Proven Reasons Why The Domain Name is Important for SEO and Marketing Strategies

 

Imagine setting up a website that you pour hundreds upon hundreds of work hours into, as well as your hard-earned money and some outsourced graphic design work.

Then imagine yourself hacking through a cobweb of code, HTML, and the latest Google update that’s pitched your (and everybody else’s) SEO bandwagon quite topsy-turvy.

[Source: Pixabay]

Now, imagine going through all of that only to find that your website has been visited by four people in the last month. Worse still, three of them wouldn’t pass that ‘Are you a robot?’ traffic lights thing on Google.

Could it be that this is because your domain name is ‘th12345joesplace.org’?

Bad domain names can throw a word salad-laden spanner in the works of your newly-established website like nothing else.

This is why any SEO specialist firm in the world, from Japan to some of the best Houston SEO companies will pay close attention to your domain nomenclatural efforts if you hire them. 

In this article, we’re going to talk about domain names and why they are absolutely crucial for giving your online business a sound footing on which you can build your brand.

Without further ado, here’s the deal.

What Is a Domain Name in the First Place?

…

speedofart.com

therapistinabox.com

whorepresents.com

penisland.com

…

 

And our personal favorite:

powergenitalia.com

The first one’s ‘speed of art’, then ‘therapist in a box’, ‘who represents’, ‘pen island’, and of course - ‘PowerGen Italia’ - an Italian company selling specialized batteries.

A series of unfortunate oversights or intentional marketing ploys - it’s up to you to decide.

That said, as a young business owner, it may be wise not to try to attract an audience with a cheeky or offensive name just yet.

The thing is, a domain name will be the first thing that a new visitor will learn of your business.

Unless they’re sent a link to one of the pages on your website by a friend, let’s say, chances are - they are going to find your website precisely by your domain name.

Proven Reasons Why The Domain Name is Important for SEO and Marketing Strategies

[Source: Pixabay]

 

Your website’s domain name is, in a way, the first impression an Internet user is going to have of your website.

So, cheeky works at times, but it’s better to go with reliable.

A name such as ‘whorepresents’ may be funny to some, but many would ignore it and think of it as a porn site before they even visit it.

The important thing to pay attention to with domain names is that they cannot be changed once you’ve chosen them. This is why you need to be extra careful to pick one that you will be happy with in years to come.

Ways in Which a Strong Domain Name Helps with SEO and Marketing Strategies

Who knew what Google would turn into at its very inception?

A study from some ten years ago showed that by the end of 2012, there were over 250 million domain names registered across the world.

For 2026, the number is projected to surpass well over 550 million.

Just as is the case with YouTube and many other now famous media sites and web browsers, the folks who had the foresight to make an account with a memorable name can now boast of it at least - or market it and even sell it for good money at best.

The domain name for your website works in a similar way.

Now, many of the good ones are already taken, but this shouldn’t discourage you from mustering some brain waves to come up with a domain name that will stand firm against the tooth of time.

If you’re not sure how to do this yourself, you can always hire the services of an SEO agency.

The great thing about these is that in today’s Internet-based world of networking, you can opt for one of the best Houston SEO companies, or the best SEO specialist on Upwork. It’s your call.

Of course, a good domain name alone won’t make for an awesome website, but it can certainly attract an audience - which is a fantastic start toward building a hefty online presence. 

Below, we’ll list some of the ways a strong domain name can massively benefit your website - especially in the context of marketing strategies and SEO.

It Strengthens Your Brand

… or, it can even help you create one from scratch.

Proven Reasons Why The Domain Name is Important for SEO and Marketing Strategies

Photo by Myriam Jessier on Unsplash

 

As we already mentioned above, your domain name is, in a way, a monolith online, because it will be there for years and you won’t have to worry about it ever getting hijacked.

This is what makes coming up with a cool and memorable one so important for your brand.

The goal is to keep the name as short as possible, but for it to still be descriptive enough for your audience to remember you easily.

Apple.com would be the prime example of this principle working like a charm.

Google.com, of course, would be another great example - this time with an interesting twist.

 

As you probably already know, the word Google doesn’t mean anything other than the fact that it’s based on the made-up word ‘googol’. This word is used to describe an unfathomably large number - 10 to the 100th power, and it was made up by a nephew of a famous mathematician, Edward Kasner, funnily enough.

Anyway, the twist we mentioned is that the name Google was a way to propel the brand itself, even though the general public wasn’t even sure what it meant.

