Search Engine Advice:
The importance of the web address for search engine rankings
Even if you have already purchased your web address, this article may be worth your time to read.
The first thing the search engine spiders see when they begin to crawl your website is the domain name. They will look at the text in the domain name and relate it to the text in the website. And they will give weight to that text in determining the website’s rank in their search engine. While this should not be the determining factor in choosing the domain name, it is a major one, and you should be aware of it. The search engines want to avoid sites that lure users in for one thing and expose them to something they didn't expect.
When the search engines see terms in the web address, they relate that to terms in the page titles and terms in the content of the website. And if those terms are related, they give them greater weight in the placement of the site on their search engines. When a website has the term “canopies” in their web address, in their page title, and in the text of the website, they are confident that the site is about canopies. Website hackers try to get visitors to their websites that don’t want to be there. One of the places they have been able to do this in the past is through fooling the search engines. And one of the ways they did this was to put terms not related to the website in their domain name.
The new websites domain name
If you have not started your website yet, then give the domain name some careful consideration. It should include terms related to the things it promotes. Businesses need all the help it can get with search engine rankings. In some cases the corporate name does not consist of terms related to the products or services being sold. Here is a piece of advice for them. Buy a domain name that relates to the items you promote and buy the domain name that consists of your company name, if it is available. You can begin your site with the domain name that will get you better rankings and then change the site name when your company becomes well established. And, something many companies don’t consider, you can also build two websites, one under each domain.
The established business's domain name
In the case of an established business, changing the domain name probably shouldn't be considered. While the name “Amazon.com” has little to do with books, most people who use the Internet know that this is a place you can purchase a book. So they type “Amazon” into the search engines to get to Amazon.com. But, even an established business needs to consider a few things if their corporate name is not universally recognized. Are they having problems getting rankings in the search engines? Do they have many competitors ahead of them in the search engine rankings? If so, is it costing them business? If the answers are yes, then they may want to consider a second website with a domain name related to their goods and services.
Huck Huckabee
Small Business Websites & Find Searchers |
