Exact Match Domains
-
Hi All Which strategy from below would be best for the purchase of an exact match domain... 1) www.shiny-blue-widgets.com 2) wwwshinybluewidgetsshop.com Wondered if there was much difference in either as I know both have plus and minus points.
-
With the "shop" element in the domain option #2, you no longer have an exact match domain (EMD).
The hyphenated version would be preferred. However, with 3 hyphens you're probably beyond the acceptable limits.
From my perspective, neither is a good solution. I'd go the brand route instead..
I also agree with Shane Thomas that the EMD bonus will likely diminish over time.
-
Great feedback all. Thank you.
-
Yeah i knew i had read that recently. In my opinion Brand is more powerful of a tool than an "SEO Trick" but of course if you don't have a brand and are only trying to sell someone elses stuff it is hard i guess.
So i guess the answer to his question would be situational, meaning is the using of keywords in the domain relevant to the user experience?
w00t!
-
You will find this article interesting: http://www.seobythesea.com/2011/10/googles-exact-match-domain-name-patent-detecting-commercial-queries/
-
Per the "leaked" rating guidelines, I believe raters are told to be on the lookout for Hyphenated Keyword domains. Also Google's patent for a new technology to actually devalue exact match domains was approved last month i believe.
In my opinion exact match will be dead soon, so using it as a strategy is probably not the best idea.
With that being said, i would say the hypenated version would be the worse long term bet, but no one can predict the Google future!
w00t!
-
Gareth, I think that the hyphenated URLs have been commonly associated with spammers for so long that Google, more or less by default, wised up to the game. Our personal site findmyaccident.com is without hyphens and we've managed to rank rather well, yet when we did A-B testing with a subsite that had hyphenated URL, the results were not as promising. Granted, all the variables were not the same, but it was enough evidence to persuade us to avoid hyphens, if possible. Hope this helps!
-
Cool, nice idea about the H1.
-
Hi Thomas, Great point about checking for similar exact match domains already in the SERPS. I've always thought the search engines considered the hyphenated option spammy rather than the searcher, or is it both?
-
Tough question to anwer confidently and with any solid evidence. The best I can give you is in my own experience the past 4 of 6 clients whcih are relevant to the conversation have non-hyphenated urls which ranked slightly higher in google. The combo we used was to H1 tag to match but using spaces which I guess gave google a little more to munch on.
-
Hi Gareth,
From my experience, it doesn't really matter that much. The second one looks slightly less spammy, which might work for your advantage in terms of interacting with users.
Also, you might want to look at the SERP before developing the domain. if there are already similar exact match domains ranking on the keyword, it's harder to get a top ranking.
Best,
Thomas
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Domain athority for a redirectiones domain
Hi everyone: I create a new version for a website, his DA was 38, but it was redirectioned (with search console and 301 redirection) for a new domain. The website with new domain is working two months ago and still have DA: 1 and PA: 1. How many time take to DA and PA to start to grow up? Thanks for the answers
On-Page Optimization | | diegodiaz850 -
URL SEO: Better directory structure vs. exact keyword phrase
I am trying to understand how to best optimise a url for a page to rank high for specific keywords. Example: a top keyword search is "rental properties in new york". Question is does this keyword need to appear as this exact phrase in the url or should it be broken up into different directories for a better structure e.g.: www.abc.com/en/properties/new-york/rental OR www.abc.com/en/rental-properties-in-new-york Which will help the page rank higher (given all other things on the page are exactly the same)? Thanks!
On-Page Optimization | | MH190 -
Same UI, different domain
Hello there. I would like to ask for your opinions. I have DomainA.com/blog and want to move /blog to its own domain. As of now, the blog section has the exact same UI as the rest of the site, its just a section on our site. Will it have any negative impact with respect to SEO if DomainA.com and DomainB.com have the exact same UI and are interlinking each other? Thanks in advanced.
On-Page Optimization | | mike_sif0 -
Two sites, one with a ccTLD domain, the other with TLD domain, same content
Hi there! I have a site which can be accessed with two different domains: one ccTLD for Spain: www.piensapiensa.es one TLD www.piensapiensa.com Should I take care of something regarding SEO? I have also a redirection from www.piensapiensa.com to piensapiensa.com. I have set up them in webmasters tools individually, with the same sitemap obviously. Thanks in advanced.
On-Page Optimization | | juanmiguelcr0 -
Is it redundant to include a redirect to my canonical domain (www) in my .htaccess file since I already have the correct rel="canonical" in my header?
I've been reading the benefits of each practice, but not found anyone mentioning whether it's really necessary to do both? Personally I try to stay clear of .htaccess rewrites unless it's absolutely necessary, since because I've read they can slow down a website.
On-Page Optimization | | HOPdigital0 -
Changing domain name
Hello, we have 10 websites in same niche, and plan to build one strong site by making a 301 redirect from all sites to one. We think to do redirect each site to subfolder like this: www.newdomain.com/site1 www.newdomain.com/site2 www.newdomain.com/site3 www.newdomain.com/site4 www.newdomain.com/site5 www.newdomain.com/site6 www.newdomain.com/site7 www.newdomain.com/site8 www.newdomain.com/site9 www.newdomain.com/site10 And in root domain place unique content updated daily. Is this would work? Or this is bad idea? Looking to hear from a qualified technicians advice. Thanks in advance!
On-Page Optimization | | bele0 -
Landing Pages: New Domain or Sub Folder?
I use premise for landing pages. I have some extra domain names that are fantastic in my industry. I'm wondering if I should use those domains for these landing pages? The header, nav, footer, would be the same as my main site, the body and content would be totally different. will google penalize me if I have the same header and footer on a landing page?
On-Page Optimization | | homebizsmart0 -
Domain Extension
I am creating a website in canada to target a specific region in my city and was wondering if i should USE a .com, .ca, .org or a .info extension? i can purchaes all, but which should be used? I noticed some other websites have .org or .info instead of .com.....what is the preferred extension for Google?
On-Page Optimization | | Souk0