It’s easy to pronounce, looks kind of fun, and it’s definitely unique.

Famously, Gwyneth Paltrow named her website ‘Goop’ and is now selling Enchanted Island Conditioner at $38 a bottle.

Likewise, you can make a short and memorable name and then go on to sell your product or service - that hopefully has fewer incantations and more substance to it.

It Helps Your Brand Gain Local Recognition

… but only if you pay attention to include the region where you are in the domain name.

Google.com does work like a charm because the company is strong enough to be easily recognizable internationally.

Now, this does not mean that you need to include your street address and social security number in your domain name.

Let’s say you want to rank your business as one of the best Houston SEO companies - you’d try to mention the keywords ‘Houston’ and ‘SEO’ in the domain name. 

That said, if you’re an owner of a small business, having your location in your domain name can be a great marketing move right off the bat.

Having spent no money on marketing, simply by including your location in your domain name, you can already improve your standing on Google.

The great thing about this move, too, is that scaling up is not a problem. Let’s say your website’s been doing well - you can get a new website with a domain name that would cover the new regions you’ve ‘conquered’ with your business.

An SEO agency can always help with this.

Whether it’s one of the best Houston SEO agencies, or an SEO-related business elsewhere in the world - they will all know the importance of a solid domain name.

It Helps with SEO and Google Ranking

The fact that Google will pick up on your domain name location and rank you accordingly is not just a glitch in the Matrix.

The engineers at Google are well-known for constantly tweaking their search engine so that it delivers the most suitable search results to their visitors.

For this reason, other than optimizing your search engine standing with your location, introducing other keywords to your domain name can also give you an advantage over your competition.

There are no restrictions to using keywords in your domain name, so you can use this to your advantage.

Running an SEO agency in Texas, you may look to include a phrase indicating that you’re one of the best Houston SEO companies around.

It Keeps Your Brand Memorable

Initially, if you don’t have a fully-developed business yet, you can use your domain name to push your brand forth and make it more popular.

After a while, if you’ve picked a strong domain name, you can start experiencing a bit of a positive pendulum effect, so to speak.

The thing is, as your online presence becomes bigger and more well-recognized, your domain name and your website will start supporting your offline brand (if you do have an offline component to your business) and even drive more traffic toward it.

You can even get to that point where your offline business may be struggling, but the strong online presence you’ve set up, thanks partly to the domain name, still keeps everything afloat.

It Helps You Express Precisely the Purpose of Your Online Presence

You probably know that there are a couple of different extensions when it comes to domain names.

Some of the most popular ones would be:

.com - … initially intended for commercial business websites, or any websites with the purpose of making money,

.org - … dedicated to various organizations, mostly non-profit ones, such as Wikipedia.org,

.net - … where ‘net’ stands for ‘networking’ - used for websites dedicated to sharing data, gaming, and similar pursuits,

.edu - … used for education-related websites.

Initially, Google had this idea of using .com for commerce. Nowadays though, you can use any of the other domain extensions to set up websites, blogs, or online shops where you can earn money.

Of course, picking a particular extension will still give your visitors an idea of what your website is like, so it may help you market yourself to your target audience in a more precise way.

A New Domain Name Doesn’t Mean a Better Domain Name

When it comes to how domain names are evaluated on Google, their age is just a number.

So, buying a brand new domain name doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have a better shot at attracting an online audience.

Moreover, the opposite is true - an older, well-established domain name will have way more traction among the users than a newly-concocted one.

So, if you happen to have in your legal possession a domain name that’s old and that you like, keeping it in your assets (even if it’s not in use currently) might be a good idea.

There are many marketers nowadays that would give their right arm for a good domain name, so if you happen to have one that’s linked to a crummy website - stick with it.

A strong domain name is valuable as it can’t be changed, whereas a faulty website can be tweaked and refurbished.

Conclusion

All in all, whether you’re the owner of an ambitious online business that provides SEO services, or you’re selling handmade soap via your .org online store - your domain name matters.

The better you manage to word it, the stronger impression you will leave on your potential buyers.

Also, a domain name that rolls off the tongue will drive new traffic towards your web premises. Once you have that, making these visitors stay is a matter of setting up a decent website that will honor the appeal of the domain name in an appropriate way.

Author bio

Travis Dillard is a business consultant and an organizational psychologist based in Arlington, Texas. Passionate about marketing, social networks, and business in general. In his spare time, he writes a lot about new business strategies and digital marketing for DigitalStrategyOne.