Your domain name influences SEO in ways that most guides get wrong. The internet is filled with outdated advice about keyword-rich domains, domain age advantages, and magic TLD selections that supposedly boost rankings. Most of it is myth.

This guide cuts through the noise. Based on the latest research, official Google documentation, and statements from Google representatives like John Mueller and Gary Illyes, we will examine exactly how domains affect search rankings—and what actually matters for your website’s visibility.

Here is the reality: domain names affect SEO through indirect trust and technical signals rather than direct ranking manipulation. Keywords in your domain provide no ranking boost. Domain age is not a ranking factor. The “.com” extension does not rank better than “.io” or “.co”.

What does matter? Domain authority built through quality backlinks. Technical implementation including HTTPS, site speed, and Core Web Vitals. International targeting signals. User trust and brand recognition. These factors, and how to optimise them, are what this guide covers in depth.

1. Domain Authority: What Google Actually Uses

Domain Authority (DA), Domain Rating (DR), and Authority Score are terms you will encounter constantly in SEO discussions. Before diving into how to improve these metrics, you need to understand a critical distinction: Google does not use any of these metrics.

John Mueller has been explicit about this: “We don’t use domain authority; that’s a metric from an SEO company… If you’d like to level your site up in search, you’d need to focus on something else.”

So why do SEO professionals track these metrics obsessively? Because they correlate with factors Google does value. The underlying signals that Moz, Ahrefs, and SEMrush use to calculate their scores—link quality, content relevance, site trustworthiness—are central to Google’s ranking algorithms.

Understanding the major authority metrics

Each major SEO tool calculates domain strength differently. Understanding these differences helps you interpret the data correctly and avoid comparing apples to oranges.

Correlation with rankings: Research by Onely found that Moz DA has a correlation coefficient of 0.16 with Google rankings, while Ahrefs DR shows 0.14. These are modest correlations—enough to be useful for benchmarking, but nowhere near deterministic.

What Google actually measures: siteAuthority

The 2024 Google API leak revealed that Google uses internal “siteAuthority” signals—domain-level quality metrics that help new pages on established sites rank faster initially. These signals “map into similar things” as third-party metrics but are calculated entirely differently.

This explains why a new blog post on the New York Times website can rank immediately, while the same content on a new domain might take months to gain traction. Google has learned to trust certain domains based on their track record.

How to improve domain authority

Since third-party metrics reflect real quality signals, improving them requires genuine quality improvements—not manipulation. The most effective strategies include:

1. Build high-quality backlinks from unique referring domains. The number of unique websites linking to you matters more than total link count. One link each from 100 different authoritative sites beats 100 links from a single site.
2. Create linkable content assets. Original research, data studies, and comprehensive guides attract natural backlinks. According to Backlinko research, statistics pages generate 32% of quality backlinks.
3. Remove or disavow toxic backlinks. Links from spammy, penalised, or irrelevant sites can drag down your profile. Regular audits help identify problems.
4. Set realistic timeline expectations. Meaningful authority improvements typically take 3-6 months. The difficulty increases logarithmically at higher scores—moving from DA 30 to 40 is easier than moving from 60 to 70.

Tools for monitoring domain authority

• Moz Link Explorer — The original DA metric with 30-day free trial. Best for tracking long-term trends.
• Ahrefs Website Authority Checker — Most comprehensive backlink database with 35 trillion external backlinks indexed.
• SEMrush Authority Score — Factors in traffic and spam signals for a more holistic view.

2. Backlinks in 2026: The Complete Picture

Backlinks have been central to Google’s ranking algorithm since PageRank in 1998. But their importance has shifted dramatically. Gary Illyes confirmed in April 2024: “We need very few links to rank pages… Over the years, we’ve made links less important.”

The March 2024 spam policy update notably removed the word “important” when describing how Google uses links. This was not accidental—it reflects Google’s reduced reliance on links as a ranking signal.

Does this mean links no longer matter? No. It means the bar for what constitutes a valuable link has risen significantly, while the volume of links needed has decreased.

What defines a quality backlink in 2026

Google’s systems have become sophisticated at distinguishing natural editorial links from manufactured ones. A quality backlink in 2025 typically has these characteristics:

• Topical relevance: The linking page’s content relates meaningfully to your content. A link from a cooking blog to your restaurant website carries more weight than a link from a random tech blog.
• Editorial placement: The link appears naturally within body content, not in footers, sidebars, or author bios. Google understands page structure and values contextual links.
• Traffic to the linking page: Pages that receive actual organic traffic signal genuine value. A link from a page nobody visits provides little benefit.
• Domain authority of the source: Links from established, authoritative domains (DR 50+) pass more value than links from new or low-quality sites.
• Natural anchor text: The clickable text varies naturally—branded terms, URL citations, generic phrases, and occasional keyword mentions.

