Weighing costs & benefits for domain name change.
-
I've got a site that is under consideration for a domain change, however I have plenty of concerns about our particular situation. I'd love to explain my scenario and then get some feedback!
The domain in question is beverlys.com and has been up and running since 1996 (almost 16 years), so it has advantages in that it's a long standing trusted domain.
For the majority of that time however, the site was mostly a simple static informational site to accommodate a brick and mortar business. Then starting in 2009 the site underwent the change to become an e-commerce site. Since then we have been working to compete with other sites in the same industry and attempting to rank well in organic results. In particular our business sells fabric, so "fabric" is one keyword we measure in various way to get an idea where we stand with the competition.
Over time we have had ups and downs while ranking for "fabric", specifically. At our peak we ranked 16th in Google in September 2011, and 18th as recent as January 2012. However since that time we have fallen off the map in Google's results. Currently we are around the 100th result! Though in Yahoo! and Bing we continue to show strongly with organic rankings hovering between 15-20.
I can only theorize that something in the last few rounds of Google's algorithm updates has punished us and thus far have not been able to identity the issue or find any resolution.
So, in response, one of the options on the table is to use a new domain name that specifically incorporates the keyword that is important to us. Unfortunately our current domain does not use "fabric" so we would use something like beverly-fabrics.com or what-have you.
There is so much potential for disaster in switching domain names that I'm having a hard time considering this as a viable option. But at this point I don't want to close any doors. We want to have the best chance at long term success and if a domain name change would help in that we would do it.
I'd love to hear anyone's opinions, recommendations or advice about our situation!
-
I think you are correct about those back links and it is a source of concern. We never got any notification in Google webmaster tools about it, but I don't think that means it's not an issue. Outstanding point!
Also great thinking about the bad links following us even if we switch domains. That would have been a disaster!!!
We really love the beverlys.com domain name and have no intention to switch to something else unless it's going to be a benefit, which so far does not sound likely.
The input has all been very much appreciated!
-
Lots of good answers here. If I understand the question correctly, you're wondering if you should move to a keyword-rich domain in order to rank better for the "fabric"
One thing I noticed is that you seemed to have paid links in your backlink profile (or at least highly suspicious
Examples are:
http://www.squeezethestone.org/making-purchases-from-an-internet-fabric-store/
http://www.turkhukukenstitusu.org/category/fabric/Although links like these might have helped Beverly's to rank well in the past, it looks like Google has identified these as part of a network, and devalued them. Did you receive any warnings in Google Webmaster Tools. If so, you might make an effort at cleaning these links up and filing a reconsideration request.
The problem is, if you migrate domains, and you 301 redirect your old domain, you carry your link profile with you. This means if any algorithmic actions were applied to the old domain, they could likely carry to any new domain you chose, where they would again inhibit you from ranking for your chosen term. The only other alternative would be to start over.
So here's what I would do...
- work on your backlink profile.
- Work with Google to clean up any potential penalties.
- Build new, clean, relevant links
- Check your title tags and internal link structure. To my eye, the word "fabric" seemed a little keyword stuffed, both in your titles and internal links.
I really like the domain name beverlys.com. It's an awesome name that a lot of marketers would die for! Don't let it go!
-
Great feedback so far, thank you everyone. We definitely understand that fabric is a generic term and more challenging to rank for. But since we have ranked in the top 20 before, we know we can be competitive on it. We just need to lay good groundwork and strategies to get back to where we think we should be.
-
Just echoing the other responses, don't ditch the domain (unless you've used any black hat tactics that may be penalizing you). Keywords in the domain help, but they aren't the be-all-end-all of SEO.
Fabric, as others have pointed out is a pretty broad keyword, but if you want to rank for it, focus on creating more high quality content related to fabric, and go after high value links in your space. Avoid anchor text over-optimization.
Since you already have a high authority domain, adding more content could bring you more traffic for a whole host of keywords related to fabrics. Consider starting a blog or create a tips page or Q&A for fabric-related issues.
-
Emphasis on keywords in the domain name was actually reduced. You definitely don't want to switch domains, as that alone comes with a lot of SEO problems.
