Choose a SEO-friendly domain name

Today’s post is dedicated to providing some tips on how to choose a SEO friendly domain name for your online project. To start with, nowadays, Search Engine optimization’s role has grown so much that it will not be exaggerating to say that ignoring it would be a crime. Knowing there are thousands of websites in the Internet “seeking” visitors’ attention, you must do something to come to the front row and be noticed. You do not want your website to be left alone in cyberspace hardly ever visited by someone that could be a potential customer, right? Moreover, you can’t just rely on random visits, you need to do something about it. We suggest starting your online project with choosing a SEO friendly domain name and here are some guidelines on that matter.

When starting an online project, especially a business oriented one, there are many aspects of site optimization that have to be considered. Choosing and buying a keyword-rich domain will not make or break your PageRank but it may indirectly increase your visitors as Google will see links that use your domain name. So why not get a domain name that not only reaches your audience but lands you a little higher in search results. It is known that Google tends to give weight to keywords in the domain name. That is why you must find out and use the right keyword or keyword combination that best describes your business/website. Let’s say that you wish to create a web design studio site. First thing will be to check for keywords describing that business. Write down key words and phrases that you think your potential clients can associate you with when Googling. Now you want to make sure that the keywords you are optimizing for are a part of the search terms that people actually use when trying to find your product/service on the web. We suggest using the Google’s Search Volume tool - it helps you find out how often those keywords are in fact used in searches.

For example you can check the related key words for “webdesign” here.

Using the Google’s Search Volume tool you can try out different words or phrases connected with your business in order to find out which are the preferred ones - the ones with the highest estimated search volume. What is best is that you can add search criteria by regions, too. If you are an American and wish to focus on the USA market, you can check out the level of interest towards the compared keywords in all states or you can choose only a number of states. So, on the one hand, you have the Totals that shows the result in a graph so that you can clearly see which word is most preferred by users in searches. On the other hand you have Regional Interest - you can check out the interest towards the chosen word by regions. You also have Top Searches where more keywords combinations are offered, again they are listed according to their search strength. And last but not least, you have Rising Searches: you get keyword suggestions  for your market and their estimated search volume. Be advised that you do not need to sign up in order to use this tool.

Play some time with the Google’s Search Volume tool  and we are sure you will enjoy choosing a successful domain name for your online project. This way you will guarantee yourself a well-established presence on the Web and you will know that your domain name works for your SEO.

You can also check the following online video presentation on Google’s Search Volume tool:

YouTube Direkt

Here are some more guidelines on choosing a SEO catchy domain name:

Avoid choosing hyphenated and multi-term domains like get-best-hosting-now.com (I just made this one up). Such domains have limited SEO value and lack credibility. So if you are planning to do serious business, we will recommend you to not name your website this way.

It is important that you opt for a .COM name whenever possible. There are two main reasons for that: users tend to think in terms of .com, and any other extension will be hard for them to remember; .com names tend to receive higher rankings in Search engines than websites using other extensions.