Does your business have a strong domain name value?
If you run a business today, then you need to make sure that you are easy to spot for your customers. What do you do when you are looking for a product or service that you require?
Do you visit a search engine, enter a query, and take a look at the results? If so, there is a good chance that your target market is doing the same thing. Therefore, you have to make sure that you are able to reach them.
That is where search engine optimization is important. There are a lot of factors that will play a role in your SEO campaign.
One of the factors that are often overlooked is the utilization of SEO new domain extensions.
Table of Contents
What is a domain extension and why is this important?
The Importance of Strong Domain Name Value
If you are wondering what your domain name is, this is the name of your website. This is what people are going to see when they navigate to your website and are looking for results.
Of course, you have to pick your domain name carefully. You should pick a name that is relevant to the products and services that you provide.
This is important for not only your customers but search engines as well. Therefore, make it a short and memorable strong domain name.
You want search engines to be able to easily figure out what your business does, what it sells, and why it is important.
If you do not choose the right domain name, you could end up getting punished in the search results. In addition, you also need to think about your domain name extension.
Your Domain Extension Is a Reflection of the Quality of Your Website
The job of the search engine is to present the most relevant results to the needs of its user. Just as you are trying to meet the demands of your consumers with the product and services that you provide, search engines are trying to do the same thing.
Therefore, they are going to place more relevant results at the top of the list.
Your domain extension is a reflection of the quality of your website. For example, if you pick an obscure domain extension, search engines are going to believe that your website is not as relevant to the needs of its user because your website is not an authority in the field.
As a result, you should try to target high-quality domain name value extensions like .com, .net or .org along with your strong domain name.
What About Country Extensions?
There is a chance that if you have ever visited International websites, you have seen some unusual domain name extensions. It is true that these extensions can provide some advantages they are trying to target a local user base.
At the same time, you probably do not want to pigeonhole your website by tying it to a country.
Therefore, these country extensions are not necessarily the best option for you or a website.
After Finding the Right Extension, Select the Right Hosting Service
You also have to tie your domain name to a strong hosting service. Remember that your goal is to provide a website that is most relevant to the needs of your users.
If you do not pick a strong hosting service, then your website might take a long time to load.
As a result, your users are going to get frustrated and may decide to go somewhere else. If that is the case, this is going to increase something down as your bounce rate.
You don’t want this to happen because search engines are going to see that your bounce rate is high, and will punish your website by dropping it in the search results rankings.
Therefore, pick a solid hosting service to take care of your website. You want to be sure you can contact tech service 24/7 if your website ever goes down.
When Inspire To Thrive first came online, I had a 3rd party provider and the site went down for several days. Once I went with a big company like Hostgator I could contact support and have any issues fixed quickly.
Today I use SiteGround as the hosting needed more space and speed than Hostgator could offer. Always think ahead as your blog or website will grow in time.
Buy enough space in the beginning so you don’t have to struggle later switching your hosting provider.
Do Not Overlook the Importance of a Strong Domain Name Extension
There are a lot of factors that you need to consider if you are trying to operate a strong website. One of the most often overlooked factors is the importance of a domain name extension.
Pick a strong domain name extension and set yourself apart from the competition in your industry.
Have you ever used a domain name extension other than .com? I’d love to know more in the comments below.
FAQ: Strong Domain Name Value: Importance of Choosing One
Why does a strong domain name matter?
A strong domain name builds credibility and trust. It makes your business look professional and helps customers remember you.
How can a name affect my brand?
Your domain name is often the first impression. A good one sticks in customers’ minds and aligns with your brand identity.
What makes a domain name “strong”?
A strong domain name is short, easy to spell, and includes keywords relevant to your business. It should be unique and memorable.
Does my domain name impact SEO?
Yes, a relevant domain name can improve your search engine ranking. It helps search engines understand what your site is about.
Should I use keywords in my domain name?
Including keywords can boost SEO but don’t overdo it. Keep it natural and avoid keyword stuffing.
Is it worth paying more for a premium name?
If it fits your brand perfectly and is easy to remember, a premium domain can be a good investment. It can drive more traffic and enhance credibility.
How can I protect my domain name?
Register domain variations and common misspellings. Use domain privacy protection to keep your contact info private.
Can changing my domain hurt my business?
Yes, changing your domain can confuse customers and affect SEO. If you must change it, use 301 redirects to guide users from the old domain to the new one.
Should my domain match my business name?
Ideally, yes. It makes it easier for customers to find you online. If your business name isn’t available, choose something close.