I would instead suggest focusing on keywords that have less competition than 'fabric.' You can still focus on the keyword while doing other campaigns. You'll find as you build more links ranking for the tougher goals becomes much easier.
If you Google your brand name 'Beverlys' and look at the cached page, and then switch to text view, you see that a lot of your homepage content is links. There is nothing inherently wrong with that, but the lack of content is working against you.
How are you handling link building? I didn't look at the OSE data, but just using PageRank as a quick metric, the #1 result for 'Fabric' has a PR8, while you are PR3. Look at OSE data for ideas on link building, as well as looking at the link building section of the SEOmoz blog.
Here is a particular link building with eCommerce article I enjoyed:
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/creative-link-building-for-ecommerce-sites
As an addendum to that, focus on getting customers to build content for you with reviews. Decide how to create a community around your niche and build it. You would be surprised at how willing customers are to give you free content.
-
First and foremost do NOT ditch your domain name. At best I'd say launch a new site in parallel and see how that goes but you'd basically be admitting defeat and starting over from scratch.
Second, buy some PPC. You're a chain so leverage that and get some PPC going to raise your traffic. PPC is also a great way to identify long-tail keywords you're missing. But don't just buy them. Take time and groom them daily. Pair them with Analytics. Suck the marrow out of them. Live them for the next week.
Third, realize you've set the bar really, REALLY high. You're chasing a generic keyword, and a massively competitive one at that (506M results in Google for the word "fabric"). In the post-Panda world, I'd say that's unrealistic. And why are you so obsessed with that one keyword? I've found single word terms are some of the poorest to go after. Lots of traffic, but major bounce rates and poor conversions (I would assume you want to sell, fabric, not just have people come look at it). Fabric could mean cloth, but it could also mean reality. Do you sell camo fabric? Google wants relevance above all and if people are bouncing out of your site, it will fall for that term. Generic terms, as a business model, are horrific.
What you need is to understand who your audience is and what they're looking for. Are they looking for bridal fabric? Maybe woodchipper macadamia fabric? Before you laugh, consider that maybe there is such a thing and a rich person who is buying a lot of it right now... somewhere else. I've found that owning a dozen smaller, niche terms that convert well beats the generic term any day. See #2 for how to find these juicy terms.
Then what? Content! You have a pretty site. Lots of things to interest. But you need to diversify. Your front page alone is way too busy. You have 6 banners stacked like one of those crazy subs at Subway. Each has value, but crammed in they have no value. And your deal of the day... uhm, they're sold out. I can find more in 19 hours??? Do you think I'll come back tomorrow to see what 3 fabrics sold out? Stagger them. Let me know there's another deal coming in 4 hours, 32 mins 23 secs, not 19 hours.
And your titles... ugh! Your main page is titled "Best Selling Fabric" but it's a lie! Thank you for visiting, Mario, but the best selling fabrics are on another page (just click past the Mushroom Kingdom patterns from the 1980s at the bottom). And what site did I visit? Hmm... the title doesn't tell me. Is this Beverly's? Fabric.com? Hobby Lobby? They're descriptive but they still miss the mark. You need your name at the end. Even Amazon does this (and they sell fabric too!).
Last but not least, fire your moving company. They've packed you in a box. Get out of there. Watch my swinging spoon tied to a string (I don't own a pocketwatch. Work with me). You are no longer an SEO. You are a marketer. You must convince me why I should buy your fabric. Show me the money fabric! Put it out! Make your site scream it. Right now your site is struggling to sell fabric to naked people (why naked people would be using Google is your problem to solve).
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Changing Url structure to incorporate Woo Commerce
Advise needed please We have rankings coming along nicely with a website that uses page content but we now need to start online shopping with woo commerce The url structure has always been a bit of a mess, but its quite in depth We are looking to move small paragraphs about each product cat (formerly put on Pages) information into the Product Category and then the Product information into the product page and redirect the old urls to the new urls. It would mean updating the permalinks also - My concern if there is less leverage with product categories - do these rank just as well as pages, are we going to see our rankings change dramatically in doing so? Added to that - is it best doing this change gradually or all at once (like staging site to get the set up ready) and then pushing live
On-Page Optimization | | KellyDSD860 -
Changing from www to non-www impacting page authority?
