10. Do consider registering a domain name that includes your keywords.
It’s nice to have your business name as your domain—and there’s a lot to be said for branding—but if you don’t want to wait years until you’ve become the next Coca-Cola, you might want to consider purchasing a domain name that contains some keywords. Some search engines seem to rank pages higher when their content matches the domain name. Choose domain names with keywords separated by hyphens (www.your-keyword-name.com) so each word is read by the engines. You can also get some of this benefit by naming your pages with the keywords (www.yourdomain.com/keyword_here.htm).
Be careful how you use these domains so you don't spam the engines. Submitting multiple domains that resolve to the same content will look like you've "mirrored" your site, which is a no-no. If you have domains for your business name as well as for your keywords, with both "pointing" to the same content, you might try submitting the keyword domain name and using the business name domain only for your print materials. You might also want to optimize a set of pages for your keyword and have the keyword domain resolve to that smaller site. With separate sets of content for each domain, you should be able to submit both domains without being considered a “spammer.”
Another reason to use domain names with keywords is that all of your backlinks will contain your keywords. As mentioned earlier, when you’re linking between your pages, you’ll want to use the keyword phrases for the linked page in the actual text of the link. (Search engines like seeing that other pages think you’re relevant for those terms, too.) While you have complete control over the link text of links between your own pages, this is harder to control when you’re requesting a link from another site. If your keywords are in your domain name, then anyone linking to your site is using those words in their link.
Thanks for reading our Top Ten Dos for Top Search Engine Rankings. If you have any specific questions or comments, or are interested in the SEO services at Graham-Caswell Design, please contact us at info@graham-caswell.com.
Please stay tuned for the next part of our series: The Top Ten Don’ts for Top Search Engine Rankings.
Home | Register | Host | Design | Upload | Promote
© 2001-2004 MidcoastBusiness.com. All Rights Reserved.
web design and maintenance by graham-caswell design