Anchor text distribution: Getting it right

Anchor text—the clickable words in a hyperlink—has been both a ranking signal and a spam indicator since the early 2000s. Google’s Penguin algorithm specifically targets unnatural anchor text patterns.

Research by Ahrefs analysing 384,000 pages revealed what natural anchor text distribution looks like for top-ranking content:

Critical warning: Sites penalised by Google Penguin typically had 90%+ keyword-rich anchors. Keep exact match anchors under 10% of your total backlink profile. Over-optimisation is one of the clearest manipulation signals.

The disavow tool: When and how to use it

Google’s disavow tool allows you to tell Google to ignore specific backlinks when assessing your site. However, Google’s official guidance is clear: “This is an advanced feature and should only be used with caution.”

A 2024 experiment by renowned SEO expert Cyrus Shepard tested disavowing ALL known incoming links. The result? No material traffic change. This suggests Google largely ignores disavow requests unless there is a manual penalty present.

When to use the disavow tool:

• You have received a manual action notification in Google Search Console
• You previously engaged in link schemes and want to clean up
• You are experiencing a clear negative SEO attack with thousands of spammy links

When NOT to use it:

• Preemptively “just in case”
• For links that simply look low-quality but are not clearly spammy
• Without first attempting manual link removal requests

Effective link building strategies for 2026

With Google’s increased sophistication at detecting manipulation, link building has evolved from a technical exercise to a genuine marketing function. The strategies that work today focus on earning links through value creation.

Digital PR and journalist outreach

Help a Reporter Out (HARO), which was acquired and relaunched by Featured.com in April 2025, connects journalists with expert sources. When you provide valuable quotes for articles, you often receive backlinks from major publications.

Success rates typically range from 5-15%, meaning you need to respond to many queries to generate consistent results. The key is providing genuinely useful, quotable insights rather than promotional content.

Original research and data studies

Content that presents original data attracts citations naturally. This could include survey results, industry analysis, trend reports, or case studies with specific metrics. When journalists or bloggers need to cite statistics, they link to the source.

Guest posting for genuine value

Guest posting still works when done correctly—writing genuinely valuable content for relevant, authoritative sites in your industry. The key distinction: you are contributing expertise to help their audience, not manufacturing links.

Broken link building and unlinked mentions

Finding broken links on relevant sites and offering your content as a replacement remains effective. Similarly, monitoring brand mentions that do not include links and reaching out to request attribution provides natural link opportunities.

3. Core Web Vitals: Technical Performance That Ranks

Core Web Vitals became a confirmed ranking factor in June 2021. In March 2024, Google replaced First Input Delay (FID) with Interaction to Next Paint (INP) as the interactivity metric, reflecting the evolution of how we measure user experience.

Understanding these metrics is not optional for SEO professionals. They represent Google’s clearest statement about which technical factors directly influence rankings.

The three Core Web Vitals explained

These thresholds are measured at the 75th percentile of page loads. This means 75% of your visitors need to experience these speeds, not just your fastest users on optimal connections.

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Loading performance

LCP measures how quickly the largest visible element loads—typically a hero image, heading text block, or video thumbnail. It is the metric users most directly perceive as “page speed.”

Common LCP issues and fixes:

1. Slow server response time (TTFB). Target Time to First Byte under 800ms. Solutions include upgrading hosting, implementing caching, and using a CDN.
2. Render-blocking resources. JavaScript and CSS that block page rendering delay LCP. Defer non-critical scripts and inline critical CSS.
3. Unoptimised images. Use modern formats (WebP, AVIF), implement responsive images, and add fetchpriority=”high” to hero images.
4. Client-side rendering. JavaScript frameworks that render content client-side delay LCP. Consider server-side rendering or static generation.

Interaction to Next Paint (INP): Responsiveness

INP replaced FID in March 2024, measuring the latency of all user interactions throughout a page’s lifecycle—not just the first one. This makes it a more comprehensive measure of how responsive your site feels.

