Google has come a long way from ranking stuffed keywords and putting emphasis on the domain name. While there are still some merits to keyword rich domain names, it should only be done if the domain name is available. Otherwise, it is generally better to brand a website.

Branding is the key aspect of any business and something that most customers associate you with. When coming up with a brand name, you should take these factors into account.

• Easy to remember
• professional
• somewhat associated to the industry
• short and simple

Limiting your website

In most cases, using a keyword for a domain can be limit the scope of your website. For instance, if you are making a blog or website about losing weight and your domain name is www.losingweight.com, it might be inappropriate to create a category about gaining healthy weight. Whereas if you brand a website, healthguru. You can associate your products or articles to anything health related.

Less importance in keyword domains

In the early 2000s, Google’s althorithm of ranking websites were based on the presence of keywords. This led to keyword stuffing on many websites. In addition, Google’s althorithm also gave large points to domain names which had the keyword within the domain. After multiple althorithm changes such as penguin and panda, such websites were penalised and the emphasis on keyword rich domains are placed on lesser importance.

So What Works

Posting like a Blog

One way you can associate your blog/website with a certain industry is by posting articles or posts about the industry. By posting important articles, people visiting your website are more likely to link to your website and bring more referral views. Posting articles will also help search engines place value on your brand name in relation to the keywords, thus ranking your website in that industry

Search Engine Optimisation

If you already own a website and a domain name, you should be putting more effort into your search engine optimisation. You can find out more information about SEO here. SEO in short is about how you can provide the search engine with signals that your website is an appropriate match towards the keyword. Websites that has incorporated this into the website will bring in the visitors which will then associate your brand name for that industry.

If you are not sure of whether you should do your own SEO, this article will aid you in your decision making.

Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is the next best thing for human engagement Research has shown that an active social media presence can bring more than 50% new customers per month. This means regular posting, promotions and encourage posting by customers. Incorporating SEO and SMM together solidifies your position in the industry as well, and having both tools in a long run will benefit the business.