Could a Different TLD Drive More Traffic to Your Website?

 Posted on June 09,2016 in Legal Websites

You may have one of the best websites in the industry. It could be full of visually stunning elements, interactive menus, and useful information for prospective clients. Your site could even be built for viewing on any size screen, offering an unmatched user experience. The greatest website on the internet, however, is virtually worthless if nobody ever visits it. The reality is that very few potential clients are going to take the time to type out your site’s Uniform Resource Identifier, or URL—more commonly referred to as your web address. Instead, traffic to your site depends on your ability to be seen in search engine results, which, in turn, is driven by search engine optimization, or SEO. There are many factors that go into effective SEO, but a new study suggests that optimization help may be available from a somewhat surprising source.

Top-Level Domains

Around the time Google was first launched, entrepreneurs and business speculators saw massive opportunity in tech-related companies and internet-based startups. The push, however, was relatively short-lived and became known as the “dot-com” bubble, which burst in about 2000. The “dot-com” descriptor came from the most common domain throughout the world. Check out the address bar in your browser right now and you will see an address containing that domain: www.ovclawyermarkting.com. While .com is by far the most popular, there are countless domains that could be used for your site.

In terms of SEO, many site owners are afraid to use other top-level domains (TLDs) because they think that Google and other search engines will automatically rank .com pages higher due to conventional standards. The data, it seems, says otherwise.

From .com to .attorney

Back in March 2015, a personal injury lawyer in Jacksonville, Florida, took a leap by changing his domain from a standard law firm .com to his city and the TLD .attorney. Within just a few months, the newly-named site made its way toward the top of organic search results, a drastic improvement over the performance of its predecessor. According to conservative estimates, the new name generated the equivalent of more than $75,000 in annual search engine marketing efforts but cost just a tiny fraction of that amount to make the switch. Though the site was also redesigned and launched with a new marketing approach, SEO experts believe that the change to a new TLD was the main driving factor in the page’s success.

Improve Your Visibility

Better search rankings lead to increased traffic, and increased traffic often leads to more clients choosing your firm. At OVC, INC., we understand the importance of search rankings and effective SEO, and we have the necessary tools to help you stand out in your practice area. We have been providing state-of-the-art marketing solutions to attorneys since 2008. Let us put that experience to work for you. For a free site analysis, call 630-635-8000 today.

Sources:

http://searchengineland.com/can-moving-new-tld-boost-search-rankings-250666

http://time.com/3741681/2000-dotcom-stock-bust/