There are two theories on what a
good domain name is for
the purpose of Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
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.
About the author:
Scott writes for
Goo
Theory, a site dedicated to revealing the secrets of search
engines.
