: Can we redirect our current domain name to a domain with better keyword match for SEO? Background: My website is not showing up high enough in rankings. We are in a niche market - particularly

@Jamie184

A domain name change may not really help you. In fact, you will be losing some important trust metrics such as site age. Most domain name changes are done under the assumption that having a keyword in a domain name will help. Keyword matches do happen, but after a long laundry list of other matches and last on the list when all other matches do not yield much results. In other words, the effect is the smallest obtainable after all other SEO work is performed. You will spend dollars for pennies.

There is an option of doing a blanket 301 redirect from an old domain to a new domain to preserve some/most metrics, however, what is often lost in the discussion is that this not only comes at a cost, but also does not remove the fact that the new domain name must perform on it's own at some point. The 301 redirect is temporary in scope and is not a complete solution.

That said. Let's look at SEO for a minute.

The most difficult thing to do in SEO is knowing what terms are used for search within your industry. You used the example satcom but could it easily be comsat ( Yes. I do know that Comsat was a company now owned by Hughes. ) for communications satellite? Taking this example, right or wrong, if you are trying to keyword match satcom or comsat, are these terms actually used? It may be that communications satellite is used more. In this case, you would do something like commucations satellite (comsat) to equate the terms communications satellite and comsat by proximity using semantics. But in order for that to work, satcom or comsat must be recognized within an industry or you will be the only one and that will not carry much weight if at all.

Any website can compete. It is popular a belief that there is no room at the top because the big boys got there first. However, it has been my experience that SEO, as a practice, is done following old linear text based thinking rather than using a full understanding of semantics. This means that there is room at the top for anyone who is willing to work for it. The biggest key is understanding that search is forever changing daily and that keeping a site attractive is an ongoing daily process of moving forward. This does not mean that a site cannot perform well for the long term based upon work done today. It can. The biggest key is knowing how people use search to find a site like yours. Again. This is the hardest part of SEO and the most valuable.

Another very real effect of the web is that good ole' fashioned marketing is still required. A website in of itself does almost nothing. You will not only have to create a buzz within your industry, but also outside of your industry. This requires PR in the traditional way- not using PR websites. Paper marketing is the most powerful form of attracting visitors as well as detailed scholarly work. Then add to that a social media that attracts the users that are effective within your industry. This may not be Facebook if no-one in your industry is looking to Facebook for solutions. But it can be Google+, LinkedIn, and Twitter. This has to be discovered. The web works best person to person - people to people. It is about creating relationships and being a top of mind presence (marketing speak) when people think communications satellite (or whatever your niche is). You have to go for saturation within your market of ideas.

In short, I often do not recommend changing a domain name unless it is truly a terrible domain name. If your domain name is your company name, I say keep it! There are 46 factors (my count) that make up branding signals. If most or nearly all branding signals are used, your domain name will be more valuable than any keyword domain name. Proper branding in search increases performance by the order of magnitude that cannot be fathomed. Just type cisco in Google to see what I mean.

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@Odierno851

Using keywords in the domain name is not going to do ANYTHING for you. Its really that simple!

Not only is it not going to help but it could also hurt when you do the switch. Even if you do proper redirects. You will lose links and some of your current rank as well.

Let me go even further with this because I am so tired of hearing about keywords...

Build you site for your users. If you use keywords then use them naturally but don't get fixated on them. Things have changed in the last few years and even items such as H1's and Meta Descriptions are not as important. You can use them to your advantage for user experience and CTR but not for ranking.

Welcome to the Age of Inbound Marketing.

If you want to get ahead of your competition then you need to start thinking outside the box and not keep thinking about which keyword and how often. Ask yourself:

1) What value do I bring to my visitors?

2) Why should they keep coming back to visit my site?

3) What sets me aside from the competition?

4) Are there assets I can offer to me visitors that will boost traffic and ranking?

In conclusion:

Having an optimized site is great but so many people take the backwards approach to this.

First, build something that people find valuable and then optimize it.

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