number of factors that should be taken into account.
Does a domain name play a role in search engine optimization?
Yes it does. It is indisputable that you desire for visitors to be familiar with your brand, your company, or the subject matter that your website is devoted to, even if we are only considering the domain name by itself. A domain name that is optimised for search engine optimization is one that provides visitors with information about the content of the website, including the goods and services it sells, etc. In this scenario, the domain stands out more among the sea of search result listings, increasing the likelihood that it will be clicked on.
Just take a look at any spam website that has a domain name such as buy-cheap-rolex.biz or get-rich-fast.info. Spammers buy domain names that include the keywords they are trying to target since doing so yields rewards for them, including higher click-through rates and higher ranks in search engines.
Consequently, domain names do play a role in search engine optimization. If you have the correct domain name, you will be able to more effectively target your audience and increase your placement in search engines. However, this involves more than just the keywords.
The various ways in which your domain might affect your search engine optimization and rankings.
Your domain can have an effect on your search engine optimization and rankings in two different ways:
Branding\sKeywords
Branding domains
Your brand should serve as the inspiration for your domain name. Users will be able to locate, recall, discuss, and recognise your company online by using this method.
In most cases, selecting a business name and a domain name should take place simultaneously. To put it another way, if you already have a name for your company, you should make use of that name for your website’s domain name as well.
Branding is the most important factor in creating an SEO-friendly domain name. Would a company like Apple, for instance, register a domain name such as the Best-Smartphone-Ever.com? No. Apple is already a well-known company, so the company does not require any further keyword stuffing in its domain name.
Google favours brands because users enjoy brands. A powerful online brand increases the likelihood that consumers will visit a website, read its content, share it with others, and link to it. The greater the likelihood that individuals will recall your brand, the greater the likelihood that they will return to your website, thereby increasing the credibility and trust value of your website. The end result is positive branding, which will help your website achieve higher rankings on Google.
It makes perfect sense to use your company’s name as your domain name if:
Your company’s name is already well-known and well-established in the market.
You have already begun promoting your brand and raising consumers’ awareness of it.
Your company name is also your brand (such as YourName.com)
Your brand is incredibly unique
You want people searching for your brand name to find your website and see it appear high in the search results.
Keyword domains
You also have the option of selecting a domain name that includes keywords that are relevant to your company, its products or services, and so on. Take for instance that you are a photographer who specialises in photographing animals, namely pets. If you use a domain name such as petportraitphotography.com, you could perhaps improve your results in search rankings.
But you should be aware that Google places less weight on keyword domains than it does on brand domains. Brand domains tend to rank higher in Google’s search results. This post will not go into detail on keyword domains; nevertheless, if you are interested in our opinion regarding the usage of keyword domains and whether or not they should be lost, please read Keyword Domains: utilise them or lose them?
Which came first: the Brand or the Keyword?
Imagine for a moment that your name is Bob and that you run a guitar repair shop in the city of Chicago. You have decided to launch a website, and you are searching for a domain name that will facilitate communication with your clientele as well as the promotion of your company.
Here are some possible domain name options:
Branding domains
Bobs.com is an excellent illustration of a branded domain.
The domain name on its own does not disclose any specific facts about your firm or the products or services that you offer, which is a plus for search engine optimization (SEO). The website might be about anything, providing you with a blank slate upon which you could develop your brand and determine how search engines should interpret the domain name and the website.
Con: You will need to devote a significant portion of your time and energy to developing and publicising your brand. You need to think of innovative ways to get consumers to make the connection between your brand name and the services you provide so that when they hear “Bob’s,” they immediately think of “guitar repair.”
Local domains
The website ChicagoBobs.com is an illustration of a local domain.
SEO advantages: Using this kind of domain name might assist you in more precisely targeting customers in the Chicago area. Although the text of your website would still need to define the goods and services you offer for sale, your domain name gives you a head start by letting clients and search engines know that your headquarters are located in Chicago.
The disadvantage is that if you wish to grow your company or target search traffic in a region outside of where you already do business, it will be more challenging for you to do so. This is true not only from the perspective of search engines, but also from the perspective of your brand.