I moved my website in May from Wix to Wordpress. Since then the home page authority has dropped from 27 to 16. The old website displayed as www.ajlansell.co.uk, but the new site is set to ajlansell.co.uk without the www (this was set by my hosting company). I tried changing the settings in Wordpress to www.etc, and the home page bounces back up to a page authority of 27 - but it messes up the menus and some other elements on the page so that the page is not displayed correctly. Is there any other way I can get that page authority back? Thanks.
On-Page Optimization | | Photowife0 -
Product names are defacto identical - How can I modify Title?
Hi! Our site http://www.metecoparts.gr/ help our customers search our inventory of cars for used parts. The way the titles of product pages are structured is: Car Parts – Make Model Year – Brand Name. So for instance this page http://www.metecoparts.gr/car/4074-alfa-romeo-156-1997 have the title "Car Parts Alfa Romeo 156 1997 – Meteco SA" (I have translated Greek words to English) So as you can imagine we end up with a bunch of duplicate titles pages. I’m trying to diversify the titles but the problem is that there aren’t many product identifiers other than body configuration, car color, fuel, engine capacity and engine code. But only color and year of production is partly unique as most Alfa Romeo 156 are 4 door saloons, with 1600cc petrol engine. The only thing that is unique for every product page is the page ID. So should I use it in the page title? Its the only unique identificator but on ther other hand it has no use for our customers. Or is there any other way of having unique titles that I am missing? Please note that in our industry on-page optimization is crucial since there is no social sharing and much link building (who wants to share an old car that is being sold for parts?) Thank you
On-Page Optimization | | Johnlock10 -
Will changing my home page cause rankings to drop?
We are looking at doing a major change with our website. Upper management is wanting to have our home page be our store page, instead of just a landing page. So basically we would be eliminating our current home page, and replacing it with our store page. This is a very large site and our current home page gets a lot of traffic. Issues to deal with will be ranking of the current page content; Internal links to both pages; external links (backlinks) pointing to the two pages, and of course, a potential drop in rankings and traffic. Any ideas on how to best do this? Or not do it at all. 301 redirect? Thanks, Brad
On-Page Optimization | | tdawson090 -
Agency Domain Authority Boosting Activity
Hi Guys Have been reading up a bit on methods for boosting Domain Authority and am generally finding that the best way is by producing unique and relevant content through blogs and other kinds of articles. Having multiple clients in an agency means that there is limited time for this and I need something else to assist in boosting Domain Authority. I perform a fair bit of backlinking through online directories, however I am also finding that most blog comment sections have implemented 'no follow' codes to reduce spam content. There are plenty of free online directories, and many with high Domain Authorities, however they can take up to months for the listings to be approved. I am performing other activities to boost keyword rankings in Google for our clients but need some help with getting their Domain Authority up. Does anyone know of an efficient method for boosting Domain Authority for an agency with many clients where blog writing for each may not be a viable option? Would be great to hear anyone's ideas!
On-Page Optimization | | JuiceBoxOM0 -
Page Analyzer & Page 1
I follow the recommended things from the Page Analyzer or Grader, and I am like position #40, so how do I get to page #1 as a minimum.
On-Page Optimization | | sansonj0 -
Trouble with Old Site Name
Trying to figure out what is causing a site to show up under a former name in Google. The name of the client is Fortenberry Legal. They changed from Fortenberry Law Group over a year ago. I can't find any code on the site that uses the old name. For some reason, it still shows up as "Fortenberry Law Group" in Google. When I search for "Fortenberry Law Group," that shows up in Google with a full set of site links. When I search under the new name (Fortenberry Legal), that also shows up in Google but without the site links. Any thought on what could be causing this?
On-Page Optimization | | Falconberg0 -
Blog On Domain Or Off?
Hi, Which do you think is more powerful ito SEO rankings for my domain? Should I make the blog part of my domain or should I create a blog on a seperate domain? Zane
On-Page Optimization | | Springboks0