Common INP issues and fixes:

1. Long JavaScript tasks. Break up tasks longer than 50ms using scheduler.yield() or setTimeout. This allows the browser to respond to user input between chunks.
2. Heavy main thread work. Move computation-intensive operations to Web Workers, which run on separate threads.
3. Too much JavaScript. Code-split your bundles to load only what is needed. Remove unused dependencies.
4. Third-party scripts. Analytics, chat widgets, and ad scripts often block the main thread. Audit and remove or defer unnecessary third-party code.

Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Visual stability

CLS measures how much page content shifts unexpectedly during loading. Nothing frustrates users more than clicking a button only to have the page shift and clicking something else entirely.

Common CLS issues and fixes:

1. Images without dimensions. Always specify width and height attributes on images, or use CSS aspect-ratio. This reserves space before the image loads.
2. Ads and embeds. Reserve fixed space for ad slots and embedded content. Never insert content above existing content.
3. Web fonts causing FOUT. Preload critical fonts and use font-display: optional or swap to minimize layout shifts from font loading.
4. Dynamic content injection. If you must inject content dynamically, do so below the viewport or use skeleton loaders that match final content dimensions.

The real ranking impact of Core Web Vitals

John Mueller has been clear about expectations: “It’s not going to make your site’s rankings jump up” from CWV improvements alone. Content relevance remains “by far much more important.”

Industry studies confirm that CWV functions as a tiebreaker in competitive scenarios rather than a dominant factor. When two pages are otherwise equal in content quality and authority, the one with better CWV will rank higher.

However, the business impact extends far beyond rankings:

• Vodafone: 31% LCP improvement led to 8% increase in sales
• Pinterest: 40% faster load time resulted in 15% SEO traffic increase and 15% signup conversion boost
• Yahoo! JAPAN: CLS optimisation led to 15.1% more page views per session

Tools for measuring Core Web Vitals

Critical distinction: Google uses field data (real user measurements from Chrome User Experience Report) for ranking evaluation, not lab data from tools like Lighthouse. Both are valuable, but field data is what matters for SEO.

• Google Search Console: Core Web Vitals report shows site-wide performance with URL groupings. This is your primary monitoring tool.
• PageSpeed Insights: Combines field data (when available) with lab diagnostics. Use it for page-level analysis and specific recommendations.
• Chrome DevTools: Performance panel provides detailed waterfall analysis for debugging specific issues.
• Web Vitals JavaScript library: Add to your site to collect real user data matching CrUX methodology.

4. Domain Age and History: Myths vs Reality

“Older domains rank better” is one of the most persistent myths in SEO. It persists because there is a kernel of truth buried under layers of misunderstanding.

Google’s official position on domain age

John Mueller has addressed this directly: “No, domain age helps nothing.” When asked who benefits from claims about domain age advantages, he responded: “Primarily those who want to sell you aged domains.”

A frequently misinterpreted Google patent about domain registration discusses identifying spam sites, not promoting legitimate domains. The patent notes that spam domains tend to be registered for short periods and abandoned quickly—it is not about giving advantages to older domains.

Why older domains often rank well

If domain age is not a ranking factor, why do older sites seem to perform better? The answer lies in what accumulates over time:

• Backlinks: Older sites have had more time to attract natural links from other websites.
• Content depth: Years of publishing create comprehensive content libraries that establish topical authority.
• Brand recognition: Established sites have built user trust and brand searches over time.
• Technical refinement: Long-running sites have typically resolved technical issues and optimised user experience.

These factors correlate with age but are not caused by age. A new site that builds excellent content, attracts quality links, and establishes brand recognition can compete effectively with older sites.

Buying expired domains: Risks and realities

The expired domain marketplace thrives on the belief that purchasing an aged domain transfers SEO value to your new site. The reality is more complicated.

Google is sophisticated at detecting domain ownership changes. When a domain’s content and purpose change significantly, Google does not blindly transfer authority from the old site to the new one.

The March 2024 Google update specifically addressed “Expired Domain Abuse”—purchasing expired domains to manipulate rankings by hosting low-value content. Google’s example: “Casino content on a former elementary school site.”

If you are considering an expired domain:

1. Check the Wayback Machine (web.archive.org) to see what the domain previously hosted. Significant content changes will likely reset any accumulated authority.
2. Audit the backlink profile for spam or penalties. You inherit the domain’s link history, including any negative signals.
3. Search for the domain in Google to check for previous penalties or deindexing.
4. Consider relevance —an expired domain only provides potential value if your new site is topically related to what it previously hosted.

5. Exact Match Domains: Do Keywords in URLs Help?

An Exact Match Domain (EMD) precisely matches a target keyword—like “cheapflights.com” for someone targeting “cheap flights.” Before 2012, EMDs provided significant ranking advantages. Today, the picture is very different.

