Bill Hartzer explores how domain names fit into search engine optimization (SEO). He discusses the results from recent testing and research regarding keyword-rich domain names and keyword-rich new gTLD domains. You'll learn why certain domain names and website content perform well in the search engine results, while others seem to have difficulty getting visibility. Learn how search engine crawling and indexing work, and how you can jump-start the search engine ranking process using the latest SEO techniques.

1. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
SEO and Domains:
New gTLD Testing and Research

2. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
About Me
• SEO Consultant, Hartzer Consulting
• Blogger/Writer BillHartzer.com
• Founder, DFWSEM Association (2004)
• US Brand Ambassador, Majestic.com
• Brand Ambassador, OnCrawl.com
• Practicing Organic/Natural SEO since 1996
• Formerly Senior VP, Advice Interactive (Advice Local)
• Senior SEO Strategist, Globe Runner
• Director of SEO, Standing Dog

3. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
Overview
• Why Do Websites Rank Well?
• Why Do Websites Have Difficulty Ranking?
• Search Engine Crawling and Indexing
• How to Jump Start the Search Engine Ranking Process
• Results of TLD Research & SEO Testing

4. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
Why Do Websites Rank Well?
• Search Engine Friendly

5. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
Why Do Websites Rank
Well?
• Crawlable & Indexable
• Pages can be found via links
• Pages available to crawlers
• Googlebot’s schedule

6. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
Why Do Websites Rank Well?
• Loads Quickly - Page Load Speed
• Check page load speed on mobile, desktop:
Pagespeed Insights, GTMetrix, WebPageTest.org

7. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
Why Do Websites Rank Well?
• Good UX and Web Design (Mobile Friendly)

8. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
Why Do Websites Rank Well?
• Links from Trusted, Authoritative Websites

9. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
Why Do Websites Rank Well?
• Good Content - Enough Content

10. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
Why Do Websites Rank Well?
• Content Optimized - SEO Best Practices, Schema Markup

11. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
Why Do Websites Rank Well?
• Content Matches Search Query, Search Intent of User

12. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
Why Do Websites Have Difficulty
Ranking?
• Basic SEO Best Practices Not Followed
• Keyword Stuffing
• Poorly written meta data
• Not using proper headings, lists
• Poorly implemented markup

13. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
Why Do Websites Have Difficulty
Ranking?
• Not Crawlable - Bad Internal Link Structure

14. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
Why Do Websites Have Difficulty Ranking?
• Pages Load Slowly - Large Image Sizes, Lot of Resources Loading

15. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
Why Do Websites Have Difficulty
Ranking?
• Bad User Experience

16. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
Why Do Websites Have Difficulty
Ranking?
• Violations of Search Engine Guidelines

17. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
Why Do Websites Have Difficulty
Ranking?
• Lack of links or bad, low quality links

18. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
Search Engine Crawling and Indexing
• All pages must be linked on the site.
• No orphan pages.

19. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
Search Engine Crawling and Indexing
• Good site structure is key.
• No mega menus if possible.

20. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
Search Engine Crawling and Indexing
• XML Sitemap(s) help, but only help crawling, not rankings.

21. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
Search Engine Crawling and Indexing
• Verify the Site in Google Search Console

22. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
Search Engine Crawling and Indexing
• Verify the Site in Bing Webmaster Tools

23. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
Search Engine Crawling and Indexing
• View crawling and indexing issues

24. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
Jump Start the Search Engine Ranking
Process
• Fast, Search Engine Friendly Site

25. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
Jump Start the Search Engine Ranking
Process
• Get Quality, Trusted Links, Social Media Mentions

26. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
Jump Start the Search Engine Ranking
Process
• Add Schema Markup when appropriate

27. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
Jump Start the Search Engine Ranking
Process
• Manually Submit URLs in Google Search Console

28. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
Lessons Learned from TLD & SEO Testing

29. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
TLD SEO Testing - January 2020
• Set Up 15 Test Sites, 15 TLDs
• 25 Pages/Site, Total 375 Pages, 1 Keyword/Site
• Domains Registered:
• NamesCon Spelled Backwards
• Main keyword: nocseman
Test Sites:
nocseman.icu
nocseman.top
nocseman.xyz
nocseman.site
nocseman.club
nocseman.online
nocseman.vip
nocseman.com
nocseman.net
nocseman.org
nocseman.de
nocseman.co.uk
nocseman.co
nocseman.london
nocseman.in

30. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
TLD SEO Testing Results - January 2020
• 2 Sites' Languages Determined by the ccTLD
• .CO (Spanish) and .DE (German)
• 1 Site Immediately Got Pages Indexed:
• .XYZ got 40 percent pages indexed, 2 hours
• Some Sites Difficult to Get Pages Indexed
• Some Sites Took 24 Hours or Days to Get Pages Indexed

31. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
TLD SEO Testing Results - January 2020
• A Few Sites Had Keyword Rank Well Quickly
• Some Took Longer to Rank, Some Failed Miserably
• Checking for Pages Indexed Varies by Method

32. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
Searching for NamesCon Backwards
• Nocseman Keyword Only in Domain Name
• Google Reads Keyword in Domain Name
• .NET Won, Then .CO.UK, .CLUB, .XYZ
• Follow the Rankings Yourself in Google

33. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
Sample Rankings: Keyword Only in Domain
Name
• Nocseman Club - nocseman.club ranks #1
• Nocseman ICU - nocseman.icu ranks #1
• Nocseman Co - nocseman.co.uk then nocseman.co
• Noceseman com - nocseman.com ranks #1

34. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
Power of the Keyword in the Domain
• Nocseman keyword domains can rank: only keyword in the domain

35. SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
Other TLD Case Studies
• GEO .CARS Domain Names
• Wichita, Phoenix, Arizona Cars
• .ICU Case Study
• Register, Create Website, Ranking in Hours

36. Contact
Bill Hartzer
Hartzer Consulting
Email: Bill@BillHartzer.com
Phone: (214) 236-4378
Web: https://www.hartzer.com
Twitter: @bhartzer
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bhartzer
SEO & Domains: New gTLD Testing & Research
@bhartzer