A domain name consists of two parts. For example, www.effectivemarketingdesign.com: the website name is effectivemarketingdesign, and the domain name extension is .com.
All domain names are registered with ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). It is a centralized database with addresses, and it determines the availability or inaccessibility of the domain name extension for a website owner.
Choosing a domain name for your new website or online store is an important stage, which in the future can have a significant impact on the effectiveness of your online presence and business in general. Therefore, you should take this stage as seriously as possible and know by what criteria you need to choose a domain for a website.
What is the role of a domain in your future website promotion?
The ranking (position) of a website in search results is influenced by many different factors such as its structure, content, links, level of optimization, and, of course, the domain name. Try to search "web design miami" and on the top of the first page results, under paid ads you will most likely see a website that has some part of this query in its name. For example, web design Miami or web-design-Miami.
That happens because the search engine, first of all, shows its user those sites that most closely match their request. Therefore, if the domain name contains at least one of the keywords, then it will be easier for a potential client to find such a website.
If your site or online store does not have the best optimization and content, a domain name containing a keyword will help you bring it a few lines higher in the search results. However, you should not completely rely on your domain name and relax. You need to strive to ensure that your website is competently optimized and has enough content. The domain name, in this case, is just a bonus element.
The use of keywords in a domain name is most suitable for small businesses that are just starting to take their first steps in the Internet space. For example, if you have a nail salon, you can use a keyword in the title.
However, this approach will not work for a business that is not going to focus on just one type of product or service. For example, if shortly and nails salon plans to provide more beauty services, such as massage, it would be more correct to come up with a full name for such a business.
And one more piece of advice. Do not use long keywords in your domain name. The search engine will regard this as SPAM and exclude the website from the search results. Remember: better to have no more than two words per domain.
Businesses that actively promote their brand use the company's name in the domain name. The search engine will associate the brand with certain search queries, and in the future, such a company will have an advantage in terms of brand queries.
The domain name containing the brand name is ranked well by the search engine.
Domain name structure
A domain name consists of several words separated by periods. The name of our site www.effectivemarketingdesign.com refers to a second-level domain. The same domains, which consist of three or four words, refer to the third and fourth levels, respectively. Can I use more than four words? Yes, of course. But it is very undesirable because such a domain looks too long and inconvenient. An example in our case would be www.blog.effectivemarketingdesign.com
How the domain zone affects a website promotion? What are the domain zones, and how to select one?
In the domain name effectivemarketingdesign.com ".com" is a domain zone belonging to the category of linguistic-territorial names. Other examples are .au .uk .ru - usually such names consist of two letters. Such domain zones indicate that the site covers residents of one specific country. RU (Russia), UK (Great Britain), EU (Europe), etc.
In some countries, in order to register a domain name with an indication of a specific geographic zone, it is necessary to have a trademark of the same name.
There is also a second category of domain names, themed. Such domain zones consist of three letters and indicate that the website belongs to a specific category or topic. The .net domain zone indicates that the site belongs to the category of telecommunications companies, .com is an international domain for general topics, the .edu zone indicates that the company is associated with education, .gov indicates that the website belongs to an official government entity.
Which domain zone is better to choose? Tips for choosing
Before choosing a domain zone for your site, define:
Which region are you planning to provide your service in?
Do you plan to expand in the near future, or will you initially work in only one country?
What topic does your website relate to?
To choose the right domain for your website, follow our recommendations.
Easy to remember the name. Think of Amazon. Its name is not tied to what the company does but it is very successful and recognizable. It's worth brainstorming. And also, remember no more than 63 characters in one domain name!
The domain must be unique so that users do not confuse you with another company that has the same name.
Short words and phrases. The maximum number of words recommended in a domain is two.
Get a domain for a longer period. The minimum term for a domain name is usually at least one year. Often this time is enough for a business to spin up or make a decision to close it. If you are confident in your abilities, feel free to take a domain for a couple of years. This is, first of all, good from the SEO point of view, because search robots perceive such domains as more serious and developing and give them preference in the search results. And secondly, this way, you increase your chances that the domain will definitely not be redeemed by other potential owners after a year.
Use of numbers in a domain name only if they have a meaning. The domain webdesign305 for a website design agency may indicate that it provides services in Florida.
Using a hyphen is also possible. Consider the fact that the search robot perceives this character as a space between two words. Therefore, use a hyphen if the brand name consists of two words website-design
The domain name should be such that even if the company changes its activities or adds new product groups, you would not need to re-register it. A domain name that contains a unique name for your company is ideal. Then there will be no problems in case of any changes.