Here’s How your Domain Name Impacts SEO

Domain names are distinctive and comprehensive internet addresses which represent your website on the internet. The first part in the domain name before the dot(.), is called the domain, the second part after the dot(.) is called the domain extension, and sometimes it may have the third part too i.e., an optional subdomain.

For example, www.catchyname.com where ‘’catchy name’’ is the domain name and ‘.com’ is the domain extension

Why SEO is important?

SEO helps a business in the following ways - a) Better ranking b) Higher site visits c) Higher visibility d) Better Brand presence etc.

SEO can also help deliver better revenues to businesses when the aforementioned objectives are achieved.

Now, we’ll see how the domain name impacts SEO. Here are 5 ways the domain name impacts SEO:

Choosing the right Domain name

As a business owner, choosing the right domain name is an important task as it becomes the business’ brand identity. We need to keep a few points in mind before choosing the right domain name.

• Your domain name should be catchy, distinctive, and brand-friendly. When we the keep domain name catchy, it becomes memorable and easy to recall which helps search engines like Yahoo, Google, Bing capture it and project it higher in the ranking. When it is projected higher in the ranking, your SEO is optimized.
• You should avoid using hyphen in the domain name because a domain name with hyphen could mean a spam domain and no brand or business wants to be associated with a spam domain. One reason why it is considered a spam is because it shows that the original domain name has already been taken and spammers usually register a hyphenated version to replicate the brand & the website. It also decreases the domain name’s memorability & readability. Even if you need to use the hyphen, try using only one hyphen in your domain name. If the domain name is seen as spammy, it could impact the SEO and decrease your website’s ranking significantly.
• Choosing the right domain name can also help in improving the CTR or Click-through-rate of your top-ranking pages. The ratio of the people who click on a web link vs the number of people who viewed the particular page or email is called Click-through rate. We can improve the CTR by adding a few powerful words to your title. This ensures some level of trust and authority.

Choosing a top-Level Domain (TLD) extension

Top-Level Domains (TLDs) comes after the final dot and is the right-most part of every domain name. For Example,.com,.net,.in,.org,.edu, etc. They are divided into 2 parts - Country-code TLD (CcTLD) where the domains are identified with a country or geographic location like.in,.au,.ru,.uk,.us, etc. and Generic top-level domain that are not associated with the country. For Example:.com,.org,.info,.edu, etc.

The better way to make the domain name SEO-friendly is to use the Country code TLD (CcTLD). It helps the user to get relevant search results. For example, ". com.in" will help google know that your business is Indian.

Top-level domains are an important part of your domain name. Use of alternate domain extension affects SEO. The impact could be positive or negative depending on the TLD you choose. So, if you choose the wrong TLD, your website may be falsely associated with spam or overlooked as irrelevant to local audience.

Keeping the Domain name short &precise

Use one or two words for a domain name. Short domain names are easy to remember and pronounce. Domain name length between 6-14 characters is recommended. The domain name of most popular websites like Google is 6 characters and of Yahoo is 5 characters.

Your domain name should be memorable. It should be easy to say, type, spell, and recall. If you have a complex domain name such as myycaatchywebsitee.com, it becomes difficult for the users to type and also becomes difficult for them to remember or recollect.

Generally, people are more willing to type in a domain that is short than one that is tediously long. Hence, the domain name should be memorable. Having said that, a short domain name that is not easy to recall is much worse than a long domain name that you can remember well. Using a short, concise, and click-worthy domain name will increase the possibility of users coming back to your website and it will augment your chance of ranking well in the search engines.

Pick relevant Domain name

Artificial Intelligence (AI)has been playing quite a useful role in digital marketing and SEO. Artificial Intelligence also helps IN finding the right domain name for your website. As of 2017, approximately 330.6 million domain names are registered. The numbers so large that there are chances the domain names overlap. Domain name generator tool adds relevant and most common suffixes and helps you out with different domain names that are available for a take. Entrepreneurs, business owners or even individuals can make use of such AI powered tools to help pick relevant domain name. Choosing the right domain name will define your brand and help you pick a name that sticks in your target audience’s minds, arouses interest, and also improves SEO.

Use a keyword Domain

Keywords are frequently searched-for words and phrases. Keywords are integral and pivotal to SEO. Popular and important keywords help you know what subjects have already caught your target audience’s interest. The use of a keyword domain helps in website ranking as it indicates and clarifies the niche itself. There is no particular benefit of using keywords in ranking but it could help boost your search traffic by getting more people clicking on your listing.

A remarkable domain name will arouse people’s curiosity, urging them to visit your site. Picking a domain name isn't simple, it takes some definitive efforts. The aforementioned five techniques should help boost your rankings in the search engines. A domain name makes up only a small amount of SEO ranking, but is nevertheless important and essential to SEO.

With legitimate advertising & marketing methodology and Search engine optimization, your website can get good amount of traffic if the consistency is kept up. Choosing the right domain name will define your brand and help you in picking a name that is recollect able by your target audience. It also improves your rankings on the search engines prompting higher site visits and better brand visibility.

About company: Seattle New Media is a website design and development agency based in Seattle, Washington, USA. The company was founded in 2016 and consists of highly skilled members who have more than 12 years of experience working in the industry. Seattle New Media is one of the pioneers in providing end-to-end digital marketing solutions for businesses in Seattle or in the USA.

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