registering domain names Archives

Your domain name is your name that is uniquely associated with your website, brand, and company. Choosing a name to define your business is essential and it is good to keep in mind how that name and branding will be perceived both in a word-of-mouth and digital sense. Within the digital space, search engine optimization (SEO) is a tool used to get your website/URL to appear at the top of search engine results pages. There are many complicated and technical layers to SEO and how to strategize using it to benefit your business’s marketing strategy.

It is good to keep in mind that there are some cases where choosing specific keywords to be within your domain name can affect your SEO ranking. While SEO is always evolving and could change in the future, it does not hurt to see if the name you have in mind for your domain name has strong keywords that could improve your chances of appearing higher in search results. Within this guide, we will go over how SEO can impact your domain name so you can be more strategic when thinking about how to market your domain name.

How Important Is Keyword Use in Domain Names?

SEO is ever-evolving, and search terms or keywords that were once popular can eventually lose popularity over time. Some websites may have exact match domains, meaning that their domain is an exact match to a specific keyword search term. If you try to use an exact match domain such as foodforsale.com to promote something like food or restaurant business, you could be restricting your business to that specific niche.

While having those keywords can benefit your domain in appearing in search results, it can also hinder any expansion or growth for your business or company. Additionally, having a name as generic as possible can turn people away from clicking on your website. This mainly has to do with the fact that there are a lot of scams and spam websites out there, so having some personalized branding is a good tactic to showcase your business as trustworthy.

HigherVisibility did a study to showcase if keyword-focused domains performed better than business name-related keywords, their results demonstrated that it varies heavily depending on what industry your business is in. While they say the proper selection of keywords for your webpage addresses remains an important part of tailoring your site for success with search engines as well as users, your website should not have to rely on keywords if your brand name is too unique.

How to Create an SEO-Friendly Domain Name

SEO involvement within marketing strategies

While the main advice is to keep your website name short and memorable, it is good to research potential domain names, keywords, and competitors to see how your potential domain name compares. For example, if you are in the finance industry, words like ‘debt’ or ‘credit’ are strong keywords to have within your domain name.

Although if you choose not to have those specific keywords within your domain name, that does not mean you cannot rank for them. If your website and marketing team focus on SEO you can rank for those keywords via blogs, website copy, and even social media can help boost your SEO rankings.

One thing to keep in mind when choosing a domain name is that you can have a different top level domain name than .com. As the internet continues to grow and more and more domains are registered each day, it makes it difficult to find the name you want under the .com top level domain name. However, there are thousands of unique top level domains to choose from that can assist you in personalizing your branding. .Vegas is an example of this, since having a .Vegas top level domain can add the already established Las Vegas branding to your website.

People assume that a .com is the only option, but SEO does not discriminate against top level domain extensions, and having a .Vegas will not hurt your SEO ranking results any less or more than if you were to own a .com domain.

How to Improve Your Domain Name SEO Ranking

Search Engine Optimization on generic search engine page

If you already have registered a domain name, but want to improve your SEO ranking, you can focus your efforts on creating valuable content on your website that highlights and showcases those SEO keywords to boost your ranking. Generating backlinks, which are links from other websites to yours can also help with not only your SEO ranking but your credibility as well. Each time another website uses a backlink to your domain name/website it is telling search engine results that you are in fact a trustworthy and relevant source to users.

You can get backlinks using referral sources or even broken links, but one of the main ways to get backlinks is to generate informative and useful resources that people want to link to. There is a variety of content you can publish to your website to gain SEO rankings, from blogs, videos, infographics, statistics, and more. There is something for everyone no matter your industry to showcase to clients, customers, and even competitor businesses.

Should I Focus on Finding an SEO Keyword Centric Name?

The short answer to this is: It depends on you and your business. The longer answer is, if SEO is a major priority to your business and you want to incorporate it into your branding then yes, you should look into developing a keyword-centric domain name. However, if your business just wants to create a unique name that is an open book for different marketing, branding, or even product offerings then no an SEO domain is not detrimental to your business ranking higher in search results.

Ultimately, when choosing a domain name it comes down to where you want to align your branding and how memorable of a name can you choose for customers to remember. This is one of the many reasons why .Vegas offers the ability to give domain names extra flair to websites that want to align themselves with Las Vegas branding.

