Here are the 10 most important factors you need to take into account when choosing a domain name for SEO.

۱٫ Branding

Google uses ‘brand signals’ to distinguish high quality websites from low quality websites.In October 2008 Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, said: “Brands are the solution, not the problem…brands are how you sort out the cesspool” .So don’t be afraid to use your brand name in your domain name.Brand creates distinction and in the over-crowded world of cyber space, that’s exactly what you need – a way to stand out. A way to be memorable.

۲٫ Exact Match Domains (EMDs)

An ‘Exact Match Domain’ is one that matches exactly a keyword phrase, with no hyphens. Examples are:

• Webhosting.com
• Rentalcar.com
• Officesupplies.com
• Clothes.com

What’s the problem with EMDs when choosing a domain name for SEO?

EMDs have become associated with spammy websites trying to game the search engine algorithms by exactly matching the searcher’s query with keywords contained in the domain name.۲۰۱۲, Google announced an algorithm change meant to reduce the amount of low quality exact match domains in search results And it’s not just Google you need to worry about.

Because EMDs have come to be correlated with spammy websites, someone who sees your EMD domain name in the search results is less likely to regard your website as trustworthy.That means lower CTR (Click Through Rate) and that in turn means lower ranking in the search results.

۳٫ Keywords

Stay clear of domain names that consist of multiple keywords separated by hyphens, such as email-marketing-services.com as with EMDs, it looks spammy and doesn’t build trust and credibility.Having said that, it’s OK to include one or two broad keywords in your domain name. An example would be the word ‘blog’ in robpowellbizblog.com

۴٫ TLDs

‘Top Level Domain’ (TLD) refers to the extension that follows your domain name.Nine times out of 10 you’re better off going with .com because it’s the most widely recognized and trusted TLD.Some TLD’s in particular, such as .biz, .us, .info, and .ws, tend to be associated with spam and should be avoided.

۵٫ Processing Fluency

You might think that pronounceability is not important in a domain name, since people don’t often find websites through word of mouth.

But there’s a thing called ‘processing fluency’ and it means that we’re more likely to remember words that we can pronounce easily in our own minds.So choose a domain name that’s pronounceable.

۶٫ Length

Try to keep your domain name to about 15 characters in length or less. With URLs, shorter is always better.Fun fact: the top 100,000 websites have, on average, 9 characters or less in their domain names .

۷٫ Hyphens

When choosing a domain name for SEO avoid hyphens. Like EMDs, they’ve become associated with spammy websites.

How did this come about?

In the late 1990’s and the 2000’s unscrupulous marketers would try to hitch a free ride on the traffic of a reputable website. They would do this by hyphenating a well known domain name. For example:

• face-book.com
• master-card.com
• micro-soft.com

Hyphens in a domain name will reduce credibility.

۸٫ Numbers

Numbers are not a good idea in a domain, for two reasons:

When someone hears your website mentioned, they won’t know whether to spell the number of use a numeral.

Is it this:

• Threemenandababy.com

Or this:

• ۳menandababy.com

Numbers, like hyphens, are associated with spammy websites that use numbers to standout. For example:

• ۱۲۳easycredit.com

۹٫ Intuitive

Choose a domain name that won’t leave people wondering what it is you do. In other words, your domain name should be highly intuitive.An example is webjet.com – I can instantly guess that it’s a business that sells airline tickets online.

۱۰٫ Avoid Ambiguity

Make sure your domain name has only one meaning (the one you intended).Here are some examples of real domain names that have more than one meaning:

• therapistfinder.com
• molestationnursery.com
• speedofart.com
• gotahoe.com
• itscrap.com
• oldmanshaven.com