Anyone who wants to Online business from home starts, is faced with choosing the domain for their own website after the business idea has been found. Selecting an address from the multitude of possibilities that is relevant and successful in Google's ranking often proves challenging. Since the domain is a critical part of the marketing concept, founders should choose their website's name cleverly.
Mystery of Google ranking factors
By search engine optimization (SEO), experts mean setting up homepages and their content with the goal of appearing near the top of the search results of the Google search engine. Very few users enter a website's internet address directly into the browser's address bar. SEO therefore has high relevance, regardless of a domain's popularity. Founders should take this into account when they Buy a domain.
The company Google makes a great secret of the algorithm that determines the order of displayed search results, at least in part. Some of the over 200 different factors have been confirmed officially. Others remain secret, however, to prevent targeted manipulation of search results. Experts agree, however, that important criteria for ranking are the trustworthiness and the added value of a website's content.
Domain structure and options
A website's address consists of three components that affect search engine optimization to varying degrees:
- “www.”: The subdomain has no impact on SEO.
- Endings such as “.de” or “.com”: Google only distinguishes country codes with regard to relevance. A “.de” ending therefore receives a higher ranking in Germany than another country ending.
- Domain name: The actual name of the website is the main part of the address and has the greatest influence on SEO. A distinction is made between keyword domains, brand domains, and combinations.
Keyword domains
Keyword domains contain desired search terms in the name. If founders invest time in good and relevant content for the keyword on their own homepage, it will already be preferred in Google's ranking for that keyword. A keyword domain is therefore not strictly necessary. Google will even penalize a keyword domain alone if it lacks relevant added value for the keyword.
Using search terms in the website's name can make sense when there is little competition for the respective keyword. However, the desired keyword domain or similar names often already exist, making it difficult for founders to distinguish themselves from the competition with these domains.
Brand domains
With brand domains, owners use their brand or company name. These website names are particularly relevant to users because they are easier to remember due to their uniqueness. However, many hyphens, umlauts or numbers unnecessarily make error-free input more difficult. As part of the marketing concept, brand domains have a positive effect on image and corporate identity. Since brand names are not chosen arbitrarily, are authentic and distinctive, brand domains are in most cases the better option. As with keyword domains, it is advisable to check availability beforehand and any similarities to already taken domain names.
Use target-audience-oriented domains
A suitable domain name is an important factor for the long-term success of a project. Therefore a domain should not be selected solely from an SEO perspective, but from the user's point of view. It is important, for example, that the name is not too complicated. Once the domain name has been chosen, other aspects in the area of SEO become relevant. Successfully doing SEO, is not an easy task that can be done quickly, but definitely requires a lot of time and more than just the right domain name..
