seo and domain names: best practices, moving your site · 2015 . ftld– nff ftldv fffcom sffff....
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SEO and Domain Names:Best Practices, Moving Your Site
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About Me• Senior Strategist, Globe Runner• Brand Ambassador, Majestic.com• Personal Blog: www.BillHartzer.com• Practicing Organic/Natural SEO since 1996• 100+ Successful Site Migrations
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Overview• SEO Factors and Domain Names• PPC and SEO Domain Name Research• Migrating Your Domain Name• Concerns about Moving
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Search Engine Ranking Factors: Google• No Duplicate Content (esp. on two domains)• Content Quality and Quantity• Domain Name Authority, Trust• Links from Other Websites• Title Tags• Heading Tags
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Search Engine Ranking Factors: Google• Company Blogs, Freshness Important• Page Load Speed Important• Social Media Important• Subdomains OK• No Multiple Domains (Domain Authority on one only)
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SEO Factors and Domain Names• For search, still value in using Keyword Rich domain• Keyword rich domains must be developed• Search engines use link data, keywords used in links• Domain history, reputation are ranking factors
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SEO Factors and Domain Names• Keywords are how people refer to websites• Websites use keywords to link to other websites• A keyword rich domain, with content, will rank• New TLDs with keywords in extensions help
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Spam Devalues Domain Names• Negative SEO factors devalue domains• Low quality, unnatural links
difficult to clean up
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Spam Devalues Domain Names• Links tied to domain are passed on to new owner• Google penalties stay with domain unless revoked
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Other Factors that Devalue Domains• Previously used for Social Media spam• Domain parked for a long period of time• Multiple Domains with same content
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New gTLD Versus .COM Study
• Which is better for marketing?
• .COM vs. New gTLD domain name?
• Which is better for Return On Investment?
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Methodology, Requirements• Use a Controlled Marketing Test
• Real-World Testing, Results
• PPC to Test Ads, Landing Pages, TLD
• Landing Pages, Conversions the Same
• Test for a Certain Period of Time
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How We Did the Testing• Google AdWords Ads
• Keywords the same for all ads
• Bids the same ($1.00 per click bid)
• Same Landing Page, Same Content
• Only difference was the domain name used:
www.3CaratDiamonds.com
www.3Carat.Diamonds
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Keyword Examplesdiamond price chartdiamond chartdiamond quality chartdiamond carat size charttypes of diamond cutsdiamond facts
3 carat diamond ringdiamond gradediamond claritydiamond colordiamond buyer guidediamond certification
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Ad Examples
Diamond Buying GuideDownload Your Free Carat Size Chart.& Learn the 4 C’s of Diamond Buying!3CaratDiamonds.com
Beginner’s Diamond GuideDownload Your Free Carat Size Chart.& Learn the 4 C’s of Diamond Buying!3carat.Diamonds
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Landing Page
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Results in 20143CaratDiamonds.com vs. 3Carat.Diamonds
• May 2014: Average CPC3Carat.Diamonds: $.773CaratDiamonds.com: $.81
• May 2014: Results52% Conversion Rate on .Com, 36% on .DiamondsEffective CPM: Costs 2x as much to advertise a .COM
*Effective CPM is the rate spent for 1000 views of an ad.
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Results – Sept. 20153CaratDiamonds.com vs. 3Carat.Diamonds
• Results: Average CPC3Carat.Diamonds: $.77 (vs. $.77 in May 2014)3CaratDiamonds.com: $.83 (vs. $.81 in May 2014)
• Conclusions:Sept. 2015: 22% Conversion Rate on .COM, 35% on .DiamondsMay 2014: 52% Conversion Rate on .COM, 36% on .DiamondsNew gTLD converts BETTER than .COM in 2015
Effective CPM: Still costs 2x as much to advertise a .COM
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Changes in Conversions Since 2014
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Moving to a New Domain Name
• Don’t take moving to another domain lightly
• Problems can be avoided with proper planning
• Moving to a new TLD can be done successfully
• Moving may position you better for the future
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Steps for Pre-Move• Make Backup of Current Website• Perform due diligence on new domain name• Crawl website, save list of URLs• Set up 301 Permanent Redirects (old URL to new URL)• Set up SSL HTTPs Certificate for new domain name
(SSL is mandatory for .Bank)• Start marketing campaign, help awareness of domain
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Steps for Pre-Planning• Plan a date and time to move to the new domain• Detail the process for moving• Who is responsible for what (in your organization)?
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On Moving Day• Add 301 Permanent Redirects, Test Redirects• Crawl Website to check redirects• Update Social Media, Email Address, Business Cards• Notify Search Engines of Change of Address• Submit sitemap of OLD site to search engines
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After Moving Day• Watch analytics for changes in traffic• Watch site for any search engine ranking changes• Get new links to the new domain name
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Checklist for Moving to a New Domain• Extensive checklist is available (one-pager)
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Concerns on Moving to a New TLD• Sites have been moving to a new domain for years• Personally handled over 100+ large site migrations• No significant issues if done properly• No significant drops in traffic, search engine rankings
• Issues can arise with duplicate content, bad redirects
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Why Move to a New TLD?• New TLDs enhance SEO• New TLDs add aspect to relevant content not
available before• New TLDs encourage keyword-rich linking• Moving to a new, better address can be done safely
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Contact Me
Bill HartzerSenior StrategistGlobe RunnerEmail: [email protected]: +1 (214) 236-4378Office:+1 (972) 538-0260
Web: https://globerunner.comBlog: https://www.billhartzer.comTwitter: @bhartzerFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/bhartzer