Investing in a search engine-optimized domain name gives your business various benefits. That being said, crafting a good domain name requires proper research and knowing your business needs and goals.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is crucial for all websites to effectively boost traffic and search rankings. You can implement SEO strategies on various aspects of your website, from articles and meta titles to URLs. What many people might not know is that you can also buy domain names that are SEO-friendly.
Investing in a search engine-optimized domain name gives your business various benefits. That being said, crafting a good domain name requires proper research and knowing your business needs and goals.
This article will cover the five best tips for choosing a great domain name that is SEO-friendly. Let’s get started.
The Benefits of Having an SEO-Friendly Domain Name
While domain names are not a ranking factor for search engines, having an optimized domain name can still significantly affect your overall SEO efforts.
The practice of optimizing a domain name is called domain SEO, and it involves picking a click-worthy name, a suitable domain extension, and an optional subdomain. See below for several advantages of using an SEO-friendly domain name.
Brand Recognition
A good domain name can help build brand recognition. Customers can easily recognize your business if you have a well-crafted and on-brand domain name. For example, users can easily associate apparelforyou.com with an online clothing store.
Business Visibility
Having a click-worthy domain name can add more visibility to your business. If your website appears on a search result, a professional-looking domain name can be the deciding factor on whether your site receives site visitors.
First Impression
An SEO-friendly domain name helps build a positive first impression with the target audience as they will see your site as professional and credible. From that, your website can positively drive traffic, and you can eventually generate more leads.
5 Best Practices to Choose an SEO-Friendly Domain Name
There is no exact rule for choosing domain names, but there are some general best practices for creating a well-optimized one. If you want to make an SEO-friendly domain name, we recommend implementing the strategies listed below.
1. Keep The Domain Name Short
The main purpose behind having a short domain name is memorability so that visitors can easily recall your domain name. Short domains often consist of a maximum of 15 characters or one to three words.
Selecting a short domain name can be challenging as many of them are already taken. As a result, you might need to use creative methods to find a good short domain name that is still available.
Consider using abbreviations, catchphrases, or keywords. Several popular websites that use these approaches are wpforms.com, monsterinsights.com, and orchidhotel.com.
On the other hand, you can also purchase an unavailable domain name by discovering them via domain marketplaces. However, opting for this method can be quite tricky. For example, you’ll have to research the owner of the domain and confirm whether it is actually for sale.
2. Use a Domain Name Generator
For those who are stuck choosing a good domain name, utilize a domain name generator to find ideas or references. The tool will generate relevant words and phrases based on your search terms or keywords.
Let’s say you are using a domain generator to find a domain name for your travel blog. Then, you enter the phrases digital and journal. Once you hit the submit button, the generator will list all the available domain names along with possible extensions, such as digitaljournal.com or thedigitaljournal.net.
Nameboy, WPBeginner, and Hostinger are excellent resources that provide domain name generators.
3. Create a Brandable Domain Name
Many site owners use brandable domain names to promote their companies. They do this by including slogans, taglines, and the business name in the domain.
You can also implement this technique to create a catchy and professional-looking domain name. See below for the three main ways of choosing a brandable domain name:
- Descriptive brandable names contain primary keywords that describe the business, such as softcookiebakery.com.
- Evocative brandable names use imaginative and creative terms representing the brand voice and niche, such as aviationforkids.com.
- Empty vessel brandable names are domain names with made-up terms or words that often have no connection to the website content, such as starbucks.com.
4. Consider Using Country-Code Top-Level Domains
A top-level domain (TLD) refers to a domain extension or the last segment of a URL. Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) recognizes several types of TLDs, such as country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs). ccTLDs are domain extensions that indicate the website’s geographic location or target audience.
Using a ccTLD is beneficial if your business targets customers in a specific region or country. For instance, a user searching for barbershops will know that the website bluebarber.us is located in the United States.
5. Implement Exact Match Domain and Partial Match Domain
Another strategy to create SEO-friendly domain names is to use exact match domains (EMDs) or partial match domains (PMDs).
EMDs are domain names that only contain primary keywords or search phrases you try to rank for. For instance, onlineclothingstore.com and babydiapersonline.com are examples of EMDs since the domain names use the exact focus keywords “online clothing store” and “baby diapers online.”
Meanwhile, PMDs contain some primary keywords for which you want to rank on search engines. It is then accompanied by a word or two that describes the business. For instance, tastyseafood.com uses tasty to describe the business and seafood as the focus keyword.
Conclusion
A good domain name represents how you want to describe your business. It has various advantages, such as improving brand recognition, boosting business visibility, and giving a positive first impression.
Creating an SEO-friendly domain name can be tricky, so it is important to focus on simplicity, branding, and professionalism. Keep in mind not to use a trademarked or spammy domain name, as they can harm your overall business performance.
In this article, you have learned several benefits of having an SEO-friendly domain name. We have also gone over the best practices for choosing an SEO domain name:
- Keep the domain name short.
- Use a domain name generator.
- Create a brandable domain name.
- Consider using country-code top-level domains.
- Implement the exact match domain and partial match domain.
We hope this article has given you insights and ideas to create a great domain name that can boost your SEO strategy. Good luck on your online journey!
Press Release Distributed by The Express Wire
To view the original version on The Express Wire visit How to Choose An SEO-Friendly Domain Name: Best Practices
