Keyword Named Domains

[SpearOne]

First, I'm new to SEO so bear with me.

My company owns a list of domains with names that are keywords for us.  Right now, all those domains are redirecting to our main site.  None of the domains has ever had content; they were purchased recently and simple redirected.  My questions are: 1) is there any value in having domains that are exact keywords on which we'd like to rank, (i.e. does this work to improve site traffic and ultimately rankings, or is this a black hat tactic)?  and, 2) would there ever be any value in turning these sites into landing pages with content and outbound links that lead to our original site?

Thanks for your advice.

[ColinWhite]

The case of exact match domains is a quirky one. As Allen stated above

_"Google will penalize your site if it has site links from sites that are not indexed by Google, and Google wont index a site with no content." _

I would launch those domains with good quality, relevant content that links back to your main site. Also exact match domains are frowned upon by Google anyway as many exact match domains have been penalized the past year. In the end take these domains and have them add value o your niche and you won't lose.

[DougRoberts]

Exact match domains can give your site a lift in the search results, but the exact impact depends on a number of factors such as the authority of the competition in the SERPS.

While exact match domains can mean you rank higher, you may find that any advantage you might get is compromised by a reduced click through from the SERPS. Searchers can view them as somewhat spammy and treat exact match domains with suspicion.

The other weakness of course if that exact match domains can only boost the keyword they're a match for, and the effectiveness of exact match domains has, and continues to diminish.

Registering exact match domains (or any domain names) and redirecting them to your own site won't affect anything. If they are new domains they won't have any links pointing to them, and as a result will not have any link equity to pass onto your main domain. If they have no content, they won't be indexed by the search engines.

If you purchased an existing, established (and relevant) domain and 301 redirected the domain to your site then you'll pass the equity from the links to that domain onto your main site. Be aware that this boost is unlikely to last long term as links decay over time. This can happen when a company buy a competitor for instance.

I don't think registering a new domain and forwarding it onto you site will harm your website. It's a common approach to register a friendly campaign domain and forward it onto a landing page on your main domain - or, if you have a microsite on the campaign URL, to forward this onto your main domain (to a relevant page) once the campaign has run it's course.

So, is it worth building a microsite on an exact match domain. Well, it depends on what you're goals are and what resources you have.

Can you build a microsoft/landing page that has enough relevance and authority to rank and what is the cost in doing so. What is the opportunity cost of not spending that same time and effort on your main site (which by it's very nature is likely to be more authoritative than the microsite.

How likely is it that you can build a site around an exact match keyword that will be strong enough to out-rank your established competitors? How many microsites do you see achieving this in the results for keywords in your niche?

What's the best experience for your customers? There's no point ranking for a keyword if ultimately it doesn't attract the right visitors, who ultimately reach your conversion goals.

You'd probably be better off, concentrating your efforts on your main site, developing your content there and promoting it to your audience.

Hope this helps.

[ditoroin]

About your question #1: It will give you some benefits, if you have a domain name containing keywords and it is more preferable if you use domain without dashes i.e. your-keyword.com

[Davenport-Tractor]

Theresa,

Not sure if I would call it a "Black hat tactic" but it will definitely hurt your google ranking. Google will penalize your site if it has site links from sites that are not indexed by Google, and Google wont index a site with no content. You could protect yourself by disavowing these links, but if you already own them just stop redirecting from them.

A better way to do what you want is to have your domain name, then under it, pages with good content that use your keywords as part of the page name.

Owning the domain names of the products may help by keeping them out of general circulation (Squatting), so a compeditor cant purchase the domaine name of a product you want to sell