Choosing Your Domain
jamie 28 / 06 / 2011, 12:19
SEO considerations begin with the domain, before any development work has even begun. In fact, it’s fair to say that the domain is the single most important factor when determining a site’s relevance to a given keyword, or at the very least it can give you a significant initial boost into the results. Why? Simply because if the domain contains the keyword, it’s a fairly high probability that the site has relevant content. Google knows this.
This is one the main reasons I managed to rank #1 for the search term “ipad board games” with http://ipadboardgames.org in less than 3 months since launching the site, despite starting out with only a small number of game reviews. Of course, without the incoming links, social indications and all the rest it couldn’t have done it either. It’s interesting to note that the .com version of this particular domain name is also listed on the first page of Google results, but at position number 10, and only has a single review. It’s fair to say the owner is trying to game the results without actually producing quality content and probably won’t be there for long.
So, assuming you’ve chosen a particular topic to focus on and done your keyword research, chances are you’ll need to play around a bit to find the perfect domain. Here are some helpful tips:
- Stick to .com or .org as they naturally tend to rank higher. Steer well clear of those worthless .cc domains, and don’t try to be all fancy / web 2.0 by making the TLD a part of your name, like blog.gr or blog.it
- Keep it as short as possible
- Add a related word at the start or end of the domain if you need to.
- All 1 and 2 english word combinations have been taken
- Try checking for expired domains for some real gems.
Let me give you an example – let’s say you have a passion for gardening, and want to start a “gardening tips” blog. Obviously, gardeningtips.com is going to be taken, I won’t even bother to check. But how about:
- greengardeningtips.com
- mygardeningtips.com
- gardeningtipsforyou.com
- greenfingersgardeningtips.com
All would give you a headstart in the results, and you may find yourself ranking immediately without much effort. Make sure you DO put in the effort pretty soon though, for your domain will quickly be deranked if users start blocking your site as worthless. Remember, an exact match domain is a great start, but it’s only one of many factors.
Once you’ve decided on your domain, I’d suggest GoDaddy for your domain purchase they always have tons of deals and special offers, so you can really get creative in your domain choices without breaking the bank.
