Congratulations on the decision to start your online business and getting your first domain name! It is important for you to know that domain names are the doorways for customers to find businesses on the internet. It is therefore imperative that the choice of a domain name must be critically considered and sure-fire right from the outset. It sets the tone for the success or failure of your new business.
In the early days of Google until 2012, it was easy to rank on search engine returns page for any decently written domain name that captures the keywords of the company, organisation, or business. To rank for a car sales website, for example, carsales.com will be registered as the domain name. Stuffing keywords into the domain name was the norm as it guarantees high ranking on the internet.
However, Google discovering this, quickly moved to curb the activities of poorly developed websites that offer no content to people searching for information. The consequence? A significant drop in the strength of the domain name for SEO purposes by Google. Still, this drop in the strength of domain names does not reduce the importance of choosing the right domain name to maximise search engine optimization. It is imperative to choose the right domain name to optimize searches.
How NOT to choose a domain name
The most common mistake made in the choice of domain names is picking an exact match domain name. Exact match domains or keyword domains include the keyword phrase which businesses aim to rank for. A there is a lot of competition for the SEO of these keyword phrases it is hard to get a good ranking. Avoid choosing exact match domain.
Avoid the use of numbers in the domain name. A domain name with numbers embedded within has different meanings. Number1school.com could also be NumberOneschool.com or surprisingly No1school.com.
Intentionally misspelling words for creativity in brand name or domain name may backfire. A lot of spelling mistakes are committed while searching for info on the internet. A misspelt word as the brand name may reduce the search engine optimization success of the business or company. Furthermore, hyphens should be avoided while constructing the domain name.
How to choose a domain name
- Use the brand name
The use of a brand name as the domain name choice is the best method. Customers, target audience, and website traffic will better remember a business by its brand name. Users will use synonymous navigational queries to find the website when they cannot remember the URL. Google will always provide the right website because it no longer uses stuffed keywords, but the content quality and backlinks.
Brand name could be a simple vocabulary word like buffer or connectivity. A combination of two words or more without ambiguity and bereft of misinterpretation can be used as a domain name. Google measures the brand signals to provide company brands with the precise search boost it deserves. This shows that domain name should be based on the brand name.
- Use a .com extension
Another conundrum is the choice of domain extension to use for domain name registration. The choice of domain extension must be a top-level domain such as .com, .org and .info. The most common is the .com extension. Although the domain extension has no direct negative impact on website ranking, a wrong choice could lead to a low-ranking website which would affect the success of the SEO. The simplest, fastest, safest and easiest extension is the .com top level domain. Whether you are targeting other seniors or just the general public, it is common knowledge that the .com extension is most popular.
Country extensions such as .co.nz are becoming more paramount and they help to localise search results. There are over 882 domain extensions , choose right from the outset.
The impact of domain names on SEO success
The success of search engine optimisation is still based on providing relevant answers to possible questions, use of best search engine practices and regular refresher of internet contents.
Domain names, although no longer the raw SEO power it is used to be, can provide higher click-through rates, trustworthiness, search engine results page attention, and brand potential. Domain names are unique, they provide the branding for websites. A good domain name also provides a great platform for online ads and paid search to work well.
Domain name registration and hosting should be carefully considered to set a great tone for the future search engine optimisation success of the business. The large number of domain extensions available to individuals, businesses, companies, and organizations must be carefully studied support the right domain name.
Conclusion
The secret to a successful domain name is proper consideration. If you aim to be successful with the SEO campaign of your newly launched website, you should secure a carefully thought-out domain name while building your brand. Most importantly, the domain name should be chosen with the users in mind. What kind of domain names will appeal to them, while being memorable and connected to your brand?
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