Almost 1 billion domains have been sold since 1985.

Nowadays, choosing a domain name is much trickier than it used to be a few years ago.

Brandable domains are a dying species.

Many people have started to register domains with extensions that are less popular and not so good for SEO.

If you want to buy a new domain for your business or mobile application, there are several things you should consider.

In this article, I will give you some tips for buying a good domain name for SEO and choosing the right extension.

Once you’ve chosen the right domain, you’ll be ready to create your web presence and set up a Monitor Backlinks account to track your SEO and link building progress. It will keep you safe right from the start, protecting you against negative SEO, bad backlinks, spam, viruses, malware and hacking.

After all, once you’ve chosen that perfect domain name, there’s nothing more important than protecting your investment. (Feel free to take Monitor Backlinks for a spin with its 30-day free trial, too!)

If you already have a Monitor Backlinks account for an existing domain, you’ll be happy to know that you’ll easily be able to add more domains to your tracking tool and keep an eye on all your babies in one convenient place.

Now, on with the tips!

What Domain Extension (TLD) Is Best for SEO?

When buying a domain, it’s important to understand that you must choose only Generic Top Level Domains (gTLD).

These domains can help you stay competitive in search engines and will also increase your brand reputation. Why? Because these domains don’t target specific countries and they are widely known.

According to Google, these are the Generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) recommended if you want to compete worldwide.

.aero
.biz
.cat
.com
.coop
.edu
.gov
.info
.int
.jobs
.mil
.mobi
.museum
.name
.net
.org
.pro
.tel
.travel

Does this mean the rest of the domain extensions are not good for SEO?

Yes and no.

If you want to rank high in Google.com, you must choose a gTLD.

For instance, if you own an electronic store that sells products worldwide, choosing a .com, .net or .org domain extension would be the best solution.

However, there are times when you’ll want to stray from this list. If, for example, you want to sell products only in Germany, you can go for a .de domain extension, and Google will understand that your goal is to rank higher in Google.de.

One Common Domain Mistake to Avoid

Due to the lack of brandable domains available, many entrepreneurs make the mistake of choosing a country-level domain without realizing that this will hold them back from ranking in Google internationally.

Let me give you another example. The website lemona.de may sound very brandable and easy to remember, but, in fact, it’s not a good domain to have if you want to rank for worldwide terms. Google considers this domain regional and it will only rank in Google.de.

Domain Domination: More Tips for Buying the Right Domain

Once chosen a good domain extension for SEO, you can find a domain name that’s easy to remember and easy to spell. Here are some tips you must consider:

• Choose a short domain with maximum 20 characters. Longer domains will look like spam.

• If available always choose .com .org or .net domain extensions.

• Pick a domain that’s easy to remember and one that you can build a brand around it.

• Avoid more than one hyphens in your domain name.

Conclusion

Think about who your audience is and determine what type of domain is the right one for your unique business.

Don’t buy country-level domains for the sake of owning a domain that sounds nice. Give yourself the power to go global with an internationally-appealing domain.