SEO: Start with the Domain Name

by MacKenzie Brown on

When it comes to search engine optimization, a lot of so-called experts immediately jump into content as well as on-page and off-page optimization. They immediately plan for their link development strategies, set up blogs, add a sitemap, or create social media and networking profiles. They usually overlook another important element: the domain name.

The domain name plays a very significant role. It’s your website’s or blog’s address online. If you get it wrong, then you’re bound to suffer terrible consequences. Fortunately, you don’t have to go through such a stage. You can take note of SkySpark’s tips on how to go about choosing your domain names:

Make Your Domain Name Short

It’s advisable to tell your readers to bookmark your website, but there’s also a huge chance they won’t pay attention to it. It’s best to be on the safe side. Find a domain name that’s short, so it’s very easy to remember and spell out.

Include Your Keyword

Unless you’re already popular by your brand name, try to incorporate some keywords into your domain name. It does help boost your ranking in search engines. Usually, those who don’t utilize search engines type domain names based on keywords they currently have in mind. You can use tools such as Google Adwords Keyword Suggestion to help you determine the most ideal keywords for your domain name.

Watch Out For Misspellings

Some SEO specialists are confused: should their domain name be misspelled or not? There’s a reason for this. In some instances, misspelled keywords tend to rank very high. Here’s our tip though. Make sure the keywords are spelled correctly. There are still many who know how to type words very well. Besides, misspelled keywords can definitely ruin your reputation online. They spell unprofessionalism.

Settle For A dot com

There are a lot of extensions you can choose for your domain name. You have .info, .biz, and .net. The extension .gov is reserved for government websites while .edu is for schools. In terms of commerce, the best extension is definitely .com. This should be your main priority when trying to create your domain name. So unless you have exhausted every domain name with dot com in your list, don’t pick the others.

Buy Your Domain Name Now

Once you’ve figured out the domain name you like and it’s surprisingly available, register it right away. Every day there are thousands of marketers, business owners, and bloggers who are going to register their domain name too. If you wait for another day, your domain name may have already been owned by another.

Consider Purchasing the Domain Name With Other Extensions

If you have extra cash, you may also want to buy your domain name in other extensions such as .net, .biz, or .info. Some people are just hungry for intense competition. Others may be potential scammers aiming to direct your readers to their website simply because it sounded a lot like yours.

Match Your Content With Your Domain Name

If you happen to have a domain name that says thewebsite.com, make sure you can also introduce it to your readers as The Website in your main content. This way, they can easily associate your website name to the right URL.