Does My Attorney Website Domain Affect My SEO?

A:

Yes, it can affect your SEO, but should you actually change your website domain? Here are a couple of scenarios that would validate a change:

1. URL is TOO dynamic - It doesn't include keywords, is too long, or is prone to creating duplicate content.
2. URL is unstructured - You run into the same problems as above.
3. URL is TOO long - It hurts usability, click-through rates, or the ranking of any given URL keyword. Additionally, there could be difficulties when users copy-and-paste or with social media applications, and it could be difficult to remember.
4. URL has TOO many keywords - Did you think you would ever run into that? This scenario leads to repetition and a loss of focus.
5. URL: there's TOO many of them - This happens when you try to target the same keywords with too many URLs with your sub-pages. If you do not have the unique content to support your sub-pages, then your site begins to look thin.

If your website domain fits any of the scenarios above, then you may want to look into a change. Keep in mind this quick list of points before proceeding:

• 1. Use proper 301-redirects.
• 2. Redirect URL-to-URL for every page you want to keep.
• 3. Update all on-page links.
• 4. Don't chain redirects, if you can avoid it.
• 5. Add a new XML sitemap.
• 6. Leave the old sitemap up temporarily.