Interested in having a .Vegas for yourself? Connect with us today and turn on the excitement of being a part of the Las Vegas branding. Have questions or need assistance? Contact us at support@the.vegas and we will gladly assist you with any questions, comments, or concerns.

Domain names are important to establish your online presence with a website that fits your business. Buying and registering a domain name does not have to be complicated, but there can be some challenges when it comes to deciding what is the best choice to name your domain and what if that domain name is already taken.

There are a bunch of smaller moving parts when it comes to purchasing and registering a domain name, but in this guide, we will show you a variety of possibilities so you and your business can be successful in starting your online presence.

How Can I Buy a Domain Name?

Unfortunately, buying a domain name isn’t as easy as ordering from Amazon, mainly because people might have already registered a domain name that you want. Take some time in researching keywords related to your company or business and keep a list of potential favorites, then search for your desired name to see if it is available.

If the exact name you want is already registered, websites like GoDaddy are good at suggesting similar names that are available. However, if there is a name you absolutely want and it is already registered, there are some possibilities for obtaining it. Through searching, you might find that the domain name you want is available via a domain aftermarket. This is a place in which you can bid on already registered domain names. If it is not available on the domain aftermarket, then your only option is to reach out to the current domain owner and make them an offer.

You can also search for domains that are about to expire, websites like Flippa, eBay, and GoDaddy auction off expired domain names. There are some limitations when it comes to domain names, mainly copyright limitations. If someone registers a website with your company name and you can prove you are the legal copyright owner to that brand name, then there are steps and rules in place to make sure if someone else has your copyrighted name registered, that it can be released back into its copyright owner’s hands.

How Can I Make My Domain Stand Out Amongst Competitors?

web browser before domain name is typed in.

It is important for a business to be unique from its competitors and having a unique domain name can assure of this. One of the best things to keep in mind when registering a domain name is to have something that is simple and easy to remember. You want your future clients to be able to recall your brand name, so try not to make a name that is overtly complex. The shorter you can make it, the better! Short, simple, and sweet always is the winner when it comes to making a name people can recall.

Another way you can stand out is if you look beyond the common .com, especially since the average length of a .com is 15 characters. The internet has grown to have many more domain extensions that can stand out from the typical .com that has been around since 1985. Plus, there are a lot of fun domain extensions that can add more to your branding and marketing.

From fun extensions like .cat to .Vegas, there is something out there for everyone. Who wouldn’t want to add the iconic Las Vegas branding to your domain name? There are many ways a domain name can help with branding or marketing, but it ultimately comes down to what works best for your company or business.

Checking Domain History

If you are registering a domain name that has been previously registered, it may be a smart idea to check the history of that domain. Sometimes domain names may be associated with a shady history, and it can affect your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) results.

Use internet archives to ensure that your domain does not have any negative history that Google could penalize you for. This is something to be conscious of if you’re bidding on domain aftermarkets because it’s safer to register a brand-new domain than an older one that has a bad history.

How Will My Domain Name Affect My SEO Rank?

Having a good and keyword-rich domain name can highly impact your SEO Ranking. A domain name isn’t supposed to directly impact SEO Ranking, but if your domain name is short and eye-catching enough, then more people are likely to click on it and the users’ choices impact a website’s ranking.

Do not forget having keyword-rich content within your website will also help it rank higher but having a user-friendly domain name will most likely garner more clicks and traffic to your site. So, the previous tips still apply, keep it short, simple, keyword-friendly, and unique enough to make people want to click on your link.

Using Domain Names to Grow My Business

Business man happy with registering new domain name on laptop

If you already have an established business, but maybe want to grow or expand upon it, then you most certainly can keep that relevant in your domain name. If you for instance own a candy store but want to expand into selling pastries, you could keep your domain name broader than a name such as tastysweets.com.

The best part of registering a domain name is having creative liberties and being in control of your branding. There are thousands of unique combinations out there that can stand out amongst the crowd, but it is up to you to find one you want to register and identify with.

.Vegas is here to be a domain extension that adds the exciting branding of Las Vegas to your domain name. Interested in having a .Vegas for yourself? Connect with us today and turn on the excitement of being a part of the Las Vegas branding. Have questions or need assistance? Contact us at support@the.vegas and we will gladly assist you with any questions, comments, or concerns.

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Using SEO Strategy When Picking a Domain Name