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I am thinking of changing my domain name and here is why - how does this search in google

getbounds jekyll turfjs

not list this url

https://getbounds.com/slides/neohio-gis-2016-leaflet-jekyll-turfjs/

(from my blog)? It does list my blog homepage, and the github page where the examples for presentation on my blog. Also, if you change turfjs to turf, it does not even list my site at all. The only thing I can think is that the getbounds term is too popular elsewhere. Anyone have any other ideas? My site is very fast to load, is secure, and is indexed by google. And those terms are in the url! I am not looking for a long list of SEO ideas - I want to know if I change my domain name to something more unique, will I have a better SEO for google search? OR, if, as a very little blog on a very small corner of the internet, I have no chance of ever getting found in a google search if I host my own blog (not on sqspace, wix, blogger, etc.)?

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  • Content is what gets found. Let me give you a hint on how much you can do. I have created 1012 answers here in 2 years and 9 months barely working on it part time. There are busy times and not. The point is, if you create your own blog, it takes time, but you will have significant content in time and you will be found. Blogs seem to start working with about 300 posts. This seems like a lot, but it can be done fast enough. Just focus on topic and quality and be consistent. As well, do not beat yourself up during slower periods or when ideas do not come to you. They will. Cheers!!
    – closetnoc
    Commented Nov 30, 2016 at 5:00
  • As well, I do not believe in using blogging sites such as blogger, wix, etc. Do not limit yourself. Use something like Wordpress on your own hosted site with an easy to remember domain name that means something. Just be sure to keep WP, plugins, and templates up to date and check it often. You have more advantages hosting your own site. Many people leave these other sites and host their own sites out of frustration. Skip this step and just go for the gold by doing it yourself.
    – closetnoc
    Commented Nov 30, 2016 at 5:04

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This is probably not what you want to hear, but it is what you need to hear.

Firstly I suggeste you read up on all SEO basics here is a nice hour long vid on youtube about the basics in 2016. I realize in your question you mentioned you don't want "a long list of SEO ideas" however with due respect it sounds like you need it.

Secondly, domain names have no impact on rankings whatsoever, that is a fact! In Fact it is arguably better to have a NONE keyword branded domain opposed to an exact match domain (referred to as an EMD) so to answer your primary question NO your domain name is not holding your back from ranking. This is what google says about EMD's

It takes a long time and A LOT of hard working to start ranking even for a basic keyword.

Having looked at your site, what is holding you back at this stage is that:

1) You have no domain authority (MOZ DA 1) Sidenote: (MOZ not accurate but still gives a good indication.)

2) Your blog is very new, and needs to win over the trust of google.

3) You win over the trust of google by creating good quality content, which your site is currently lacking

My advice to you. Stop thinking about rankings for atleast 6-months.

Just focus on building informative content and resources and within time, you will notice more and more organic traffic. But that takes time & a lot of hardwork. There is simply no other way!

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  • Thanks! Now, to say I have no quality content is a bit harsh, but I do not have a ton of content, that is for sure. I'll definitely take a look at that link. However, I do not see how THIS QUESTION get listed and my url does not, but whatever. I am just used to typing --name of company-- and having the first link be that company that shows up in the search results - hence changing my domain name. But those examples are all HUGE companies with millions of users, so there's the difference I guess.
    – Malcolm
    Commented Nov 29, 2016 at 15:46
  • ...domain names have no impact on rankings ... You have to separate rank metrics in the index from ranking within a search query result set. The search query engine absolutely takes the semantic value of the domain name into consideration, in fact, it is the #1 semantic signal when examining the URL. Still, I tell people NOT to change their domain name. Doing so rarely solves a problem. Because, even if the domain name does not have the search terms within it, it can perform just as well being branded or with a high trust score. In fact, changing domain names often causes more harm.
    – closetnoc
    Commented Nov 29, 2016 at 16:12
  • Since my site is fairly new, I was thinking changing the name would not have much impact, and I would permanently forward from the old one. I might do some testing with some dummy content and domain and see how things shake out.
    – Malcolm
    Commented Nov 29, 2016 at 18:18

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