How the choice of domain affects the future of SEO

The domain is the most important element of the Internet identity. It should be simple and memorable so that a visitor to the site after some time can easily remember where they saw a particular product, service, or interesting article. It is important that the domain name is clearly associated with the nature of your site. But what does all this have to do with SEO promotion? Is there a correlation? Let's talk about it in this article, but first, for simplicity and clarity, let's define the key terminology:

• A top-level domain (TLD) is the highest-level domain in the domain name system hierarchy after the root domain. They are needed to indicate the territory of affiliation or describe the affiliation of the site to a particular subject. For example, in the address cabinet.tax.gov.ua top-level domain - .ua, which means a geographical reference to the territory of Ukraine. Top-level domains are several hundred, some free, and do not require validation, and to get the other one necessarily needs to be tested by a registrar of domain names or technical center.
• The second level domain follows immediately after the first level domain. For example, www.google.com.ua. Here we have marked the second-level domain in bold. They are registered within domain zones.
• A subdomain is a domain that is part of a higher-level domain. They are used to generate unique names for large services, sites, and organizations. Subdomains are used to structure site content, load balancing between servers, test a new engine, form subdomains of the site for each region, as well as to generate new branches during business development. Subdomains can look different, and here is a simple example: en.wikipedia.org. This is the standard Wikipedia subdomain.

Influence of the domain name on the search engine promotion

The strongest influence on the optimization has the age of the domain - which is why older domain names are more expensive than new ones. Older names are more trusted by search engines, and, accordingly, they are given priority in the ranking of results.

Those who have decided to create a website and plan to engage in its promotion must remember one simple rule: the domain must not be "younger" than a year. The old domain name is assigned PageRank - a value that characterizes the importance of a website. The more links to this site on the Internet, the more effective optimization will be.

The second important point in terms of SEO optimization is the presence of keywords in the domain. If the domain name contains a word that somehow describes the content of the site or indicates the nature of its activities, it will provide a positive SEO effect. The point is that search engines analyze domain addresses in the first place when generating results. And the chance to be at the top of the output will be higher for those sites whose address is more containing the necessary keys.

It is also important to choose the first level domain carefully, which determines the geographical origin of the site or its nature of activity. For example, it is recommended to use .net .org or .com for commercial sites. If your organization or online store is targeting a particular region, the domain should be appropriate - .ua, .it, .ca, .us, .de, etc. Just remember that in order to register some top-level domains (TLDs) certain conditions must be met. For example, to register a domain in Germany .de you will require a German postal address for the administrative contact. In Australia, an Australian business registration number is required. All in all, there are nuances everywhere.

Impact of subdomains on website promotion

Search engines perceive subdomains as separate sites, and they are all ranked separately. For this reason, if your main domain ranks well for the main key queries, it does not guarantee that subdomains will receive the same high positions in search results. Often it is even the opposite situation. This is why experienced SEO specialists advise using a different semantic core for subdomains.

Whereas external links to subdomains are good for the authority of your main site. The more actively other sites link to your domain and subdomains, the more effective promotion will be. Here are some simple rules to follow when working with subdomains:

• toponyms in the metadata and content should be different;
• it is desirable that the range or nature of services on the main domain and subdomains are different;
• the price and list of products should be different;
• contact information should be different - this will emphasize the partial autonomy of the subdomain and make it a little more unique.

Thus, the registration and promotion of subdomains will provoke additional difficulties, as will increase the amount of work for the promotion and will require more investment. But if you approach the matter correctly, the final authority of your brand will be higher than that of competitors who do not use subdomains. The key to success is a sound strategy.

Choosing a domain zone

Domain zones are classified into:

• national (.ua, .cn, .us, etc.);
• regional and subregional (.asia, .eu, .berlin, etc.)
• international (.biz, .com, .net, etc.)
• .museum, .cafe, .photography, .sale, etc.);
• restricted zones (.gov, .edu, etc.).

Ultimately, the question of choice rests on the nature of your site, organization, and enterprise. What you do, where your target audience lives, and what type of goods or services you promote, are you an international company, or are you still targeting a small region, a nation. The domain zone should correspond to the nature of your site, and the more accurate is this match, the better – both in terms of SEO promotion and from the standpoint of branding.

The best age of the domain for promotion

As we noted earlier, search engines have a preference for older domains, other things being equal, they will always be at the top of the results. For this reason, it is recommended to choose domains that are between 1 and 3 years old. The more years the domain is, the higher the chance of getting into the top of the regional ranking.

Conclusion

More about how the domain name affects the ranking, you can tell the specialists of our company. Contact us if you need quality and fast hosting for your site. Good luck!