Considering SEO When Changing Your Domain Name

If you’ve been on the internet for some time now, then you’ll probably remember the times when all domain names simply ended in something like .org or .net. Times have changed since then, and you can find plenty of different domain names designed to appeal to a range of different audiences.

Once, people believed that a .com domain was the best domain you could possibly get, and many people still feel that way today. However, there are a range of new options available that are perfect for people who are getting started on the internet for the first time.

The Importance Of A Domain Name

While a domain name might feel like only a very small fraction of your online presence, the truth is that it may be more important than you think. After all, a domain name helps your customers to remember your brand. It’s the thing that they’ll type into Google when they’re searching for you, and it also helps to represent your company as an authoritative brand capable of creating a relevant and professional website.

Today, .com is no longer the only option, and there are a number of domains with various suffixes that can suggest different outcomes, such as .co.uk which might suggest geographic location, and other random domains that seem to indicate profession, such as club, or .doctor. With such a wealth of choices to choose from, you can make sure that you select the domain name that suits your company best, and you never have to settle for less, even if the original .com domain name you wanted to choose appears to be taken by someone else.

However, one important thing to remember when you’re switching domain names is that you still need to think about SEO and making sure that your website can rank well online. Remember that SEO helps your website to gain traction and ensure that you’re drawing in customers. People should be cautious in choosing domain names that will help to enhance their SEO presence in the long-run, as well as appealing to specific audiences.

Buying A Domain Name

Now you know how important a domain name can be, let’s offer some quick tips in how you can switch to a domain name that might be more effective for you. If you are using a brand-new domain name, the chances are that it won’t have been registered before, but it’s important to check just in case. You should also make sure that the domain has not been penalized by Google in the past.

Remember if a domain has been penalized, it will not be able to make use of Google Adsense, so making sure that a domain has a good background will help you to make sure that the website you choose can be valuable to you. You should also try to make sure that the name you use has a registered trademark which could help you to avoid future issues.

Preparing For The Switch

Remember that moving your site to a new domain name will mean that you need to start moving servers, or perhaps moving to a new account on the same server. When you make huge changes such as these, you will need to be cautious, as there is always a chance that you could lose something along the way. With that in mind you should back up everything that’s important to you. How you do this will depend on how you use your backup services, but just make sure that you have something to fall back on if things go wrong.

Once you’re ready, you will be able to move your files into the new account. You should find that this process is incredibly easy if you’re using a content management system like Joomla or WordPress. However, without an option like this, you will need to rebuild your pages either manually or using some form of code.

At the same time, remember to make sure that your old URLs point towards your new URLs, so that your customers don’t get lost on the way to your website. This will help to ensure that you don’t miss out on the traffic that you have already begun to build on your old domain name. You should also create a 404 redirect page that will help to make sure that people recognize the pages that no longer exist on your old domain.