If you think the selection process and the name you have chosen for that shiny new domain name won’t make any difference in the search rankings of your new or existing website, think again. Today more than ever, all search engines do carry a lot of weight to the keywords or key phrases that are present in your domain name. Ask any SEO professional firm that has been in this business for at least three or four years and they will tell you that the careful research and the final selection of the domain name you will use can have a tremendous positive impact in the search results pages from Google, AltaVista, Yahoo, MSN, Inktomi, DMOZ and just any other search engine in existence today.
First things first
When you need to register a new domain name for an existing site or a new site under construction, the first thing you need to do is decide if it will be a .com, a .net or a .ca domain name, or any other variations, as there are many. (Note: .ca domain names are reserved for Canadian companies only). Whether you're looking to reserve a domain name for use now or at a later date, you should seriously consider doing it now, while a good selection might still be available, although I think the best choices in the .com range have already been taken by now.
I have found and personally registered some good domain names in the .com, .net and .org categories. The choice is yours. Remember that the extension is not important. All search engines today treat domain names equally, with no preference if they are of the .com, .net, .org, .us, .ca, .biz or any other extension there is. What IS important are the keywords between the venerable “www” and the extension!
Hyphenated domain names or un-hyphenated?
If you really want to score high and closer to the top in the search engines, then try to get a domain name that has one or two (or three) of your most important keywords in it, as it will greatly help you in the results pages when people type in keywords that are closely associated with the theme of your site. Also, for that extra ‘punch’ in the search engines, I suggest that you put a hyphen in between them, such as this: http://www.your-company-keywords.com/
Most major search engines today treat hyphenated domain names as separate words. If these separate words happen to be your most important keywords, you are ahead of the pact. Since some will tell you that hyphens in domain names look awkward and I fully agree, if you can, try also registering the non-hyphenated version too, such as this one: http://www.yourcompanykeywords.com/
On your website, for the search engines, it is best to host the hyphenated version on your server or host provider. On your business cards, brochures or print catalogues, it is best to use the non-hyphenated version. Just make sure you are using a “301 server re-direct” command just for that purpose, since it can be a bit touchy if not done correctly.
Today, some search engines, notably Google, are very critical of server re-direct commands and might penalize a site if not done correctly. The only safe and recommended technique I use is the “301 server re-direct” command, which is a very standard Linux command. Avoid using a Java script. You should consult your web hosting provider with this if you are uncomfortable in doing it yourself.