What’s in a domain name? When it comes to SEO, it might be more than you think.
Your domain identifies your site and signals the kind of services you provide. The right domain name can make your website appear more trustworthy to human visitors, while a domain filled with quality content and links will appeal to search engine crawlers.
Domain SEO impacts almost everything about your website: how easy it is to rank for keywords, which topics your site is considered an authority on, and ultimately, how many people will browse your products. Understanding exactly how your domain name affects page rankings is therefore critical to the success of your brand.
Let’s explore the basics of domain SEO, starting with its definition.
What is domain SEO?
Domain SEO is the practice of optimizing domains to make them more useful and accessible to human visitors and search engines. It involves picking a simple domain name, an optional subdomain, and a top-level domain (TLD) to create a clear web identity.
Domain SEO includes improving the technical health of your website by optimizing tags, site speed, and site map. It also involves content management to produce a relevant, high-quality portfolio of original content that’s helpful to visitors.
Another important aspect of domain SEO is acquiring backlinks from authoritative websites. When respected sites link to your content, search engines recognize your domain as a reliable source of information.
The more time you spend creating a streamlined, polished domain, the easier it will be to improve SEO for specific parts of your website.
Does domain name matter for SEO?
The length, included keywords, and extension of a domain name can be meaningful components of an SEO strategy. A focused and simple domain name indicates the purpose of a website to people and search engines.
Beware of choosing an overly-promotional domain name, that may appear untrustworthy or scammy. www.cheap-discounted-jeans.net or freeshippingforlife.biz won’t inspire much confidence.
The wrong domain name can tarnish your online reputation. Customers are aware of this, and so are search engines.
4 steps for picking an SEO-friendly domain name
If you are creating a new domain, you can choose its name. SEO-friendly domain names are short, contain relevant keywords, and include simple terms.
Below are four actionable tips for choosing a domain name that is optimized for search engines.
1. Choose the right keywords
The importance of using keywords in a domain has varied over the years. It was once a mainstay of search indexing on sites like Google and used by hundreds of thousands of ecommerce brands throughout the early 2000s. Today, keywords continue to play a part in domain SEO, although their importance may have lessened.
Your domain doesn’t need to contain your target search phrase, but it should include a relevant concept to provide clarity around your brand.
For example, fashion brand Sabo uses the domain name www.saboskirt.com—a simple name that identifies the brand and includes a keyword to describe the business’s flagship product.
Keep in mind that a great domain name doesn’t need to be wholly focused on keywords. Try to choose a domain name with just one or two keywords, or encapsulate the idea of your brand with a short acronym.
2. Opt for a short domain name
The length of your domain name does not affect its standing on search engines. However, it can have a significant impact its memorability.
Research indicates that the average domain length is 12 characters long, but the most popular websites tend to have even shorter names.
Gaebler.com
3. Strive for domain name simplicity
As well as being short, domains need to be readable. Domain names with clear meanings help to build trust, while those containing strings of numbers and letters can be a safety concern for some users.
When researchers from UPenn compared domains’ names against their performance, they found that simple and straightforward names were the most efficient:
- There was a 2% reduction in traffic for every domain name character past the seventh.
- Less complicated addresses without hyphens avoided traffic penalties.
- The repetition of vowel sounds and consonant sounds corresponded to a worse rank.
The takeaway? The simpler your domain name, the better it is likely to perform.
4. Pick a trustworthy domain extension
GrowthBadger
The .com TLD is the most trusted domain extension in the world, and 33% more memorable than any other TLD. While the use of .com won’t provide any SEO benefit by itself, it will prove your trustworthiness to customers.
Not all is lost if you don’t have a .com domain. Extensions such as .co, .us, and .net continue to gather audience trust.
How to improve your domain name SEO
Understanding the elements that improve your domain’s SEO status will help you build a winning strategy.
The best way to improve your purchased domain name’s SEO is by focusing on creating valuable content and building backlinks from other well-regarded websites.
Create valuable content
Content is one of the most valuable things you can publish on a domain. Highly researched and informative content is an excellent method of increasing your authority in the marketplace, and will help increase your web traffic.
Start by creating SEO-friendly landing pages and blog posts. Be sure to add value to every piece of writing you produce, and never rely on plagiarism or black-hat techniques to speed up your content production.
Other examples of content you could publish on your domains include:
- Listicles
- How-tos
- Videos
- Case studies
- White papers
- Infographics
- Yearly reports
- Statistic round-ups
Not only will this content provide evergreen SEO value to your domain, but it also has the potential to generate organic backlinks as well.
Source domain backlinks
Backlinks are third-party hyperlinks that direct traffic from other websites to your domain. They are important for two reasons:
- They move users toward your site
- They help prove your brand’s relevance and authority
Analysis shows a strong backlink profile is almost always required to rank in competitive search results.
The best way to source backlinks for your domain is to become an authority in your niche. Creating actionable content and well-written copy is an efficient way to do this. You can also reach out to other brands or websites that may be interested in partnering with you or creating roundups or affiliate content to garner interest.
