How to use Domain Name Strategy to Benefit SEO Programs 

Considering recent expansion of domain names and worldwide extensions, the value of domain names will only continue to increase. This makes the naming strategy crucial for website visibility and effectiveness. Domain Name Strategy can help streamline SEO efforts as well.
Mark Jackson, columnist at Search Engine Watch, authority on Search Engine Marketing explains, “What does this mean for today’s domain name investors? It means that you need to become a better positioned company. Choose the right domain name and you may benefit from better search engine rankings.”

Here are tips on how domain name strategy benefits an SEO program:

1. Use the wayback machine
You will be able to research all of your associated domain names at this website:
http://www.archive.org. Perform searches using quotation marks around your name as well –
see what results appear in the search engine rankings. If you are dealing with an existing
domain name, perform a Google search to see if the domain name is indexed there.

2. Pay attention to keywords
Use related keywords/phrases for extensions. For instance, if your domain name is
coffeecups.com, you would want to repeat the keyword “coffee cups” when you are referring
to other pages: coffeecups.com/coffeecup-holder. Dashes may also be helpful for extensions;
break up a URL so that the user can differentiate products or services.

3. Stick with .com
If you are dealing with a trademark as a domain name, pick .com, .net, or .org. The .com
extension is a top level domain name (TLD) and is regarded as being the most trustworthy.
The goal is for users to remember your name. You want to generate exponential awareness
and recognition.

4. Think about exit strategy
If you are a small business, or you are planning to sell your company within a few years,
carefully consider your domain name. If you decided to choose www.yourfullname.com,
chances are that the domain will not be easy to transfer over to another business if you are
thinking about exiting. You will save time in the future if you pay attention to these factors
early in the game.

5. Think local and global
If your business is in a specific city or region, you want to consider adding that keyword into
your domain name. For example, if you operate in Chicago, you can have a domain name
such as coffeecupschicago.com. If your business is global, you may want to consider buying
the rights to international domain extensions such as .uk (United Kingdom) and .mx (Mexico).
Think about your future goals if you expect to be found in international results pages.

6. Use 301 redirects
Pick a simple domain name. If you have multiple domain names, use one that you want all the
existing domains to point to. The purpose of the redirects is to prevent duplicate content on
pages. If you keep multiple domain names, search engines recognize these domains as
separate sites; this just creates confusion.