How to choose a domain name that reflects your brand and boosts your SEO

In fact, some people think that your URL is your biggest SEO hack and that it has huge potential. But SEO impact also has to be considered alongside: 

 

The other important factor to remember is that while it is possible to change URLs, once your business is established it becomes very hard to do so. All of which makes choosing a URL an even more important decision and one that can affect the future of your company. 

 

So, it’s a good idea to ask yourself two questions before you make your decision: 

There are lots of different business goals all working at the same time. You want to attract more customers, you want bigger revenue, you want to grow. A well-chosen domain can help you with all of this. But it is perhaps most relevant to growth. You might choose a domain name based on where you operate, for SEO purposes. So, for example, you might choose a URL such as www.basildonbiscuitcompany.bix. 

 

All well and good until you want to expand your company outside of the Basildon area. You don’t want to then have another site for www.dagenhambiscuitcompany.bix. So, you need to think about how best to leverage the SEO potential of your domain without causing yourself problems down the line if you grow. 

 

You might also need to think about the different areas of your business and how you can utilise domain names for these that tap into SEO potential. So, consider subdomains that feature the specific areas of your business. Try and get important keywords into your business domain as these will boost your SEO rankings. Area specific domains can work, but remember what we have said above in terms of not limiting future growth. 

You also need to be aware of the full anatomy of a domain name and how this can be leveraged across your whole site. Domains are not just the main URL but also consist of protocols, subdomain, top level domains and root domains. Once you have a better understanding of how a domain name works, you can start to build one that works across multiple levels and platforms. 

 

Also remember that the value of your domain gains more SEO worth as you start to gain in popularity. When you register your domain, you will be effectively starting at zero, as you will have no links or social sharing. It takes work in these areas to build SEO visibility, but if you have the good foundation of a strong domain, then this will make it a lot easier to achieve these goals. 

Every company needs to think about its brand and how this is presented to the public or consumers. You need to be trying to build your brand and establish your authority at all times. Your domain gives you an opportunity to do that. 

 

It might be possible to find an exact match domain, which is where the URL of your site is exactly the same as what someone might search for online. So, for example, you could go for www.thebestbasildonbiscuitmakers.bix. Which is what someone searching for biscuits in Basildon might search for. But you need to be aware that trying too hard for an exact match can look spammy, and it can present ease of use issues down the line. Which brings us nicely onto our next point. 

 

The second area we have to focus on is the ease of use for the consumer. You need a domain that is easy to remember, easy to spell, and ideally doesn’t feature any hyphens or numbers. Best case scenario is that a customer can easily recall your exact URL from a poster or advert. But if they can’t and they’re simply looking for you on a Google search, funny spellings, grammatical points and numbers can make your site URL hard to locate. 

 

Try to keep it short and sweet. And use a term or name that people can easily associate with your brand and the nature of your business. Sometimes the simplest names are the most effective. Just look at some of the most popular online brands and domains and you’ll see what we mean. 

 

You also need to consider whether your domain can be easily used for social media purposes. If it can’t, then you might have a bit of a problem on your hands. Using a social media handle that is as close as possible to your domain name is good for reinforcing your branding and makes it easier for social media users to find and interact with your brand. 

 

In order to make sure this is possible, it’s always worth doing a quick bit of social media research for your chosen domain ideas. The last thing you need is to find out later that your handle has already been taken or, worse, is being used for negative or unseemly purposes. Some handles and domains will also come with legal issues, such as copyright infringements and trademarking, so do some research in this area too. 

 

Choosing your domain name is not easy but it is very important. So, it’s worth taking the time to do some research or to work with a domain and SEO specialist to try and find a name that ticks all the above boxes. Get your domain name right and it can boost SEO, help build branding, and create a strong identity across multiple platforms. 

 

Here at it’seeze Web Design Watford we can help with seeking the right domain for your business. It is part of our support during the initial consultation process. We are here to help make the overall web design process easy. 

 

Want to work with a local Watford web design company who always puts the client first? Then please get in touch to learn more about the affordable website design services we can offer.