Choosing a good domain name for SEO

[John Newton]

Hello All.

I am currently in the process of building a new website for my friend. I would be most grateful if someone could clarify a couple of things concerning SEO and domain names.

The current domain name is www johnnewtondriving co uk, but I'm thinking about changing this to www guisboroughdrivinglessons co uk because obviously most people in the Guisborough region are more likely to search for something like "driving lessons in guisborough" rather than something like "driving lessons by john newton".

Question 1: Given that John is interested in serving only the Guisborough area, do you think a domain name change from www johnnewtondriving co uk to www guisboroughdrivinglessons co uk is a good idea?

Apart from the domain names, I will be using the same parameters for the onsite SEO that were used for the old site - copy, titles, meta keywords, internal linking, etc..

Question 2: Given that the old domain www johnnewtondriving co uk does not expire until November 2015, would there be enough time for Google to find and index the new domain name www guisboroughdrivinglessons co uk to about the same position as the old site?

I should add that the old name is already near the top for search terms like "driving lessons in guisborough".

Thank you very much in advance for any advice you can offer.

All the best,

Dave

 

[Ninja Commerce]

Hi Dave.

These days, keywords in domains don't have much (if any) impact on rankings. Google devalued the impact a while back. So if your only reason for changing domain is the SEO impact, I wouldn't bother.

Yes, if you are quick, and set up 301 redirects, Google should be able to index the new site in time.

However, I am assuming that after that you won't renew the old domain, meaning that the 301 redirects will no longer function...

If that is the case, then the new domain will not benefit from any links pointing to the old domain.

Additionally, the old domain will have some authority purely for being old. So switching to a brand new domain may hurt your rankings.

In all honesty, I can't see it being difficult to rank for driving lessons in guisborough anyway, but you should be aware that switching domains is likely to harm your rankings if you don't put in a bit of work.

Sorry that's a bit pesimistic, hope it helps though.
Alex.

 

[fisicx]

johnnewtondriving co uk - Good
guisboroughdrivinglessons co uk - Bad

Leave it as it is.

 

[John Newton]

Thanks Alex. Your answer certainly does help, and it makes a lot of sense - especially the part about the old domain having some authority due to being so old.

I will install the new site on a different server, and I will transfer the old domain rather than registering a new one.

Thanks again.

Dave

 

[stevebrownlie]

I notice you've got both his old site listed in the map section and the new 'exact match' domain ranking as the number 2 'organic' listing so I'd say throwing the new domain away might not be a good idea now . Well not without putting some thought into your strategy to avoid losing the 2 page one listings you currently have.

https://encrypted.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Guisborough driving lessons

 

[boring-friday]

johnnewtondriving co uk - Good
guisboroughdrivinglessons co uk - Bad

Leave it as it is.

I notice you've got both his old site listed in the map section and the new 'exact match' domain ranking as the number 2 'organic' listing so I'd say throwing the new domain away might not be a good idea now . Well not without putting some thought into your strategy to avoid losing the 2 page one listings you currently have.

lol love it, told you google lies to you'fisicx'

 

[fisicx]

It wouldn't take long to rank the prime site for local searches. Which means that's the only one he needs. But thank you for your valuable contribution Mr Boring. Are you less bored on the other days of the week?

And of course having two domains means he will be in competition with himself.

 

[Codefixer]

I think it's too simple to say keywords in domains don't hold value.

I still think they do, they certainly do in folder names and file path.

I also still see plenty of keyword rich domains that rank highly, and the keywords are a contributing factor.

Having said that, the relevancy of a keyword domain has to go hand in hand with other authority and trust signals. By itself a keyword domain will struggle, unless it's in a very weak market.

 

[Tin]

Couldn't agree more with Mike above, keyworded domains still have an extra weight about them so Google didn't pull all the juice out of them.

 

[fisicx]

But Tin, he already has an established domain and the taget keyword are very local and easy to rank for so where is value in using 'guisboroughdrivinglessons' as it's not going to help him in Redcar, Stokeley or Great Ayton?

