How To Choose An SEO-Friendly Domain Name

Before you get to the point where you’ll refine your SEO strategies, you have to focus on an important factor at the very beginning, which is deciding on an SEO-friendly domain name for your website. Every website has a domain and an address so that people can easily find it online. Picking the domain name can easily make or break your business in the future and not just from the SEO point of view.

That’s why it’s important to pick the right domain from the very start. This can oftentimes prove to be difficult, mainly because a lot of domain names are already taken. That’s why you’ll have to get creative. With that in mind, here are a few tips on how to choose an SEO-friendly domain name.

#1 Don’t Complicate Things

As mentioned before, a lot of domain names are already taken. This may force you to take drastic measures only to have a domain name as close to your original idea as possible. However, if you overcomplicate things, you might end up with an unfriendly SEO domain name.

For example, avoid numbers in a domain name because they create confusion for both human and computer processing of the name. What’s more, avoid hyphens at all costs. The main reason is that hyphenated domain names are automatically associated with spam websites, such as “www.buy-genuine-rolex-cheap.com” and similar spam domain names. Instead, try to make it short, simple and easily memorable.

#2 Consider A Branded Domain

As you’ve probably guessed it, a branded domain name matches that of your brand. If you consider developing a brand for your business, a branded domain name will surely guarantee SEO-friendliness. Not only that but developing a brand means you’ll most likely have a domain name available, especially since a brand is by default unique in its own way.

That will also ensure an ideal domain name registration process. Branded domain names are easily visible and recognizable online, especially if your brand is already well-known. On the other hand, if you’re just starting out with your brand, you can build visibility for your business alongside building visibility and awareness for your website as well. That’s where having a branded SEO-friendly domain name truly comes in handy.

#3 Keyword Domain

Another way to choose an SEO-friendly domain name is to opt for a keyword domain. In other words, you base your domain name on a specific keyword or keywords related to the nature of your business or the industry you operate in. By including a keyword in your domain name, you give context about your website to both search engines and online users. However, having a keyword domain name doesn’t mean you’ll automatically rank better on search engines.

The fact of the matter is that keyword domains don’t have much ranking power in terms of SEO. Still, they are relevant and SEO-friendly nonetheless. The main reason is that keyword domains work well with anchor texts of links for your website. In addition, a keyword domain can better explain what your website is about, which is also important from the consumer point of view.

#4 Choosing A TLD

TLD or Top-level domain is also important in choosing a domain name. TLDs are extensions to your domain name, such as .com, .org, .info and so on. These extensions can point out the location or the industry of your business. The .com extension is the most popular and 75% of all websites have that extension. As an example, .co.uk is a country code extension and it represents a website from the UK.

Also, sponsored TLDs such as .travel are associated with travel agencies and related businesses. Therefore, choosing the right TLD is also very important, especially since search engines will regard the extension when indexing your pages. You’ll also come across cheap and low-quality TLDs that may seem intriguing. However, these are considered shady TLDs, which means search engines will consider your website spam.

#5 Don’t Rush The Decision

Choosing the right domain name that will be related to your business and SEO-friendly can be quite challenging. You may want to get it over with as soon as possible but that might also mean you’re stuck with the consequences. Once you make the decision, there’s no going back unless you want to repeat the entire process all over again and perhaps even rebrand your business. Such scenarios are best avoided, to begin with.

That’s why it’s important to take your time and research both the benefits and the downsides of your domain name. With that in mind, keep your domain name short and on point. You don’t have to go for more than 15 characters for a domain name. Make it relatable to your business but also comprehensible and easy to type. That way, you’ll make it easy on yourself and on both search engines and users that are looking you up online.

An SEO-friendly domain name can have long-term benefits for your business. It will make you recognizable and visible in a crowded online world. That’s why it’s important to properly plan out your domain name and choose the one that suits you and your business needs the best way possible.

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