The Importance Of Choosing The Most Effective Domain Name
A domain name is the part of a network address which identifies it as belonging to a particular domain. When creating a new website, in order for a business to gain traffic, the domain name you choose will be pivotal as to whether the site becomes a success or not. Your domain name will impact the success of your site in every way through SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and you’re SMM (Social Media Marketing). So, how does a domain name effect search engine optimisation and social media marketing, and what factors need to be taken into account when choosing a domain name?
Most search engine optimisation strategies purchase EMD’s (Exact Match Domains); these are domains that are identical to the keyword phrase they are targeting. For example, if a company required the keywords “purchase football boots”, they may identify if “PurchaseFootballBoots.com” is available or the best possible alternative. Exact match domains offer the following advantages…..
- Presence of the keyword phrase in the domain was itself a ranking factor.
- The keyword presence encourages other web-masters to include.
- The keyword phrase in the anchor text when linking to the site.
However, Google recently updated their exact match domains systems and are not as helpful as they have been in the past. Many search engine optimisation experts feel exact match domains and other keyword domains may be even less beneficial in the future. This does NOT mean you should completely avoid keyword domains, whereas it does mean keywords should not be the only factor to consider when choosing a domain.
Occasionally, owning a premium keyword increases click rates on ads and SERP’s (Search Engine Results Pages). Try and consider the following factors……
- What is the search volume? Use Google’s keyword tool to find the exact match search volume for the keyword phrase the domain matches.
- What is the cost? Most premium keyword domains are already registered and challenging to obtain.
- Is it a .com? I.e. a .info domain will be far less valuable than a .com domain.
You also need to consider the brandability of the domain name. Your name is the foundation upon which your online brand will be built. Domains are how users will find, remember, share and identify your company online. Domain names are the main way in which users can identify where the link will lead for both social media and search engines. The first step to building a successful brand is choosing a brandable domain name. As long as you achieve the following 7 steps, you’ll be on your way to selecting the most brandable domain name for your online business……
- Ensure your domain name is memorable.
- Make sure you choose a .com extension.
- Ensure your domain name is relevant and appealing to your target market.
- Ensure that your domain name is easy to spell, so that users can potentially see the address once and be able to type the domain immediately without having to check the spelling.
- Ensure your domain name is sound authoritative.
- Remember that the shorter the domain names the better.
- Make sure you are unique when choosing your domain name.
