Just like finding the perfect location for a brick-and-mortar store, picking the right online address can make or break your chances of attracting the right customers through search engines.
Think about it!
Would you be more likely to visit a law firm’s website at:
- accidentlawyers.com
- personalinjuryexpertsnyc.com?
Although the second one instantly communicates what they do and where they are located, an ideal domain name should be:
- Short
- Memorable
- Easy to spell and type
- Most importantly, describe your products or services in some way
This allows search engines and humans to instantly understand what the website is about.
For example:
greencleaningcompany.com
This is a great domain for an eco-friendly housekeeping service because it incorporates two critical keywords: “Green” and “Cleaning.”
Using your geographic location in the domain, like seattleplumbingexperts.com, can also be smart for local businesses to capitalize on area-based searches.
On the flip side, something vague like surfthewave.net could be a clothing store, surf school, or a completely unrelated website. It just creates confusion rather than clarity.
While including keywords in the domain name is ideal, it’s not always feasible to get an exact keyword-rich domain, especially for competitive industries.
Let me expand on different types of domains and provide some practical guidelines:
Exact Match Domains (EMD)
Contain the exact keyword phrase you want to rank for, like bestplumbersdenver.com.
Partial Match Domains (PMD)
Have just part of the keyword, like denverplumbers.com.
From a pure SEO perspective, Google has stated that EMDs and PMDs no longer get any inherent ranking boost, so an EMD like bestdenverplumbers.com doesn’t automatically outrank competitors. However, user perception and relevance still matter—a descriptive EMD or PMD makes your site’s purpose obvious to searchers. This credibility and clarity can indirectly impact your click-through rates (CTR) from search results.
For example:
You are looking for a local wedding photographer. Which domain would you click first?
- johnsmithphotography.com
- denverweddingphotographer.net?
Typically, bestdenverweddingphotographer should be the most popular keyword. So the second one, denverweddingphotographer.net, which is a partial match domain, instantly communicates the service and location. So in Denver, it may get a higher CTR despite not being an exact match domain.
That said, you don’t want to go overboard trying to cram in too many keywords. Something like buycheapfurnitureonlinestore.com just looks spammy.
Here are some guidelines on choosing a domain:
- For local businesses: Try to include your city name if possible (e.g., seattleplumbersolutions.com). Or at least your state or region if the city is taken (e.g., waplumbingexperts.com).
- Avoid numberized domains like plumbers480.com; it’s hard to remember.
- For e-commerce or national sites: Use clear, brandable names that describe your products (e.g., comfysofas.com). Don’t stuff keywords awkwardly (e.g., buycheapfurnitureonlinestore.com).
- Consider using your brand name if it’s memorable (e.g., crateandbarrel.com).
The key is striking a balance between relevance and memorability. Your domain is often one of the first impressions people get about your brand. With a bit of creativity, you can usually find an available domain that embodies your brand and services nicely without looking forced.
You can even use AI chatbots like ChatGPT for suggestions. Choose a domain that perfectly encapsulates your business in a catchy, keyword-inclusive way.