How does an exact match .net compare to .com?

[jeremydavid]

I'm looking into buying an exact match tld, but it is .net. Do .net domains get the same exact match bonus .coms do?

[Cyrus-Shepard]

Hi Jeremy,

You're in luck, because a guy named Mark Collier just did a study on the matter. He found that exact match .net domains had a much lower correlation to higher rankings.

.net exact match = 0.08 Correlation
.com exact match = 0.18 Correlation

The full study can be found here: http://www.theopenalgorithm.com/correlation-data/domain-name-seo/

In the latest SEOmoz study, the correlation for exact match .com domains was .22 and previously .38, which indicate that the power of overall power of exact match domains in general is diminishing.

http://www.seomoz.org/article/search-ranking-factors#metrics

It's worth reading both of these studies in whole. It's also worth noting that there are likely several reasons for .net exact match to rank lower. #1 being that .net domains tend to be spammier, less established domains.

Hope this helps! Best of luck with your SEO.

[Runner2009]

I really question the statement that ' do exact match domains of .net get the same bonus that .com does'. First, it is my experience that exact match domains at one time did hold some advantage, but one sees it less and less in today's world. Even in low volume low competptive keyword arenas, it is easy to beat an exact match domain be it .com .net or .org with a couple of strong links - even a yahoo paid directory link can work. I would make a wager that within a couple of years at most exact match domains will have little or no value - of course if there is some real meat behind the site and it is more than just a gimmick to pic up affiliate or Adsense income I'm not sure what you want to accomplish here, but if you are planning on building a site that you want to grow and brand, I would forget about exact match keyword site be it .com or .net and try and come up with a branded name using something memorable. Hey look at Google' s URL shorter, even I can remember it goo.gl Runner2009 Burt Gordon

[icecarats]

One thing to watch out for is that this can backfire perception-wise. It might not matter, but depending on the domain name, if your biggest competitor/related business owns the .com and you buy the .net people might feel 'cheated' by ending up at your domain when they expected the other (or vice versa!). This would be kind of like if I registered seomoz.net and used it for my blog for example.

[NakulGoyal]

My experience has been that .com, .net and .info all work great. And .org works wonder in certain niches.

So yes, to answer your question directly...go ahead... .net is fine.

[dlucasbarnes]

They do but be aware:

If the .com or .xxx is bought it has more authority simply because of its age.

A .info exact match has the same added weight as a .com.  So absent of other factors, the exact match bonus is the same.