The EMD Update and its lasting impact

Google’s September 2012 EMD Update specifically targeted low-quality sites ranking solely because of keyword-stuffed domains. The algorithm change reduced the ranking benefit for thin content sites using EMDs.

John Mueller has been clear about the current state: keywords in domain names provide no ranking bonus. He stated: “Your domain name is never going to make or break your SEO… A keyword domain name is not going to give you any recognizable SEO advantage on Google.”

When EMDs make sense

EMDs can still work when they align naturally with your brand and business. If you run a company called “Accra Web Design” and register accrawebdesign.com, that is both an EMD and a legitimate brand name.

The key consideration: would this domain work as a brand name?“BestCheapWebHostingGhana2025.com” fails this test—it looks like spam and limits your business to a specific year and narrow focus.

Brandable domains vs keyword domains

For long-term success, brandable domains typically outperform keyword-focused ones:

• Memorability: “Stripe” is easier to remember than “OnlinePaymentProcessing”
• Flexibility: Brandable names allow you to expand into new products or services without domain constraints
• Trust: Keyword-stuffed domains can appear spammy to users, reducing click-through rates
• Type-in traffic: Strong brands generate direct navigation traffic independent of search rankings

6. HTTPS: Security as a Ranking Signal

Google announced HTTPS as a ranking signal in August 2014, calling it a “lightweight” signal at the time. A decade later, HTTPS has become a baseline expectation rather than a competitive advantage.

The ranking impact of HTTPS

The direct ranking benefit of HTTPS is modest—Google confirmed it affects “less than 1% of global queries.” However, HTTPS has become so universal that lacking it is now a negative signal rather than having it being a positive one.

Why HTTPS matters beyond rankings

1. Browser warnings: Chrome and other browsers display prominent “Not Secure” warnings for HTTP sites, especially those with forms. This dramatically increases bounce rates.
2. Data integrity: HTTPS prevents man-in-the-middle attacks where malicious actors could intercept or modify data between users and your server.
3. Referral data preservation: When traffic passes from an HTTPS site to an HTTP site, referral data is stripped. This affects your analytics accuracy.
4. Modern protocol access: HTTP/2 and HTTP/3—which provide significant performance improvements—require HTTPS.
5. PWA requirements: Progressive Web Apps and service workers require HTTPS to function.

HTTPS migration best practices

Migrating from HTTP to HTTPS requires careful execution to avoid SEO disruption:

• Implement 301 redirects from all HTTP URLs to their HTTPS equivalents
• Update internal links throughout your site to use HTTPS
• Fix mixed content errors —loading HTTP resources (images, scripts) on HTTPS pages breaks security
• Update canonical tags to reference HTTPS versions
• Submit new sitemaps to Google Search Console with HTTPS URLs
• Update external profiles and links where you control them (social profiles, directories)

At Faciotech, all hosting plans include free SSL certificates with automatic installation and renewal. Our team also provides HTTPS migration assistance to ensure no SEO value is lost in transition.

7. TLDs, ccTLDs, and International SEO

Your choice of top-level domain (TLD) affects how search engines understand your target audience. This is particularly important for businesses targeting specific countries or multiple international markets.

Do different TLDs rank differently?

For generic TLDs (.com, .org, .net, .io, .ai, .co), Google has been clear: they are all treated equally. The .com extension does not rank better than .io or any other gTLD.

Gary Illyes noted: “From our side, there’s no ranking preference for any of those TLDs.” The perceived advantage of .com comes from user trust and recognition, not algorithmic preference.

Country-code TLDs for geo-targeting

Country-code TLDs (ccTLDs) like .co.uk, .de, .com.gh, and .ca do affect how Google understands geographic targeting. Gary Illyes explained: “Local domain names tend to do better because Google Search promotes content local to the user.”

A ccTLD sends a strong signal that your site is intended for users in that country. This can improve rankings for searches originating from that country.

International SEO domain strategies

John Mueller provided clear guidance in 2024: “By separating your site across separate domain names, you both make things harder on yourself, but you also make it harder for search engines to understand each of these sites.”

For most businesses expanding internationally, the recommended approach is:

1. Start with a gTLD and subdirectories (example.com/fr/, example.com/de/). This consolidates link equity and simplifies management.
2. Implement hreflang tags correctly to tell Google which language/region each page targets.
3. Consider ccTLDs only when you have dedicated resources for each market and strong local SEO requirements.

