Tips for Choosing SEO Friendly Domain Name
A domain name is a unique and permanent address of a website on the internet. It has a great impact on the Search Engine Optimization process. Having a suitable domain name can help you to reach your target audience and enhance your search engine presence.
A domain name acts as an internet source identifier that connects a web browser to the right server. If you don’t have an SEO-friendly domain name, you may lose revenue and traffic to your website. Here in this article, we have covered essential factors on how to choose a domain name for SEO, why is domain name important, and types of domain name from SEO point of view.
Why is Domain Name Important?
A domain name is important because it gives a clear idea about your business and represents your brand online. Suppose you run a machinery shop, try to set the domain name with the name of the company followed by your business services, for example- “www.xyzmachineryservices.com”. So you need to be more attentive before you purchase a domain name for your blog, brand, or business website. It will help your viewers and Google to understand your business products, brand, and other services. Here are the following factors that explain why is domain name important for your website:
Brand Promotion: A correct domain name can help you to increase the visibility rate of your website on the internet. If your website has the right domain name that signifies your business nature and content of the website, people can easily search it on the web.
Increases CTR: If your website has a good domain name it helps you to boost search traffic and CTR- Click Through Rate. This will help you to measure the success rate of your online advertising campaigns as well as the email potency of email campaigns.
Adds Credibility: A good domain name highlights the information on your website. If you have an appropriate domain name, it gives a professional look to your website. A domain name adds more credibility to your website that hits a visitor to check your services or leave the page.
How to Choose a Domain Name?
There are several important factors responsible for the selection of the correct domain name for your business. Let’s figure out how to choose an SEO-friendly domain name that helps you to enhance your website ranking on the internet.
1. Use Top-level Domain Extensions
A domain name consists of two sections, the first part is domain and the last one is an extension. Before you select an SEO-friendly domain for your website, you need to understand which one suits your business type. The most widely used and popular domain extension is “.com”. There are several domain extensions available such as “.org”, “.net”, “.in”, “.edu”, etc.
If you are planning to buy the domain and hosting for your business website or blog, try to choose a .com extension. The reason is “.com” domain extension is the most common and powerful extension which is mainly used by commercial and profitable websites. Domain extension only highlights the nature of your website and the services you offer. For example, “.edu” is for specific educational or institutional services, “.in” specifies the geographic location, a restricted zone, any country, and .org is for non-profit organizations.
2. Keep It Brandable and Unique
A domain name based on a brand has higher search volume and search engines like Google show the results of high-quality websites having an authentic and brandable domain name. It is easier for users to remember and share your business identity on the internet.
What are the factors that make your domain name brandable? Here are as follows:
- A branded domain name has no specific meaning and it is unique. For example, Amazon.com, Apple.com, and many more.
- Keep it simple, easy to pronounce so that users can identify it.
3. Insert Keywords In Your Domain Name
Keywords play a crucial role in the search engine optimization process. Therefore, the selection of the correct keyword-based domain name can help you to rank your website on the search engine. When you specify a keyword in domain name it tells search engines about your website and what is it all about.
Getting a domain name with your target keyword is difficult, try to combine your words with keywords to make it unique. You can also try a domain name generator tool to find the best domain name for your website. It is essential to understand how does keyword in domain name improve the visibility of your website on the web.
4. Make Short Domain Name
Try to make your domain name short and simple. It will help users and Google to identify your website. If you have a long and complex domain name, it might affect your website ranking on
the internet. Keep your domain name length under 13 characters maximum, don’t add excess keywords or irrelevant words.
5. Avoid Hyphens In Domain Name
If you are choosing a domain name for your website or blog, avoid hyphens. Hyphens in domain names can mark your domain as spam. It can reduce the SEO ranking results of your website. Google avoids websites that have hyphens in the domain name.
6. Ignore Repeated Words In Domain Name
It is another important factor that you need to consider while choosing a domain name for SEO, avoid double letters the n domain name. There’s a high probability that having repeated letters in domain names can confuse your viewers which may result in typing mistakes. Repeated words in your domain name can lower the chances of getting traffic to your website.
Does a Domain Name Matter for SEO?