Note that bulk backlinks from a single website are frowned upon by Google’s search algorithm. It’s best to rely on organic links as much as possible—not black-hat or paid strategies.
Elevate domain name branding
Your domain name isn’t just text on a screen—it gives visitors an inside look at who you are and what you do. Domain SEO may include user signals, meaning that the more positively your domain presents to visitors, the better it will do.
Use your domain name to give users a taste of your brand, including its voice and tone. There are a number of great examples of this:
- Manscaped.com says everything you need to know about the company in just two syllables: a playful yet high fidelity store for all things male hygiene.
- Cettire.com is a luxury brand whose naming conventions say it all. An elegant play on words sets the tone and voice of the brand.
- AloYoga.com is a domain owned by yoga apparel brand Alo. It’s fun, fast, and mindfully modern.
More SEO-friendly domain name examples
Learning by example is a great way to approach domain name SEO. Whether you already have some inspiration or are looking for domain name suggestions, these popular ecommerce domain examples are perfect examples of strategy, length, and branding.
- Gymshark.com: Just two syllables long, Gymshark is a word that rolls off the tongue. This short domain name is also separated into multiple subdomains to help with global traffic. This is a great SEO tactic for brands with a multinational presence.
- Colourpop.com: This domain is memorable, specific, and easy to remember. No hyphens, numbers, or other strange spellings are included, which helps visitors return to the site without much trouble. More than 8,000 other websites link to this domain.
- Beeinspiredclothing.com: The .com extension and exact brand name mean visitors can find Bee Inspired Clothing in the blink of an eye.
Performing a competitor domain name SEO analysis
Before you purchase an SEO-friendly domain name, you may want to research the domains used by your largest competitors. Competitor analysis allows you to better understand your rival domains’ position, ranking, and perception in the marketplace. The analysis can be used to help inform your decisions before making a domain name purchase.
To perform a competitor domain name SEO analysis, ask yourself:
- How simple is the domain name? Is it less than 14 characters?
- How unique is the domain? Does the company own all domains with similar gTLDs to protect against imposters (e.g., swimsuit.com, swimsuit.net, swimsuit.biz)?
- Is the domain authoritative? How does it line up with their branding?
The more information you glean from your competitors’ domain SEO, the better decisions you can make about the domain name you choose to purchase.
Do I need to change my domain name for SEO?
Domain names do impact your SEO, but they aren’t necessarily a make-or-break portion of your strategy.
In fact, a changing domain name could confuse search engines and other bots trying to crawl through your web pages. A new domain name might also make it difficult for returning visitors to find your site, tanking your web traffic.
You should only consider changing your domain name for SEO if:
- You are rebranding your site or company
- You are planning on using redirects to sustain previous SEO
- Your current domain is confusing or hard to access
Remember that your domain name doesn’t necessarily factor into search engine rankings. However, changing it or rebranding it without following best practices could confuse visitors and search engines alike.
Domain SEO tools for creating a winning strategy
Finding a domain that follows all best SEO practices can take time, while building one yourself takes even longer. Try these tools to help you evaluate your options before registering a domain.
Domain naming
- Shopify provides domain registration, domain search, and hosting opportunities for your next digital identity. There’s also a way to find key information, like who owns the domain, when it was registered, and when it expires.
- BlueHost searches for available domains based on entered keywords. This works if you’re looking to buy a domain name immediately, but doesn’t offer any information lookup function.
Domain authority tools
- Ahrefs offers a helpful authority checker that measures the strength of any currently registered domain name. Use it to keep up with any linking websites or backlinks.
- Prepostseo.com is a free online tool that allows users to measure the authority of multiple URLs under the same domain. Again, this is best for domains with a large number of pages to manage.
Domain monitoring tools
- Domain Rank Tracker lets users check for the top 50 keywords that are sending visitors to a certain domain, allowing them to monitor changes over time.
- Brand Monitor protects your domain name from bad actors and lookalike domains that could hurt your rankings and SEO results.
Putting domain SEO into practice
Domain names are online digital identities that speak volumes about who you are, what you do, and what visitors should expect from you. While the name you choose will not necessarily affect search engine rankings, it’s a good idea to pick short, memorable, and highly relevant phrases that put you in the running with today’s major brands.
With some dedicated effort and a little planning, you can choose an SEO-friendly domain name that continues to reap the benefits long after registration.
Domain SEO FAQ
Do domains affect SEO?
Domains have a large impact on SEO. The number of links pointing to a domain from high-authority websites will significantly impact the ability of that domain’s web pages to rank in search engines. The cohesiveness and relevance of a domain’s content will also impact its search engine rankings for a particular topic area.
Do .com domains rank higher?
While .com domains are familiar and trusted by visitors, the .com extension doesn’t directly affect search engine rankings.
What are the 5 most common domain extensions?
According to Statistica, almost half of all websites use the .com domain extension. After .com, the most common extensions are .org, .ru, .de, and .net. Domains with .com denote commercial use, while .org usually sets expectations for nonprofits or charities.
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