A domain name is a key part of getting your site found online.
The first thing I would like to address is the common question many people ask when they are building their first website. That question is "what is a domain name". The short answer to that is simple, its the name or address that you can use to navigate directly to a website. In other words, it is the the address to your home on the web, so to speak. I will explain different levels of domains and the technicalities of domains in a future blog. Now that we have defined what a domain is lets talk about some key thing to keep in mind when choosing your own domain.
One of the most common questions I get from people building their website is "How do I get my website found on Search Engines?"
I am sure if you searched the web you will find many answer's to this. It is my goal to help simplify and streamline the domain and search engine process for all those who build their site with WebStarts.
In this blog I would like to address many of those questions regarding domains and how they effect your search engine ranking, further more I will do my best to present domains in a easy to understand way that even the most novice web builder can understand and apply.
When you are first building your site and racking your brain, "what in the world should I use for a domain name?" There are a few key questions you should ask yourself before landing on a domain name for your website.
1. Is it Relevant?
As simple and as silly as this question may seem, all to often I come across websites that have domains that are completely irrelevant and unrelated to their business or content of their website. Your domain should give a small snapshot of what your company does or what your website is about. For example; WebStarts.com. Its short and simple and it gives you two key words that relate directly to what the website is about. The word WEB implies that this website has something to do with the World Wide Web, and Starts obviously is the beginning of something. So if you were to see this domain you would probably assume it has something to do with starting something on the web. Okay, so that's pointing out the obvious. In short, having words that relate to your business/website and what you are marketing on your site; whether it be a personal blog or online store, it definitely helps your search engine results to have rich words in your domain name that will make your site easy to find and stand out.
Which brings me to my next point. I know you may be asking, "what about websites like google and other sites that have random short words that dont signify any subject matter. The answer to that is simple - Standout.
2. Does the domain name draw attention and standout?
Short catchy domains can be very helpful in being found on search engines, not only because the short names standout but also because everyone remembers them and can easily navigate back in the future. I know that personally I can only ever remember the short website names like google, godaddy, and yahoo. Let me point out that these domains not only stick out to our eyes when we see them and other similar short names when search online, but we also don't have to search for them, we know how to navigate straight to them. That is the point after-all right? To make your site easy to find online, not necessarily just on the search engines. You don't need to be found on the search engines if people remember you name to go straight to your site.
3. Is the domain keyword enriched?
This is a simple, although it can be often overlooked. Just as you want your domain to be relevant, it also will increase your chance of being found if it contains the word(s) people are searching for. I have a website that sells surfing merchandise, so it would make a lot of sense for people who are looking to buy the kind of stuff I sell to search for the word "surfing" or "surf". Then I would only think they would probably add another word after that of what they are looking for that is related to surfing. Lets go with "wax", surf wax. So I have chosen my domain name to be westcoastsurfwax.net . That domain holds basically four different search-able words that could be entered to find my website. When you are choosing your unique domain for your website be sure to include rich keywords in the domain itself.
4. "Should we choose dot com, dot net, or dot org....?"
There are a lot of "dots" in that question, and for a good reason. You may think that having your top level domain registered as a .com or .net (referred to as the top level domain) does not play a role in your search engines results. Well, think again my friends. Although there is a lot of debate on this topic in the SEO community it is easy to note a few things that come into play with top level domains (TLD). Let me just say that your search engine ranking is not the only key in being found online. Your site could easily by side-by-side with another site in ranking and displaying on the same page when viewed. Now it is not a mere matter of your ranking but of what website the searcher is going to choose, this is where all that comes into play. Most people that surf the web do not have the slightest clue about the the technicalities of domain names, nor do they care. But one thing I have found to be common; more people will trust and visit .com websites over .cz or .net - people simply seem to have more trust for sites that end in the four little characters know as DOT COM (.com). So, how does that apply to you choosing your domain? If you can get the .com TLD then that would be my first preference simply for the previously explained reason alone, but even more so, is because those domains are more sought after and harder to get then the other. If for some reason your wonderful idea for a website fails and you end up giving up, this gives you a shot of holding onto your domain and hoping that someone out there wants to buy it from you and hopefully make your fortunes. Well, that's wishful thinking anyways, but it can happen to you.
Alright, so I have covered a few small but significant details in choosing your domain and you can see that every little detail adds up. With that said I must add that there is no exact formula to SEO and being the highest ranked site. So experiment, try new things. As you use WebStarts to build your site keep these tips in mind when you are ready to choose and add your domain name. And always remember, no-one ever succeeded without trying something new.
Be sure to check back for more great tips like these.
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