SEO and the Not Com Revolution

2016 Rocks Digital – SEO, Dot Brand, and the Not Com Revolution

SEO and theNot Com Revolution


About Me• Senior VP, Agency Services, Advice Interactive• Brand Ambassador, Majestic.com• Personal Blog: www.BillHartzer.com• Practicing Organic/Natural SEO since 1996• Domain Names and Site Migrations Expert


Overview• Background: What are New gTLDs?• Examples of New gTLDs• Real World Example: Research Study• New gTLD Examples• Process for Moving to a New Domain

2016 Rocks Digital – Background: What are New gTLDs?

What are New gTLDs?• TLDs: Top Level Domains

.COM, .NET, .ORG, .INFO are all TLDs

• Generic TLDs (gTLDs): .XYZ, .BANK, .CLUB, 800+ more

• ccTLDs: Country Code TLDs.CO.UK, .CA, .FR, .ES, .IT, .COM.AU, .ME


Total Domain Market as of August 2015





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


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 gTLDs with keywords in extensions help

2016 Rocks Digital – Examples of New gTLDs

Yeezy.SUPPLY by Kanye West


TheHungerGames.MOVIE


Lady Gaga's BornThisWay.FOUNDATION


Coffee.Club


Reasons to Move to a Not Com• Keywords and semantic meaning• Ability to precisely match key terms to domain name,

for products, services, corporate identity• No loss of Google and search engine love• Lack of available reasonable options in .COM

• But, let’s look at a real world example

2016 Rocks Digital – New gTLD Vs. .COM Study

New gTLD Versus .COM Study

• Which is better for marketing?

• .COM vs. New gTLD domain name?

• Which is better for ROI?


Methodology, Requirements• Use a Controlled Marketing Test

• Real-World Testing, Results

• PPC to Test Ads, Landing Pages, gTLD

• Landing Pages, Conversions the Same

• Test for a Certain Period of Time


How I 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


Keyword Examplesdiamond price chartdiamond chartdiamond quality chartdiamond carat size charttypes of diamond cutsdiamond facts

3 carat diamond ringdiamond gradediamond claritydiamond colordiamond buyer guidediamond certification


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


Landing Page


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


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

2016 Rocks Digital – New gTLD Vs. .COM

Changes in Conversions Since 2014


Finding New gTLDs• New TLD Stats - https://ntldstats.com/tld• Calzone - http://www.calzone.org


Sample New gTLDs• .DENTIST• .PLUMBING• .CLUB• .REALTOR• .PHOTOGRAPHY• .CHURCH• .LAWYER• .ATTORNEY• .FEEDBACK / .REVIEWS

2016 Rocks Digital – Moving to a New Domain Name

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 gTLD can be done successfully

• Moving may position you better for the future


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

(TLS/SSL is mandatory for some TLDs)• Start marketing campaign, help awareness of domain


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)?


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


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


Checklist for Moving to a New Domain• Extensive checklist is available (one-pager)

2016 Rocks Digital – Concerns on Moving to a New TLD

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

2016 Rocks Digital – Why Move to a New TLD?

Why Move to a New gTLD?• New gTLDs enhance SEO• New gTLDs add aspect to relevant content not

available before• New gTLDs encourage keyword-rich linking• Moving to a new, better address can be done safely

2016 Rocks Digital – Thank You

Contact Me

Bill HartzerSenior VP, Agency Service, Advice Interactive

Email: [email protected]: +1 (214) 236-4378

Web: adviceinteractive.comBlog: billhartzer.comTwitter: @bhartzerFacebook: facebook.com/bhartzer

Technology

SEO and the Not Com Revolution