Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Does your domain name hamper your SEO?

People debate long and hard about domain names, because your domain name can be hugely successful or a total flop. Now add into this that your domain name should be used for branding your business and also for search engine optimisation.

What makes matters even more difficult is that there are millions of websites on the internet already. This means the majority of good domain names are most likely already taken. This is one reason why so many people decide on the first, best domain name they think are suitable for their website and business.

Choosing can be tricky

You could of course spend thousands of pounds in buying a coveted domain name, but that is not an option for most new website owners. That is why selecting a domain name means you have to get creative. Your domain name should brand your business and it must be easy to remember. It must also be useable for SEO purposes. Remember that search engines like it if your URL contains your primary keyword in your domain name. You will get credit for this in the rankings.

Get creative

When trying to find the perfect domain name for your website, remember that two or three keywords can be strung together quite effectively. Think of the type of business you are in and what keywords people would use to look for your products or services that are easy to remember. If customers can easily remember your domain name you build a bond between your business and them.

Domains with keywords forms an easily remembered visualization and many of your repeat customers will then remember the URL and bypass search engines to get to your website. Another angle is that when you have a good domain name and pops up in searches; people will more often click on it as they will remember your brand.

Choose wisely and get help

You have to think carefully about all the angles when you choose your domain as you cannot afford to get it wrong. Using hyphens in your domain name is a huge no-no. Best-Beds-4-U might sound perfect for you business as you sell beds, but those hyphens are associated with spam. Hyphens have unfortunately become associated with spam and people will avoid websites if possible when they see hyphens in your domain name.

If you want to choose your domain name yourself and be able to have a domain with keywords in, use a helping hand. There are applications where you can test to see if a domain name has been taken and other domains that may be similar. Certain sites where you can review what domains are for sale can also be a great helper if you wish to buy a domain name. The bottom line is that you must make sure that the domain name you choose will be easy to brand, and that it is specifically about your business. Getting your keywords into your domain name is a huge search engine optimisation plus for your business.