A standalone domain name cannot rank your website on the search engine. For website ranking to rank on Google you need backlinks, content, internal links, and other factors. An SEO domain name helps Google to understand the content of your website, what are the services you provide, and the nature of your business. So what are the benefits you will get from a correct domain name:
- High CTR- Click Through Rate
- Trust & Authority
- Brand Promotion
- Targeting Competitors
- Positive user response
A Domain name with target keywords gets more clicks and increases the traffic rate to your website. This way a domain name in your website accentuates and simplifies the process of SEO.
What Are The Types Of SEO Domain Name?
In terms of SEO, a Domain name is categorized into three sections- Exact match domain, Partial match domain, and Branded domain. Let’s elaborate on these domain name types and their impact on SEO.
Exact Match Domain (EMD)
An Exact Match Domain is a type of domain name that has exact keywords in it. If you choose EMD, then you give clear information to Google and other search engines about your services, where your business is based, and the nature of your business. For example, “bikeoilkolkata.in”, “mumbaicomputerperipherals.com”, here both of these business websites are focusing on a particular service and location. Let’s check the pros and cons of the Exact Match Domain (EMD).
Pros of EMD
- With Exact Match Domain your website can dominate a particular niche, especially for the industry having fewer keywords.
- This is also useful for local searches. If a user is searching a service online from a specific area, your business website will prompt on the search result.
- Exact Match Domain clearly states its business nature, so there’s no chance to get lost in the list of billions of websites on the internet. It helps you to get relevant traffic to your website.
Cons of EMD
- EMD represents a specific niche, location, and/or service. If you want to expand your reach to new locations or add more services to your brand, the domain name doesn’t represent that.
- EMD domain can get over-optimized for SEO if the optimization is not done carefully.
Partial Match Domain (PMD)
Partial Match Domain or PMD is a domain that consists of partially included keywords along with brand name and other components. Examples of PMD are “xyzfinaces.com” and “abcwebhostingservices.com” etc. In both the domain names, you can add your business services to get more exposure on the internet without any limitations. Here are some advantages and disadvantages of the PMD domains:
Pros
- It gives you more flexibility for business expansion. You can add more services that will logically go with the domain name. You can also render your services to multiple locations without making the domain name look illogical.
- PMD represents your brand and can have one of your targeted keywords, so it’s a perfect combination for small and medium businesses.
Cons
- It takes more time and effort for a higher search engine ranking of PMDs compared to EMDs.
Branded Domain
A branded domain name represents a brand rather than focusing on a specific keyword. It focuses on how to promote brand value on the internet. Branded Domain names are easily recognizable and it’s a great way to build your brand visibility on the internet. For example- “Asus.com”, “Bigbasket.com” and lots more. Let’s find out what are the exposure and limitations of Branded Domain:
Pros
- Here expansion of multiple business services is accessible under a single domain name.
- Branded domain names are easy to remember and trustable.
Cons
- It takes a long time and effort to increase the credibility of your website.
- Google takes a longer time compared to EMD and PMD to rank your website organically.
How to Select a Domain Name for Your Business?
Before you select a domain name for your business, you need to check your target audiences and the objective of your business. Here are a few ideas on how to select a domain name for your business:
- For small businesses operating from a specific location with limited services, Exact Match Domain might be a suitable domain name for their websites. For example, “bikeoilshopkolkata.com”. Here you can add a specific keyword to highlight your business service on the internet.
- Next is a large or medium scale business, where you offer services in multiple cities then the PMD domain is the correct choice. For example, “musicinstruments.com”, “abcmusicinstruments.com”, here in both domains you can add a brand name and a keyword partially.
- For recognized and big businesses, a Branded domain name is the considerable one. For example, “Amazon.com”, “Zomato.com”, etc. Here businesses run in multiple cities and serve multiple services.
How does Domain Name Generator work?
Searching for the right domain name that matches your business name is a tough job. To simplify this process there are various domain name generator tools available on the internet. With the help of these tools, you can get different choices that are relevant to your business nature and name.
The most preferable domain names are already registered. Therefore a business name generator automatically adds the most common and relevant suffixes.
Final Thoughts
Choosing an SEO-friendly domain name for your website is more than using relevant keywords. A correct domain name can change the means of your business visibility on the internet. A domain name acts as an intermediate that promotes your brand value to the viewers. Here we have highlighted all the major facets of how domain name helps in SEO process, how to choose a domain name for your blog, and why domain names are important for your website. Select a domain name wisely because it represents your identity on the world wide web.