 

[Mayur Mistry]

As Brokersteve has just said, your friend's driving site is ranked 2 on the Google map directory results. So don't change your URL/Domain because you will have to start from scratch. You can advise your friend to get his customers to leave a review for him. If he gets loads of 5* reviews, then his search engine rankings will rise.

 

[Codefixer]

@fisicx you're right, my point was more in relation to ThinkTraffic's comment that keyword rich domains don't carry any value these days.

Looking at those SERPS it's noticeable how many of the top 6 or 7 have keywords in them.

Would I recommend switching to a keyword domain in this instance, probably not for many of the reasons others have given. I'd work on getting the brand domain name higher up the SERPS, rather than spending time on an SEO migration that might result in a temporary dip.

There would also be other considerations such as your Google Maps listing which is top.

I'd also run Google Ads, get your site on the front page 3 times.

 

[fisicx]

Exactly, it's 'johnnewtondriving' that needs the promotion not 'guisboroughdrivinglessons'. Getting ranked for all the local areas is a doddle.

 

[PIers Ede]

Keywords in domain still do help, especially with local SEO (the map references) There's absolutely no question about that!

Why not keep both and try to capture two spots on the first page?

 

[Tin]

But Tin, he already has an established domain and the taget keyword are very local and easy to rank for so where is value in using 'guisboroughdrivinglessons' as it's not going to help him in Redcar, Stokeley or Great Ayton?

As Mike has just said above, his comment was in relation to TT's comment about keyworded domains and mine was too. I wasn't suggesting that the OP uses a keyworded domain, I was making a point in that I still see benefits by using keyworded domains. That was all.

 

[boring-friday]

It wouldn't take long to rank the prime site for local searches. Which means that's the only one he needs. But thank you for your valuable contribution Mr Boring. Are you less bored on the other days of the week?

And of course having two domains means he will be in competition with himself.

Hes just outranked his old domain with a brand new domain that I even I would admit is way too heavy on target keywords aswell lol. Why is being in competition with yourself a problem? And to your next post he says that hes only interested in ranking that location in the opening post. My god you talk so much rubbish its unreal, you should really stop commenting on seo. I'll just quote google for you in future so you don't need to post. EMDs definitely help ranking.

 

[LowPrices.uk]

johnnewtondriving co uk - Leave running this is the best domain and is fit for purpose
guisboroughdrivinglessons co uk - If budget allows and it's needed, start a second site on this one to have additional presence in the search engines

 

[UKSBD]

Hes just outranked his old domain with a brand new domain.

He has?

 

[UKSBD]

I notice you've got both his old site listed in the map section and the new 'exact match' domain ranking as the number 2 'organic' listing so I'd say throwing the new domain away might not be a good idea now . Well not without putting some thought into your strategy to avoid losing the 2 page one listings you currently have.

https://encrypted.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Guisborough driving lessons

You sure about that?
The OP said guisboroughdrivinglessons co uk not the other j n ewton one

 

[Shopclicks]

I was going to see if the content of the two sites was duplicated but www johnnewtondriving co uk doesn't launch. Can anyone else open it?

 

[stevebrownlie]

You sure about that?
The OP said guisboroughdrivinglessons co uk not the other j n ewton one

I'm sure he has two listings on page one, I didn't take the time, it's true, to see when he registered the exact match one, but that wasn't my point anyway. Just suggesting they think about what to do given that they currently have two spots on page one which is pretty good news for them. Maybe they want three .

 

[UKSBD]

I'm sure he has two listings on page one, I didn't take the time, it's true, to see when he registered the exact match one, but that wasn't my point anyway. Just suggesting they think about what to do given that they currently have two spots on page one which is pretty good news for them. Maybe they want three .

Yes, but the Exact Match one isn't the one he is talking about, and I doubt he has much to do with it.

I assume the OP is trying to get their own rankings so they don't have to be dependent on a 3rd party.