Looking to rebrand your business online? More specifically, are you in the process of choosing a new domain name that will boost your business or save it from loss?
Regardless of your reasoning, migrating to a new domain can be beneficial in the long run, especially if you have done it with flair. Poor execution can lead to plummeting rank or loss of clients. In rare cases, you may even go so low that your customers won’t be able to find you online anymore.
Your choice of domain name is a make or break factor – something that needs the right balance of planning and execution.
Improper migration can send your regular visitors to an error page (404) when they go any of your website’s pages.
As you know, Google shook up the domain world in 2012 with its algorithm change which affected exact match domains. This is because the search engine realised that a great number of companies depend on exact match domains to boost website rank in search results, even though they offer low-quality or thin content.
The result is Google shifting the importance of domain names while reassessing other ranking factors. Even adding a dash or an underscore to your domain name will affect your organic traffic and your website’s rank in the online world.
Websites that use exact match domains but were supported by great quality content on their pages are not hugely affected by the update since their approach to SEO is legitimate and kept them safe and at the top.
The Importance of the Domain Name for SEO
Choosing the right domain name for your business is vital – now more than ever, this means that you cannot rely exclusively on the domain name to make your website show high for the terms you are targeting.
It’s crucial to set up a good SEO strategy for your website after the domain name change to ensure that you can still go back to your spot in the search results and even rank higher this time.
If you effectively changed and made the right domain name choice, you can reap the following benefits:
- Improve trust
- Increase your CTR
- Draw more attention and get higher ranking in search engines results pages
- Boost your brand’s potential
Take note that even minor changes can have a serious effect on your SEO efforts, which means that just by adding an underscore or a dash can affect the organic traffic and website position in the online world.
A drop in your rankings is almost guaranteed if you missed the chance of altering your domain name correctly. Also, note that moving to someone’s old domain can lead to an abundance of spammy links pointing to it. This can potentially push you into the abyss that is – unless you remove toxic websites pointing to the domain in advance and well, choosing the right domain this time.
This is daunting for sure, but you need not fear change, especially if you partner up with the right domain name provider and hosting partner.
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