Service domains
The website BobsGuitarService.com is an illustration of a service domain.
The benefits of SEO include the fact that this kind of domain name assists you in marketing your products and services. People will have an easier time understanding what your website is going to be about as well as the kind of service they can anticipate receiving from you if you include the service in the domain name. It also removes the geographical restrictions that are imposed by a Local Domain; all that is required of you is to designate the places where your services are offered within the content of his website.
Con: If you were to make the decision to offer piano tuning or other services later on, it would be difficult for you to rank for the keywords related to those services (or any terms outside of the specific service of Guitar Service).
Local + Service domains
One example of a domain name that combines a locality and a service is ChicagoGuitarService.com.
The benefits of this form of domain name for SEO are that it enables search engines to define your company and location with greater specificity.
Con: These domain names are frequently taken up by other people a very long time ago. It is possible that you need to limit the scope of either your area or your business. You may also think about registering a domain with one of the less used extensions, such as.biz or.online, for example. This is your alternative choice.
Does it make a difference how long you register a domain for?
In spite of the fact that you may believe that registering a domain name for the longest period of time possible is a clear indicator that you intend to make use of the domain and website, this is not the case in terms of search engine optimization.
“no search engine has ever verified that they use the length of registration as a factor…”, according to Matt Cutts of Google, “no search engine has ever confirmed that they use the length of registration as a factor…”
What about extensions for domain names?
There is no correlation between the extension of your domain name and its position in search results. The only thing that makes an exception to this rule are country-code top level domains like.us,.ca, and.uk. These domain extensions will have a major impact on the ranking of your website inside geographically specific search results. For instance, if you have the.ca domain extension and users are searching for your website while located in a city in Canada, then your website will be given a higher placement in the search results.
However, despite the fact that domain extensions have little to no significance, they do have an effect on people’s minds that just cannot be ignored. The.com,.net, and.org domain names are the ones that users are most accustomed to seeing. When compared to other extensions, these domain prefixes and extensions come out as more trustworthy and credible. Unfortunately, spammers frequently pick extensions such as.biz and.info as their preferred domain endings. In other words, selecting the incorrect domain extension could cause people to identify you with websites that have a low ranking. People will be less likely to click on your link due to their increased suspicion. Your search engine optimization can suffer as a result of this.
Additional factors to think about and suggestions
As we have stated previously, Google is interested in the preferences of its users. Therefore, putting the needs of your clientele at the forefront of your domain name selection process is essential.
The domain name that you decide on will be:
Should not look like it belongs to a scam website
Should be easy to recognise, interesting to recall, and not difficult to read
Should be pertinent and have an air of authority about it
Should assist in the branding of your company and provide customers with an understanding of who you are.
Easily discernible, memorable, and not difficult to read
Spelling mistakes should be avoided on purpose. It’s possible that using a word that’s misspelt as your brand name will sound inventive. However, it is important to keep in mind that not all of your clients will value your inventiveness. You should avoid giving your customers any reason to be confused at all costs. The use of digits and hyphens in your domain name are subject to the same restrictions. When someone hears the name of your domain, it’s possible that they won’t remember whether to spell the number out or to use a numeral instead. In a similar vein, a lot of users will input the domain name without the hyphens, which will take them to a different page. It is strongly recommended that you stay away from utilising numerals and hyphens in domain names.
If the name of your company can be shortened to an abbreviation, then you should absolutely make use of it in your domain name. On the other hand, if this is not the case, you should steer clear of employing them. If your company is called Bob’s Guitar Services, for instance, you shouldn’t shorten the name to BGS.com when the domain name BobsGuitarServices.com is simpler to keep in mind.
Conclusion
Choosing a domain name that is search engine optimised (SEO) friendly is much simpler than you may believe; all you need to do is keep it basic and concentrate on branding. Keep in mind that the ranking of your website in search engines will not be determined only by your domain name. A domain name is just one of the many components that go into making a quality website.
When you think you’ve selected the ideal domain name for your website, the last step is to ask yourself whether or not you would really click on that domain name. It is a good enough reason not to use the domain name, just as you wouldn’t click on buy-cheap-rolex.biz or get-rich-fast.info if you saw them on the internet.