What is an SEO-optimized Domain Name?

An SEO-optimized domain name is a domain name that introduces your website and tells search engines and users what your website is about, or about the type of products and services it offers, etc. Such domains are more likely to stand out in the search result listings and to get clicked. So, a right domain name helps you target your audience and improve your search engine rankings.

Let us see a few example of creating domain names:

You can have a branding domains or a keyword domain?

Branding Domains: Branding domains are based on your brand or they are derived from your domain name. In the following conditions, you can choose your brand name as your domain name:

You have a well-established and recognized brand name
You have already started a brand promotion and awareness
You have a unique brand
You want your website rank higher

Keyword Domains: On the other hand if you don't have a popular brand name, you can create a domain name using your main keywords that correctly represent your products, services, or business. For example, an experienced weeding planner may get better search ranking result with a domain name like bestweedingplanner.com. However, Google gives more value to brand domains than keyword domains.

Some important instructions to optimize domain names:

Choose a .com extension: It is a TLD, which stands for top-level-domain. It is located after your domain name and before your subpages. Some of the commonly used TDDs include .com, .org, .net, .co, .in and more. Most of the SEO experts believe .com is the best choice to end a domain name, i.e. users are more familiar with .com extension and most of the renowned websites also have a .com extension. However, you can choose a country specific TLD if you are targeting a country, where your target audience is living. If you are an internet or IT company, you could consider a ".net" TLD. Similarly, if you are a non-profit organization, you can use ".org."
Choose suitable words: A domain name can be based on brand or keywords. If your brand is unique and popular you can incorporate it in the domain otherwise incorporate your targeted keywords that reflect your business.
Length: Shorter is better in Domain names as shorter URLs are easier to remember and there are fewer chances of spelling mistakes when they are entered in a browser window. The users also prefer to click shorter URL links on search engine result pages than the longer URL links. Most of the top websites have a domain name comprises around 9 letters.
Be relevant: Choose the right words that effectively communicate your message. The users must know from your domain name what kind of products or services you are dealing with. If you have a company name you should have a domain name that matches your company name, as it will help people find your website easily if they search your name in the search engines.
Easy to spell, remember or pronounce: It should be easy to spell and pronounce, and remember so avoid hyphens, intentional misspellings or misspelled words. However, it should not be easy to misspell as it may increase the chances of your visitors going away to another website. Such domain names are also suitable for word-of-mouth advertising and processing fluency, which is a concept that says we tend to remember and associate with things that are easy to say and think about and that includes pronounceability in our own minds.
Be unique: A unique name enables you stand out from the crowd, so try to create unique and distinctive domain names, e.g. google.com, facebook.com, yahoo.com, etc. Furthermore, you can buy other TLDs for your domain name to stop other people getting hold of them. The extra domains can be redirected to your main domain.
Authoritative: It is suggested by SEO experts not to incorporate words like best, top, etc, in domain name. Because, if one needs to tell people that it is the best, it is not. Remember, authority is built, it cannot be bought.
Don't use hyphens if possible: If your domain name comprises two words such as www.xyzabc.com, you may want to separate words with a hyphen to improve readability such as www.xyz-abc.com. But remember that use of hyphens may correlate with spammy behaviour and decrease domain name readability and memorability.
Easy to rank: It should be unique and easy to rank. You can do Google search for your brand to know the resources that are ranking for your chosen name. If it shows that you are going to compete with powerful domains, it may hard for you to even rank for your own name.
Avoid Numbers in Domain Name: You may avoid numbers in domain names as it may create confusion, when you tell others about your site or when users share your website with others. e.g., w3school.com may be understood as a wthreeschool.com or vice versa.