5 Determining SEO Factors to Consider When Choosing an Effective Domain Name For Your New Website

There are five specific SEO factors that affect how all domains are viewed by the search engines. This is true whether the name is old or new. However, there is a distinct advantage when starting with a new selection when you understand these factors and what their particular impact is upon SEO. You can build up your “ownership” in these areas and easily outrank any competition.

Before we get into the meat and bone of this article, know that if you intend on making a quality acquisition you need to start looking for an aged domain name instead of one with no background; all the more so since .com domains are becoming rarer in the majority of niches. If you have an “aged” name – or plan to purchase an “experienced” one, it is important to know how these five measurable factors will affect your chosen name.

When you get a handle on what these five factors impact upon your domain, you can get a starting leg up on your competition for the top rankings in the SERPs.

The 5 SEO factors Related to Domain Name Efficiency

Backlinks – are there other websites that point to yours and act as sort of a “vote” in your favor? However they are given greater consideration when they come from quite authoritative sites, for example CNN, opposed to a brand new site that is not as popular, or does not have a high authority ranking.

Additionally, backlink relevancy plays a part when related to your website niche where if you are an online flower shop with a link from a nursery, this link would rank higher than one from a site about puppies. When you have a large number of authoritative but relevant backlinks, the greater an SEO value you will possess.

However, new domains start at with no backlinks and a campaign that consumes a great deal of time, effort and more than likely money is needed. If you purchase an aged name, it may already be associated with effective backlinks.

Page Ranking is determined by a number of factors including the quality and quantity of your backlinks. The (visible) PR ranking of a page is calculated from 1-10, with 10 being the highest.

So, an experienced, authoritative site like CNN would rank 10 where a new site would rank 0, or effectively have no ranking yet. As with creating backlinks, obtaining a high page ranking can also take energy, time and money.

Age of a domain name is an important factor since new names inherit no SEO aspects, but need to develop these over time.

If you can acquire an aged domain name, you may benefit handsomely since search engines equate age with trustworthiness – the longer the domain has existed in their index the more trust is placed in it. Obviously new names have none.

History plays a factor when purchasing an aged name since search engines will judge for ranking based on the site’s relevant history. Therefore, if you have an auto parts site that can buy an aged domain that was used as an auto parts site, this will work toward your advantage.

The reverse is true to a disadvantage if you bought an aged name for use in a completely different niche than it originally represented. You would be better off buying an SEO-oriented new domain name.

Listing in DMOZ and Yahoo is valued by Google but it is almost impossible to get in DMOZ nowadays and it takes about $300 to be listed in Yahoo.

Obviously, newly registered domain names will have no listing in either of these. But, you may find an aged name available for purchase that is listed, thus shortcutting any efforts you might look to make to gain entry to these directories.

“Branding” Considerations

Add to these five factors the various reasons for choosing a domain name when Branding comes into consideration. Although there is fast becoming a plethora of suffixes from which to choose, i.e., .com, .net, .org, .me, choice is still a distinct factor affecting branding.

For example, the .com is still considered the strongest and best representative for doing business on the net. However, substituting the suffix .org is becoming a popular choice for people seeking keyword rich domain names not available through .com. In the past, .org typically signified usage by non-profit organizations and associations almost exclusively. But unlike .gov, which is strictly limited for use by recognized government entities that must be verifiable, .org is not limited simply to non-commercial entities.

It remains important in SEO efforts to associate a business name in a URL that can also be pointed to a URL that is keyword dominated so search engine users find you more readily.