Search Engine Optimization or SEO has now become a cornerstone of the internet. It is a huge deal for small and large business alike. Online business success depends on it so every website strives to have a good SEO service in place.

If your business has an online presence, it should be your goal to be at the top of your industry and area of interest – at least in the search engine rankings. So, how does your domain name affect your SEO ranking? To understand why SEO matters and how it links to your domain name, let’s quickly see how it works.

SEO in a Nutshell

SEO optimizes your website to acquire traffic from organic search engine results page (Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.). The purpose of SEO is to boost the quantity of traffic your website gets by making it more visible to the users of web search engines. Different search types are targets for SEO, some are video, article, shopping, or image search, then another search specific to a certain type of industry.

SEO is also the changes you make to your website design as well as the content of your website that can make it more attractive to the search engine. There are different tools that will help you position your website properly with the hope that the search engine will display your website address in the top results on the search engine results page.

The need for an update

Adapting your website to the latest technology and practices is always necessary if you want to be on the top of your industry. Sometimes it’s the ineffective website name, which may prompt you to register domain name that’s more appropriate. It could be a website redesign to keep up with the current trends. At times it would necessitate changing your web hosting provider. 

The question really is, does changing the domain name affect SEO?

It does.

Web hosting provider change can be a complicated decision for those who have an existing one. Regardless, if you’re not satisfied with the current hosting provider or its hosting plan. 

When selecting a new domain name registrar and host, only consider a reliable and cost-efficient provider. SEO is vital for your website. With it can expand your visibility on every search engine (Google, Bing, Yahoo!, etc.). This is an effective way to reach more clients since people don’t usually click on websites on the lower part of search engine pages. People either have no time for or just don’t trust it. That is why changing domain name affect SEO. You need to ensure that your website stays at the top.

Does changing domain name affect SEO?

For established websites, the initial changing of your web hosting provider with the new domain name can negatively impact rankings –at least in the beginning.

Many owners are hesitant and would rather stay at their hosting company even though it can’t fulfil the creative and business aspects of their website, which won’t lead to lasting success. Just know that by taking the right steps as quickly as you can allow you to manage all of the negativity and begin in the right track.

Before you change

If you’re keen on changing your host and register domain name for your website. Keep in mind to back up your files. After transferring your site to its new domain, inform Google about the changes. Google Webmaster Tools has a link to ‘Change of Address,’ which lets you inform Google that you have changed the domain name. Google will afterwards update the domain in its system to update your address and include it again in their listing.

You can utilize social networks to manage the initial effects of the domain name change. Use your Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc. page to inform everyone about the changes including the new domain name. 

Changing your domain name and hosting service will definitely affect your SEO rankings, but the first right steps will minimize the damage. If you feel that it’s time to register domain name for your website, all you need to do is find a reliable domain registrar and hosting provider. You can also consult your new provider to find out more about SEO for your website.