DIY SEO – Tip 2 – Domain Name Selection for SEO

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Select the Right Domain Name to Improve SEO

Select the right domain name – If you don’t already have a domain name (like www.mydomain.com) or have been considering changing it, selecting the right domain name can be very important. You’ll want your domain to reflect what your business does, and if at all possible include one or more of your targeted keywords.

For example, if you sell hand-painted china, www.hand-painted-china would be an excellent choice since you are trying to attact people who are looking for your product. Conversely, www.handpaintedchina.com would be okay, but less desirable, since most people who search for hand painted china will put spaces in between the words that are the target of their search. However, including hyphens in your domain name seems to be of diminishing importance as search engine technology evolves, so your primary consideration should be to use a domain name that is easy for your customers to remember that matches your branding.

The decision to change your domain name should not be taken lightly. If your website has been out there for several years already, changing your domain name can actually hurt you in the end because the search engines typically include an aging factor in their algorithms so that an older domain could well have better ranking power than a newer one.

Any domain name registration service will provide a lookup tool you can use to see which domain names are available.