Your domain affects your SEO (Search engine optimization) in many ways. How and why that is, is what we will study in this article. But first, let’s try to build some understanding about names before we dive into SEO.

What is a domain name?

When you click a site it usually displays its name on the top left corner. That is the site name or domain name. That name shows the identity and purpose of that site. E.g. if you visit a site name “foodies” you will know it’s related to food in some way.

Why names matter anyway?

Have you ever been attracted to a brand or website because the name was too catchy? If so then you are not alone. According to a 2015 research by Trendera in the US, 75% of females and 74% of males are willing to pay more for a product that has a brand name they trust and like. While the trust part depends on performance the brand name is something you can easily use in your favour.

If the brand name is unappealing then you can lose customers who might otherwise be interested in your products. So name matters!!!

Ways your SEO gets affected by your domain name

So finally, after the long wait let’s see the role of a domain name in your SEO game.

1.     It should be easy to memorize

Many people convey their thoughts about a brand through word of mouth. If you want to take advantage of verbal marketing then your domain or site name should be easy to pronounce, type, and understand. Adding numbers and non-standard characters can make the name seem hard to read.

If it’s hard to read then the customer might lose interest in the site and may even leave soon. You don’t want that!!! Not at all.

So keep the name under 15 characters not too long and not too hard. Make it easy for customers and they will value your site more. Ease is everything even for Google!!

2.     The domain name and PPC

PPC (pay-per-click) is positively affected by domain names. PPC are basically you paying per click on your site ad. You display the ad to get in customers and you pay the service per click. The customer will more likely click if he found the product keyword in the domain name.

Another thing to consider is the location. If your domain name includes the location then it will appear to people from that location and thus lead to more clicks. Don’t stuff keywords for this to work but you can use keywords wisely to get better PPC results.

Try to find a balance between the two and you will get the best of both worlds.

3.     It should relate to your business

Your domain name should indicate your business. You can do that by adding keywords related to your brand but don’t stuff keywords. If you do so your domain name would lose its value. Why? That’s because it can indicate that you are offering low-quality content.

Such an association can lead to negative bias on the part of search engines. It also looks pretty odd and made up. But don’t think that keywords are all bad. You can add keywords but too much of anything can look unnatural.

4.     Avoid hyphens

Let’s take an example. Imagine a brand named “Cash-clothing”, an online garment store. If you tell someone about it, they won’t necessarily remember the hyphen in the middle. Hyphens are hard to remember and hard to read. They can also appear spammy.

These are not good signs and your SEO will get badly affected. Thus it’s best practice to not use many and even not use any hyphens at all.

5.     Keep it simple

This point might appear obvious and it really is. Keeping your domain name, easy to read, speak, understand and easy to relate to your business can have astonishing effects. Don’t complicate the name as the customer has so many options that one mistake on your part can prove fatal.

Don’t choose long domain names as they can be confusing and hard to remember. Try to keep it to the point but good enough to be given time by the viewers!!!

Conclusion

In this article, we went through 5 ways through which domain name affects SEO. You need to keep in mind that the more convenient the name is for the customer, the easier and simple it is, the less complicated it is, the better are the results and the better will be your SEO.

SEO depends on many factors. Google is always trying to bring the best content forward. Your job is to prove yourself through quality. Yet, the first step to it is the name that represents you and your work. Give it time and it will bring in traffic!!