Choosing relevant domain name is very easy when you know how to go about it.
Here’s a few tips i use myself when i choose a domain that i want to be search engine friendly to help drive more traffic to my site.
Tips for Choosing a Domain Name
- Choose a name that includes at least one keyword that relates to the content on your site.
- Make sure your keyword is relevant to the overall topic of your site.
- Using a hiphen helps the search engines like Google to easily understand what your site is about.
- If you choose a domain name with a keyword in it without a hiphen this is still o.k, if you can still find one!
- Choosing a domain name with a hiphen may not be the easiest to remember so consider this if branding is important to you.
- It may be hard to find a domain name thats still available that includes a keyword related to your sites topic.
- If you can find a domain name with a relevant keyword you should buy it and use it.
Here’s more tips to get more traffic to your site
Should i choose a hiphenate domain?
Hyphenated website domains are not used very much by companies wanting to build thier brand and fair enough.
However, search engines do like these type of domains and i don’t believe that many people type in the domain name of a website or blog they are looking for. Most traffic comes from search engines, refering sites, social media and email marketing, not directly.
The largest percentage generally comes from Google.
You are far better off having a keyword in a hyphenated domain than not having a keyword in a non hyphenated domain name if you want great search engines results.
Website Domains can be highly valuable internet real estate, because, unlike a search engine, there is no middleman between you and the visitor.
Free Domains
Many web hosts provide a free domain when you choose a yearly package which is cheaper than choosing a monthly package.
Ranking and Linking Considerations
When you have decided on the best keyword to use in your website domain name, also consider adding your business name or brand name on the end or at the start of your domain name.
Why should you do this?
Because when someone links to you, they will have no option but to link to your site which has both your brand name and main keyword in it.
This is great anchor text and not only brings you more direct traffic from that link but also increases your search engine results and page rank.
Examples are:
- Seobook
- Problogger
- Flightcentre
These sites have a better chance of scoring more highly with the search engines and are easy to remember so they represent excellent prospects for increasing brand awareness.
Should i choose .com or .net?
Try and grab a .com website domain first if you can, if not take the .net. It won’t make any difference for your search results however you will find it harder to find a .com of your liking and may be more expensive.
On the other hand, .net should be cheaper and easier to find in respect of the name you have chosen. If its a personal blog with your name in the domain, try a .me as they are still fairly new and you should still be able to secure your own name at the moment hopefully.
Domain Samurai- Helps you find the best name and stops you from making critical mistakes. This plugin also helps you find keyword rich and aged domains which can give you significant benefits over your competition.
Would you consider using a hiphen in your website domain name if it increased the traffic to your wordpress site? You are welcome to leave your comments below.
Brad Dalton
@wpsitesdotnet
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