Hreflang implementation essentials

Ahrefs research found that 67% of websites have hreflang implementation errors. Getting hreflang right is critical for international SEO.

Required elements for proper hreflang:

• Reciprocal tags: If page A links to page B with hreflang, page B must link back to page A
• Self-referencing tags: Each page must include a hreflang tag pointing to itself
• x-default tag: Include a fallback for users who do not match any specified language/region
• Canonical consistency: Hreflang URLs must match canonical URLs exactly
• Indexable pages only: Never point hreflang to noindexed or redirected URLs

8. URL Structure: Subdomains, Subdirectories, and Best Practices

How you structure URLs—including the choice between subdomains and subdirectories—affects how search engines crawl, understand, and distribute authority across your content.

Subdomain vs subdirectory: The definitive answer

Google officially states that subdomains (blog.example.com) and subdirectories (example.com/blog) are treated equally. However, John Mueller’s practical advice tells a different story: “I would personally try to keep things together as much as possible.”

The reason subdirectories typically perform better is link equity consolidation. When all your content lives under one domain, backlinks to any page strengthen the entire domain. With subdomains, link equity is partially siloed.

Use subdirectories when:

• The content is part of your core offering (blog, resources, products)
• You want maximum link equity transfer across your site
• You prefer simpler technical management

Use subdomains when:

• Content is substantially different (separate application, distinct product line)
• You need different hosting or technology stacks
• You intentionally want to isolate content (user-generated content, testing environments)

URL structure best practices

Google’s official documentation provides clear guidance on URL structure:

• Use descriptive words rather than long ID numbers. “/products/blue-widget” beats “/products/item?id=12847”
• Use hyphens between words, not underscores. Google treats hyphens as word separators but underscores as word joiners.
• Keep URLs simple and logical. Users should be able to understand where they are from the URL.
• Avoid unnecessary parameters. Session IDs and tracking parameters in URLs create duplicate content issues.

Keywords in URLs are confirmed as a “very small” ranking factor. Focus on user readability rather than keyword optimisation.

9. E-E-A-T: How Domains Build Trust

E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) is not a direct ranking factor but a framework Google uses to evaluate content quality. Your domain and overall web presence significantly influence how Google perceives your E-E-A-T.

Understanding E-E-A-T

Google added “Experience” to E-A-T on December 15, 2022, emphasising the value of first-hand knowledge. The Quality Rater Guidelines mention E-E-A-T 116 times, with Trust identified as the most important element.

Marie Haynes, a recognised E-E-A-T expert, emphasises: “E-E-A-T is what others say about you, not necessarily links.” This shifts focus from link acquisition to reputation building.

How domains contribute to E-E-A-T

• Third-party validation: Independent reviews, expert references, news coverage, and Wikipedia mentions signal authority more than self-promotion.
• Author credentials: Content should be created by people with verifiable expertise in the subject matter, especially for YMYL (Your Money Your Life) topics.
• Brand mentions: Both linked and unlinked mentions of your brand across the web contribute to perceived authority.
• Comprehensive About pages: Company history, team information, physical address, and contact details establish legitimacy.
• Trust signals: HTTPS, clear privacy policies, accessible contact information, and professional design all contribute to trustworthiness.

E-E-A-T and AI visibility

Research shows that brand-related signals are among the top factors correlating with presence in AI Overviews, outperforming traditional SEO metrics. As AI-generated search results become more prevalent, strong brand authority becomes increasingly important.

10. Recent Google Updates Affecting Domains (2024-2025)

Google’s March 2024 Core Update was the largest in the company’s history, integrating the Helpful Content system into core ranking and targeting a 40-45% reduction in low-quality content. Several new spam policies directly affect domain strategies.

Expired Domain Abuse

This policy targets purchasing expired domains to manipulate rankings by hosting low-value content. Google’s example: “Casino content on a former elementary school site.”

Using expired domains for legitimate new sites remains acceptable—the policy targets obvious manipulation where the new content has no relationship to the domain’s history or accumulated authority.

Site Reputation Abuse (“Parasite SEO”)

This policy addresses publishing third-party content to exploit a host site’s ranking signals. Manual actions hit Forbes Advisor, CNN Underscored, and WSJ Buyside in late 2024.

Google’s November update clarified: “No amount of first-party involvement alters the fundamental third-party nature of the content.” This affects coupon sections, sponsored content areas, and similar arrangements on high-authority sites.

