How important is a keyword rich domain name for ranking?

[robotninja]

I've read that Google has lowered the relevancy of a keyword rich domain name in recent years, but I have a scenario with a client that makes me think otherwise. My client has a particular phrase that they're trying to get rank for and are currently in position 3 of Google. Their primary competitor has position1.

Using the Keyword Analysis in Moz Pro, my client has a competitor beat out in Page Authority (45 vs 36), # Root Domains Linking to Page (98 vs 9), Domain Authority (35 vs 24), and # Root Domains Linking to Domain (122 vs 15). The main difference is that the competitor has the exact phrase as part of their domain. Other than that, the phrase (on my client's site) is used in title tags, heading tags, and throughout page content.

I can provide additional information if necessary, but does anybody have any general advice about this scenario?

[robotninja]

Thanks for the detailed response, Mike. I appreciate your time. Everything you said makes a lot of sense and gives some insight as to optimizations that can be made.

I understand what you're saying about the site needing to be more informative and friendly rather than focusing on competition. Unfortunately in this case, this is an ecommerce site with a very specific product line (one which is actually patent infringed upon, mentioned this above), and there really is only one competitor for my client. As this is the case, my client isn't just one in a giant pool of competitors in the shuffle, but really 1 of 2 in the space. With such a niche market, I think that top placement probably means a little more to most casual buyers searching out their type of product.

Anyways, thanks again for all of your insight. I appreciate it!

[EGOL]

Mike covers some really good points - especially the "brand factor".

I am willing to bet that domain mentions, branded search queries, domain type-ins to Chrome, social buzz on a brand, bookmarks that are used, and much more can drive rankings and be compeltely overlooked by standard SEO metrics.

You earn this stuff, not by "building links" but by "building a great website".

[MikeRoberts]

There are tons of reasons they could be ranking higher for that specific search term. Sadly, Google has never handed out a cheat sheet of what percentage of the algorithm is affected by what and to what amount are certain things weighted for or against a site with respects to rankings.

Maybe their few links are .Gov and .Edu sites, maybe they're incredible for just that term and lackluster everywhere else, maybe other relevancy signals throughout their site lends more credence to that page than you would assume, maybe they better bounce rate & return traffic that is signalling the page is an authority page for the subject, maybe they're doing something underhanded and didn't get hit with a penalty yet. Maybe your content is not as useful despite the links, maybe the links to your page are passing less equity, maybe you've overused the term and it looks like keyword stuffing.

It could be any number of things. The important bit is not trying to move up one or two spots in order to "takedown" a random competitor. The important thing is making your site user friendly, informative, providing the best service you can, and hitting whatever your goals are whether that is sales, newsletter signups, filling out a contact form, or just seeing increases in return traffic & time on page.

Exact match domains aren't as useful as they may have once been. I've always found having a good, memorable "brand" name better. Much easier for people to remember you and come back if your site is Apple as opposed to MacIntosh-Personal-Laptop-Computers.com even if that would hit _some _target terms.

[EGOL]

For some people the contest is about tools and links and keyword counts.   I don't do any of these things.  Instead, I am out to build a website that has content that will please the visitor and if I do that better than my competitors then I will win in the SERPs.  So far its working well on multiple sites.

[robotninja]

I definitely agree. I'm not looking to recommend a new domain name or anything like that, but based on the high level stats I have looked at, it seemed on the surface like it may be more of a factor than other people seem to think. I think my client's website has the edge on load times, content, and overall aesthetic. The big thing that was standing out to me was the domain, so I was trying to make sure it wasn't simply a battle that couldn't be won. And in this scenario, the client that has this particular domain is infringing on the patent of my client and is part of an ongoing lawsuit... so that's all the more frustrating.

[robotninja]

Well maybe you misunderstood then. I'm not just looking to copy techniques that the competitor has used, but obviously there's a reason that they are ranked higher (especially considering the stats that I outlined in my initial post). I'm simply looking to improve the rankings of my client's website. Looking at the competition is generally a part of that process, no?

[EGOL]

I never spend any time trying to "figure out what a competitor has done".  If you spend your efforts mimicing competitors then you will achive average results or lower.

Instead, I spend my time deciding what is the best possible thing that can be done with the resources that are available to me.  These decisions should be focused on the unique position, objectives and resources of  MY  business.  I am then going to do something that is superior to my competitor.

[Caro-O]

I have client scenarios that make me think otherwise too. However, I would never change a domain name to a keyword rich domain name in the hopes of getting better rankings. Work with what you've got and focus on other beneficial factors like creating better content, social media promotion etc. Also, as Ruben mentioned, how's your load time?

[robotninja]

The load times are great on both sites and both are mobile friendly in this scenario.

[robotninja]

Beyond the tools available in Moz Pro, do you have any recommendations on ways to figure out what those reasons might be? I'm a longtime web developer (although I didn't build this particular site), so I'm savvy with the technical end of things. I'm just relatively new to SEO (beyond the basics anyways).

To provide an example for this scenario, let's say the keyword is "Closet Organizers." My client domain would be superclosets.com and the competitor is closetorganizersystems.com. Not sure if that provides anymore insight with the domain thing, but I assumed it had some weight. Maybe not though.

[Mustansar]

Hi Ruben,

Off course, speed and mobile friendly have imperative role as it link to user experience. I would say user experience and user transactional journey on your site is important that what you need to on top of rdge to make sure your site visitor enjoy using your client site.

[KempRugeLawGroup]

What about the speed of the site and/or is it mobile-friendly?

• Ruben

[EGOL]

"the competitor has the exact phrase as part of their domain"

I don't think that the domain is doing it.  If you are talking about a domain like... EgolsUsedWidgets.com... then the "used widgets" part of the domain has very little ranking value.  Almost none in my opinion.

Google likes their website better than your client's for some other reason or many other reasons.