How do I choose a good name for your domain?
Brainstorm ideas, check availability, and get feedback. Make sure it’s easy to say and spell. Avoid numbers, hyphens, and slang.
She has 30+ years of experience in marketing/advertising with 12 years of experience in content marketing, social media, blogging, and SEO.
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Lisa, I have been through so many domain names searching for the One. I lost count but there easily could be over 30 of them, maybe 50, in my 15 year journey. Along with names I also experimented with extensions. So much to learn.
Some of the names would have worked very well if I had been ready to use them. Other domains were just plain out of alignment with where I was heading though I didn’t understand why at the time.
Kissing all those frogs was worth it as I finally found my .com princess. Finding a strong name to go with the strong extension though was a very long journey. So far, my new domain name is getting onto page one of non-Google search engines and getting clicks regularly for a very common search phrase in my niche. We’ll have to see how it goes with Google.
OTOH, one of my friends has a web site I help support which use an alternative extension. The .biz extension appears to rank just fine compared to competition in her regional niche. Neither clients nor Google appear to care. In her case the web site is clearly in a supporting role as she does (or did until COVID) a lot of in person word of mouth marketing as an Argentine Tango instructor. So maybe the extension isn’t as big of a deal for her.
That said, if she could justify the premium cost for the .com she would probably register it. The $3500 is a bit much all things considered.
Thanks,
Eric
Hi Eric, wow that many? I am sure you must have learned a lot along the way. What an experience! That’s great about your new domain Eric. Very interesting on the .biz but do people remember that easily? That would be my only concern. I guess after a while, they would. $3,500 is a lot for a domain, that’s for sure. But some go for even more today. Amazing. Thanks for your valuable input here Eric and make it a great day ahead.
My friend, at least pre-covid, physically dances with her market. Instead of relying on SEO to find new clients she dances with them. She also has a strong background as a successful entrepreneur offline and quite good at promotion. Word of mouth is powerful stuff.
When dancing at events out of town, if people wanted to know when her next event was being held she would get their email right then and there. Building an email list the old fashioned way! I transitioned her to Mailchimp so people can sign up on their phones via her web site themselves. Since 90% of the time she is usually directing other dancers to her website to sign up while talking with them in person or in front of a group any confusion is cleared up in the moment.
Talking with her yesterday about using a dot com extension she was more concerned people would have trouble remembering not to use .biz! If she relied on web traffic it might be more of a factor.
Hi Eric, Very interesting to hear about your friend. I believe email is here to stay and a great way to connect with others as it has been. If she always used Biz I guess people are used to it for sure! Excellent points Eric. Thank you for that. Have a great rest of the weekend.
What an important message Lisa. I think that some bloggers pick domain names based not on what people would search for but on their desires, their wants and random ideas flashing across their mind. But as for the extension, we seem to be far off from the days where most people assume to type in extensions other dot com. Even dot org and dot net are way off. Point blank; virtually every person looking for a website tries dot com then quits after that because who has the time and energy to guess all the other extensions beyond?
Do yourself a HUGE favor; buy a dot com extension to remove guess work and pick an easy to visualize domain name. I nabbed a good one because I learned a tough lesson with my last domain name; having a spammy word in the domain name killed any chance I had at driving Google traffic. Not so, with Blogging From Paradise. I even ranked #2 on organic results under Neil Patel for a blogging related keyword recently, with my new SEO-optimizing strategy.
Ryan
Hi Ryan, thank you. That is so true! That is how I picked my own name here many years ago. I agree the .com is the best or .org if it applies. Interesting on the spammy word in your domain, I never thought of that one Ryan, and today, who knows what Google may think which word is spammy. That’s great on your ranking for organic Ryan but no surprise. Thanks for your input on this one and make it a great day there in paradise! Loving your photos.
Hi Lisa,
If I knew then what I know now, I would have chosen a different name for my blog. But I don’t want to change anything because it will screw up my DA.
Indeed, one must be careful when deciding upon a domain name because it will reflect what you do.
And when it comes to hosting, spare no expense. You don’t want to have all your efforts shutting down. I used a managed hosting company because I don’t want to be bothered with things going wrong. When they do, they fix the problem immediately.
-Donna
Hi Donna, I oftentimes think the same Donna about my blog’s name. But you are correct it can mess up the DA and that would not be good if we were to change it now. I agree on the hosting for sure! I recently after almost a decade had to change mine because they could no longer handle the volume and depth of the website. So go big to start! Thanks for coming by and have a nice weekend Donna.