Web Domain Registration

Poll

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Author:
Scott Geer

Keyword Rich/Targeted Domain Names

One belief is that you should have generic keywords you want to target in your domain name. For example, if you are a web designer in Sydney you might choose a domain name such as qualitywebdesigninsydney.com.

Branded Domain Names

The second belief is that your domain name should represent your brand. You might run a company called Whicked Reality Inc, so your domain name would then be whickedreality.com or something along those lines.

Keyword vs Branded Domain Names - Which is better?

So which is better for SEO, the keyword or the branded domain name? Branded domain names are the cleaner, safer bet.

Sure, search engines analyse URLs for keywords, but they clearly filter out questionable domain names. In the two examples above, qualitywebdesignsydney.com looks horrible to the human eye, so chances are it will look horrible to the search engine algorithms. That is, it will look horrible unless the page contains some great quality content.

You only have to look up a popular search term in Google for proof that long, wordy domain names aren't generally the way to go. SEO is a term that would certainly come up with sites that have been optimized to the nth degree. Put it in Google and you won't find any mega-long-silly-domain-names.com. It's a similar story when you search for the term search engine optimization.

Some of the sites in the SERPs do contain the term seo but it is always used within a branding context and not simply to boost a search engine ranking.

Keywords in Page Names

If you really feel the need to have some keywords in your URL, then I suggest putting those keywords in either directory or page names. For example, if you run a web hosting and web design company you might structure your pages as so:

www.companyname.com/web-design/quote.html
www.companyname.com/web-hosting/packages.html

As you can see, we've hit the target keywords of web design and web hosting without compromising a simple and classy looking companyname.com.

Conclusion

• Choose a simple, relevant, branded domain name. The one exception is if you manage to pick up a nice one or two word generic keyword domain name, but most are taken already.
• Structure your site/URLs so that you hit the most important 1 or 2 keywords in your directory or page structure.
• Keep optimizing your site with other SEO tips and tricks.
• Always remember - content is king - so make your pages useful and informative for people.

Scott is an active author at Goo Theory, a site dedicated to helping you market your web sites and maximize profits.









A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Domain Names... Selecting a Quality Domain Name Copyright 2005 Shelley Lowery When you're ready to launch your web site and you're trying to select a good domain name, there are many factors that need to be taken into consideration. Select a Domain Name that Reflects Your Web Site Above all else, your domain name should reflect what your web site is all about. For example, if your web site is about grooming a dog, you certainly wouldn't want to select a domain name like 'mybusinessname.com,' as this would have nothing to do with your web site's focus. You would want to select a domain name that tells the world what your web site is all about -- something like 'doggrooming.com.' Select a Domain Name that Contains Your Web Site's Keywords Another consideration of great importance are your keywords. Try to select a domain name that contains your most relevant keyword phrase, as some Search Engines place relevancy on them. A keyword phrase is two or more words that best describe your web page. If your web page is focusing on grooming a dog, your best keyword phrase will be "dog grooming." Select a Domain Name that will be Easily Remembered With millions of web sites accessible on the Internet, it is also very important to select a domain name that will be easily remembered. As in the 'doggrooming.com' example above, 'doggrooming.com' is very easily remembered, contains the most relevant keyword phrase and describes the web site in explicit detail. It is the 'perfect' domain name for this particular web site. Select the Best Domain Extension Another consideration of importance is the domain name extension. Although there are many new domain extensions available, dotcom is still the best choice. When typing in a web address, Internet users automatically want to type in a .com extension, as this is the...