Domain and domain ranking. What is it and why is it so important for the Google Top 10?

What is a domain?

A domain name (DR) is a unique internet address that makes it easy for a user to get to a website (otherwise, complex, hard-to-remember IP sequences such as “192.0.2.1” would be used instead of the usual links). The domain structure consists of the following main parts:

• Protocol: a set of communication rules by which computers can communicate with each other on the Internet. The most commonly used protocol is ‘http’ ( hypertext transfer protocol). It is what allows browsers to understand how to receive and display a web page. The protocol is specified before the domain name, separated by a colon and two slashes (http://).

A more secure version of the protocol is https ( hypertext transfer protocol secure), which uses SSL ( secure sockets layer) encryption technology. This technology ensures that the data sent between the browser and the server is encrypted, protecting it from possible data theft. The main difference between http and https is security – an https connection is encrypted, whereas an http connection is not. This is why the https protocol is particularly important for websites that exchange sensitive data, such as e-commerce sites.

• Domain name: a unique set of words or numbers that identifies a specific web server. This is the address at which you access the website you want. A domain name must be unique because it is assigned to only one website.
• Top level domain ( TLD): This is the part of the domain name after the last dot. The TLD indicates the type of domain and is usually an abbreviated form of a geographical location, type of organisation or other category (e.g. “.lt” indicates the domain of a website targeting the Lithuanian market, “.ai”, “.agency”, or similar domains may indicate the nature of the business to which the website belongs).

What is a domain ranking and how do I measure it?

Domain ranking is an assessment of the popularity, authority and quality of a website. Measured from 1 to 100, a domain rating indicates how much attention and links from other sources a website has gained. The higher the domain rating (at least 25 is considered satisfactory), the more trust search engines have in the website, and the closer the business goal of a top position in Google search results.

2 free ways to measure domain rankings

• Smallseotools
• SEO review tools

For more information on the meaning of the indicators displayed in these tools, see the Asteri article “Website and external SEO: 10 ideas for quality links “.

Domain and its ranking: how soon can you expect a good score?

Unfortunately, not instantly. Building an external link profile (as well as a measured and effective SEO strategy – both external and internal SEO services) can take anywhere from a few months to a year or even more – and the speed at which results will be seen depends on the intensity of your efforts, as well as on the activity of your competitors in improving their SEO positions. Consistency, domain maturity, gradual improvement of the website’s informative content and the cultivation of a network of backlinks will help DR to grow naturally and ensure a long-term increase in the authority of the website.

Can a very good domain ranking drop to good, medium or even poor?

Yes, it is possible to have stagnating and declining DR as well as declining DR. This usually happens if we lose a lot of external links that were previously on authoritative sites, or if we gain a lot of toxic links from unreliable, low quality sources. Competition also plays a role – if we stop putting effort into our external SEO strategy and our competitors are just starting to do so, then in the long run DR may also lose its current position.

Internal SEO, content, domain and ranking: what is the relationship between these elements?

Internal SEO, high quality content, domains and domain rankings are like a machine where no one part is inseparable from the other. The better optimised the website, the higher the quality of the content and the higher the domain ranking, the better the chances of appearing in Google’s top 10. These components work synergistically, so even if most of them function perfectly but one of them “limps”, it will be much harder to achieve positive results in search engines. And most importantly, it is only when the internal SEO is flawless and the content on the website (e.g. the blog and the publications that accompany it) is continuously improved that the domain ranking starts to rise.

So the first step towards online visibility is to have a website that is rich in content, user-friendly and intuitive, and that can be achieved through the efforts of an in-house SEO strategy. Internal SEO optimisation is the process of adapting and continuously improving a website so that it is recognised by both users and search engines as being of high quality and useful. High-quality content, enriched with keywords that reflect the business and are the most used by the audience, is the fuel for the aforementioned mechanism, as it is good content (combined with a clear and beautiful design) that attracts, engages and retains website visitors. Google’s search engine’s priority is good user experience. It is a high rate of traffic and time spent on a website that is a strong argument for the algorithms to prove that a source is worthy of even more audience attention and higher positions.

Internal SEO optimisation: 3 ideas for content that ranks in Google’s top 10 and improves website DR

• Website text: detailed description of the services provided, introduction to the history of the brand, educational information on how to choose and use the range of products offered.
• Product descriptions: useful not only for technical details, but also for the value, exclusivity and usability of the product.
• A blog and regular articles on it: articles are not only a great opportunity to include SEO keywords that don’t appear in the website’s text, to answer frequently asked questions from the audience, and to reinforce the brand’s image as an expert in its field.

External SEO and its importance for domain ranking

While internal SEO optimisation is the foundational step for high DR and dominance in Google search results, external SEO is the next step, which is carried out after the fundamental objectives of the internal SEO strategy have been met. External SEO, as the name implies, is based on backlinks from external sources leading to our website. The accumulation of external links is one of the most important factors in increasing DR, as each credible link gives signals of credibility and relevance to the content of the website. So more quality backlinks = DR growth and a greater chance of appearing higher in search results. It’s true that not all links are equally useful – it’s especially important to distinguish between quality and authoritative links and toxic ones:

• Quality backlinks: links from credible, authoritative, sufficiently high DR, business-related websites.
• Toxic backlinks: links from low domain ranking, low quality, unreliable, spammy websites.

Backlinks: quality, quantity or diversity?

Even authoritative external sources may have different nature or even domain rating (after all, the DR range from 25 to 100 is also very wide). The question is – is it better to spend time on a single link on an ideally reputable website, or is it more effective this time to have several links in small business directories? The answer lies in the balance between the two – the natural growth of the number of external links is particularly important, so a single source will not be enough. However, the priority is not only the number of links, but also the variety of links – the variety of sources, the variety of the nature of the content they contain, and the variety of the time it takes to build links.