.ME is SEO friendly

.ME domains operate similar to traditional domains such as .com, .net and .org, and are ranked in the same way by Google. In the context of search engine optimization (SEO), .ME is search-friendly, trustworthy, and spam-free domain, seen as global and safe to register.

Back in 2008, Domain.ME originally started as a country code top level domain (ccTLD) used within Montenegro, but it rapidly became globally recognized and gained high popularity – regardless of the location. Word “me” can be easily combined with other words to form a call to action or to signal online visitors that “it’s all about ME”. You can get creative and craft a funny saying that will make your domain name memorable, or you can make .ME a part of your brand name. The possibilities are practically endless.

By 2010, over 320,000 .ME domains have been registered, which made it the fastest selling new top level domain (TLD) in history. But what’s interesting there is that the majority of interest came from English speaking countries: 71% of registrants were from the US, followed by UK, Canada, and Australia. Foreseeing that, the government of Montenegro has made a wise choice to allow .ME to be registered just as a generic domain.

Due to these vast possibilities for differentiating themselves from others with .ME, people all over the world started registering it. Given the fact Google follows how users are acting and adapts to their behavior, it started perceiving .ME as a generic TLD (gTLD) and started ranking it the same way as more traditional domains, such as .com, .org, .net, etc.. The full story behind that can be found here.

In short, this means .ME websites have become easier to reach and not limited to one specific region. So, .ME is actually kind of a hybrid. Pretty cool, right?

Psst! If you want to learn more about domain names in general before you continue reading, check out our 19 FAQ About Domain Names Answered.

.ME: Building a safe neighborhood

Even though there is no explicit proof that Google favors or discriminates against certain TLDs when assigning search engine results page (SERP) rankings, the search engine has always been committed to providing impeccable user experience and only the most relevant results to the entered queries. This would imply that it is far more likely to trust the TLDs which are more heavily regulated when it comes to bad neighborhoods, such as the .ME extension, than it would TLDs which are not being controlled at all.

We, at .ME are committed to keeping our neighborhood safe in terms that we do daily abuse monitoring and we suspend domains marked as spam, phishing and malware. You can read more about the efforts we take to protect our neighborhood here.

Are Domain Names Important for SEO?

Search engine optimization (SEO) refers to a set of practices and techniques employed to increase the amount of organic traffic that comes through search engine queries.

Given the fact most users rely on Google to search the web, webmasters try to follow Google’s Guidelines in order to rank well on the search engine page result for relevant keywords. Google’s ultimate goal is to offer the best possible user experience by offering only the most relevant results for each user that types in a certain word or a phrase.

When you take into consideration that 93% of all website traffic comes from search engines, learning SEO is recommended for all webmasters, regardless of the industry they operate in. Which would all be nice and well if Google’s complex algorithm did not utilize over 200 ranking factors, not all of which are equally important. Figuring out what impacts the search engine optimization of your site is incredibly complex, which is why we prepared this detailed SEO ebook that should cover everything you want to know on the topic, and includes comments from industry experts.

The group of search engine ranking factors related to your website domain are called domain ranking factors. Domain ranking factors are not always in the spotlight when it comes to discussing SEO practices that bring results. However, they do matter and should not be disregarded, especially in terms of online security.

In fact, people from the SEO industry mostly focus on discussing the role Domain Authority or exact-match keyword domains have. However, by being equipped with a more detailed understanding of the way your top level domain influences your SEO rankings, you can work on improving your website’s position on search engine results page (SERP) for relevant queries. In addition, the choice of your domain and your wholesome online behavior may leave a mark on the way Google perceives and values your website.

There are several dilemmas brands face before choosing a domain name, but they all come down to the following two:

1. Are some TLDs better than others, in terms of SEO?

When it comes to the choice of TLDs, there has been a bit of controversy whether some domain extensions that were associated with spammy behavior in the past can get negative points, i.e. poorer rankings from the start. Google denied this, although some domains have negative sentiment among users because of the above-mentioned reason.

2. Is including a keyword in the domain name wise?

Some studies show that domain names that contain a keyword can improve the click through rate on ads. Such is the study by Memorable Domains that claims that keyword-specific domains manage to grab more attention and generate more clicks, around 45% more as opposed to the generic ones. It’s probably because users search for something specific and experience an urge to click once they are exposed to the keyword domain.

According to Matt Cutts, former Google employee, however, exact-match domains don’t necessarily give you a ranking boost. It’s far more important to focus on the overall quality of your website, opposed to paying too much attention to search engines. Instead, Cutts suggested brandable domains that organically attract traffic make a better option. A perfect job for .ME, right? 🙂

Your domain name is the cornerstone of brand identity and it must be well thought through to perfectly sum up what your business is about. Choosing the perfect domain name requires a fair dose of brainstorming, but investing an effort is mandatory for future success. If you need some help deciding on your domain name, check out this post. In the meantime, stay confident that, at least from the SEO perspective, a .ME domain is a great choice. 🙂

We hope this article has helped you understand the connection between domain names and SEO. As Google’s algorithms are advancing toward helping people find helpful and relevant content in a more natural way, the only truly future-proof strategy for getting good placements on search engines is building rich, relevant, and valuable content!