Scaled Content Abuse

This policy targets producing content at scale—whether by humans or AI—primarily to manipulate rankings rather than serve users. The key factor is intent: content created to help users is fine; content created primarily for ranking manipulation is not.

11. Domain SEO Audit Checklist

Use this comprehensive checklist to evaluate and improve your domain’s SEO foundation.

Technical foundation

• HTTPS properly implemented with valid SSL certificate
• No mixed content errors (HTTP resources on HTTPS pages)
• All HTTP URLs redirect to HTTPS equivalents (301 redirects)
• Core Web Vitals passing in Google Search Console
• Site loads in under 3 seconds on mobile connections
• XML sitemap submitted and current
• txt not blocking important pages
• Clean URL structure with hyphens, no unnecessary parameters

Authority and backlinks

• Domain authority metrics tracked monthly (Moz DA, Ahrefs DR, or SEMrush AS)
• Backlink profile audited quarterly for toxic links
• Anchor text distribution appears natural (<10% exact match)
• New referring domains being acquired consistently
• No manual penalties in Google Search Console
• Link building strategy focuses on quality over quantity

International and local SEO

• Appropriate TLD for target market (ccTLD for single country, gTLD for global)
• Hreflang tags correctly implemented (if multi-language/region)
• Target country set in Google Search Console (if using gTLD)
• Google Business Profile claimed and optimised (for local businesses)
• NAP (Name, Address, Phone) consistent across the web
• Local citations in relevant directories

E-E-A-T and trust signals

• Comprehensive About page with team information
• Clear contact information accessible from all pages
• Author bylines with credentials on content
• Privacy policy and terms of service published
• Professional design appropriate to industry
• Third-party reviews and mentions being cultivated

Conclusion: What Actually Matters for Domain SEO

After examining the research, official documentation, and expert statements, the picture is clear: domain names affect SEO through indirect trust and technical signals, not through keywords, age, or magic TLD selections.

What does not matter:

• Keywords in your domain name (no ranking advantage)
• Domain age (not a ranking factor)
• Domain registration length (myth)
• Specific gTLD choice (.com vs .io vs .co)

What matters significantly:

• Quality backlinks from relevant, authoritative sources
• Core Web Vitals and technical performance
• HTTPS implementation
• E-E-A-T signals and brand trust
• Proper international targeting (ccTLDs, hreflang)
• Clean, logical URL structure

Start with the audit checklist above. Identify gaps in your current setup and address them systematically. SEO is not a one-time task but an ongoing process of improvement.

Need help optimising your domain for search? Faciotech offers domain registration, secure hosting optimised for performance, and technical consultancy to help your site perform at its best. Contact our team to discuss your site’s SEO health, or explore our hosting plans that include free SSL certificates and performance optimisation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does domain age affect SEO rankings?

No. Google’s John Mueller has stated explicitly: “No, domain age helps nothing.” Older domains often rank well because they have accumulated backlinks, content, and brand recognition over time—not because of age itself.

Is .com better for SEO than other extensions?

No. Google treats all generic TLDs (.com, .org, .net, .io, .ai, .co) equally for ranking purposes. The .com advantage is user trust and recognition, not algorithmic preference.

Should I include keywords in my domain name?

Keywords in domain names provide no ranking advantage. Choose a brandable, memorable domain over a keyword-stuffed one. “Stripe.com” is more valuable than “OnlinePaymentProcessing.com.”

How important are backlinks in 2026?

Backlinks remain a ranking factor but are less important than before. Google’s Gary Illyes confirmed: “We need very few links to rank pages.” Quality matters far more than quantity—a few links from authoritative, relevant sites outweigh hundreds of low-quality links.

What are good Core Web Vitals scores?

Target LCP under 2.5 seconds, INP under 200 milliseconds, and CLS under 0.1. These thresholds are measured at the 75th percentile of your actual users, not best-case scenarios.

Should I use a subdomain or subdirectory for my blog?

Subdirectories (example.com/blog) are generally recommended because they consolidate link equity under one domain. Use subdomains only when content is substantially different or requires separate hosting infrastructure.

Is buying an expired domain worth it for SEO?

Usually not. Google is sophisticated at detecting domain ownership changes and does not blindly transfer authority. The March 2024 update specifically targets “Expired Domain Abuse.” Only consider expired domains if your new site is topically related to the previous content and you have verified no spam history.

How long does it take to improve domain authority?

Meaningful improvements typically take 3-6 months of consistent effort. Progress becomes increasingly difficult at higher scores—moving from DA 30 to 40 is easier than moving from 60 to 70.