Keyword Rich Domain Name Not Important Now!??

[coreytucker]

Hi,

I have read the Google is about to lower the weight of having an exact match keyword domain name. I found this quote from Matt Cutts of Google:

"we have looked at the rankings and the weights that we give to keyword domains, and some people have complained that we are giving a little too much weight for keywords in domains. So we have been thinking about at adjusting that mix a bit and sort of turning the knob down within the algorithm, so that given 2 different domains it wouldn’t necessarily help you as much to have a domain name with a bunch of keywords in it. – Matt Cutts"

So does this mean all of those sites like "productnamereview.com" will start ranking worse? Confused about this, does anyone know because im thinking of doing some of these exact domain match sites.

[Mike McAleer]

I don't believe it. I do think that keyword domains will always matter but you have to consider brandablity too.

[iAmNameLess]

Where do you see that they are about to lower the importance of keyword rich domains? It looks like it says he is thinking about it, but putting it into action is something completely different. I doubt that will ever be an issue, and if they do reduce it, it won't be by much or then they WILL have a problem with relevant results.

[coreytucker]

I still notice sites ranking well for exact domains. I know they have not done it yet but it's obviously in the works most likely. Just kind of scary when I have been doing keyword research all day on exact domain keywords to target lol.

[FredJones]

That's what it sounds like. And well in a way that makes sense. So for example, if you are a company into multiple products, would you really want the name of one or all products into the domain name? I would not. I would want to brand my company using the domain name and use internal pages with the product keywords to sell my products. So I would say this makes compelte sense to me.

Originally Posted by coreytucker

Hi,

I have read the Google is about to lower the weight of having an exact match keyword domain name. I found this quote from Matt Cutts of Google:

"we have looked at the rankings and the weights that we give to keyword domains, and some people have complained that we are giving a little too much weight for keywords in domains. So we have been thinking about at adjusting that mix a bit and sort of turning the knob down within the algorithm, so that given 2 different domains it wouldn’t necessarily help you as much to have a domain name with a bunch of keywords in it. – Matt Cutts"

So does this mean all of those sites like "productnamereview.com" will start ranking worse? Confused about this, does anyone know because im thinking of doing some of these exact domain match sites.

[JamesMSpacey]

Why shouldn't they?

For many of them, the most useful content on the site is the Adsense Ad Text.

[Jackson Soo]

If you're going to be listening to and believing everything Google says, then you're going to be wasting alot of time is all. Most of the things they say are just to discourage you from going into SEO, but hey, keyword rich domain name will always be important to rank for any keyword.

Why?

If you search for any particular term in google, you'll realize that google bolds the term in the domain name as well. Always have. As it is, that is surely one of the metrics used to determine relevancy, so it'll still be important.

[Sheila Atwood]

I have a keyworded domain name that I have been pushing for number one. The top domains are the exact keywords. The sites are old and static. They do not have any content on them. Also I do not see any backlinks to the sites. I got the impression that those were the sites that would be targeted.

So if you have a site that is valuable in content, has traffic and backlinks a keyworded domain name could still hold some weight. ----now I am not an SEO expert this is just my personal opinion.

[BXPS]

As per my experience top keywords, which are exact domain matches always tend to rank the highest.

[duster222]

I believe that would still not affect sites with keyword rich domain names as Google search algorithm is entirely based on keywords and how they are used.

[wayne60618]

Isn't this only logical. If you look at all the Sniper sites that pop up for given queries and assess the quality of those sites, you will see that they tend to be low value sites with poor content. It would only make sense that if google wants to serve the most relevant pages to the user then they will put quality ahead of EMD.

EMDs works now, but will they forever? Who knows, but if your business is entirely dependent on EMD's to win the day, then you are in a vulnerable position.

[Gene Pimentel]

- Quality websites are most important.

- Quality websites with an exact keyword domain will usually outrank non-exact keyword domains, assuming everything else is equal.

[GeorgR.]

Originally Posted by coreytucker

Hi,

I have read the Google is about to lower the weight of having an exact match keyword domain name.

This would be the best to happen, ever. It's time Google changes this.

It cannot be that people focus on a DOMAIN NAME as a first priority instead of the actual CONTENT of a site.

"Oh, look! I just got [somekeyword].com ... this means i will rank highly in Google, no matter how crappy my site. Heck, i might even rank without having any content..."

As a webmaster who spends lots of work on actual content and user experience this makes me quite angry.

[animesh]

Originally Posted by FredJones

That's what it sounds like. And well in a way that makes sense. So for example, if you are a company into multiple products, would you really want the name of one or all products into the domain name? I would not. I would want to brand my company using the domain name and use internal pages with the product keywords to sell my products. So I would say this makes compelte sense to me.

It make sense...

[jbsmith]

Not exactly true, much of what Matt Cutts shares publicly HAS indeed made it into Google algorithm changes (many statements and videos on content farms and slow, steady integration of social networking influence into search have been coming true)

And note that his statement was to dial-back, not eliminate the influence of exact keywords in domain names. I would bet 90% that is what is going t happen, if history is any indication.

Doesn't mean you stop doing it, doesn't mean it still is a factor - just not as a big a factor as in the past.

J

Originally Posted by jacksonsoo

If you're going to be listening to and believing everything Google says, then you're going to be wasting alot of time is all. Most of the things they say are just to discourage you from going into SEO, but hey, keyword rich domain name will always be important to rank for any keyword.

Why?

If you search for any particular term in google, you'll realize that google bolds the term in the domain name as well. Always have. As it is, that is surely one of the metrics used to determine relevancy, so it'll still be important.

[Mjoseph83]

Originally Posted by BXPS

As per my experience top keywords, which are exact domain matches always tend to rank the highest.

I am agree with BXPS. Sites embedded with keywords in domain still get high serp ranking in search engines.

[cashcow]

Of course having the keywords in your domain name is still important, but the thing is that now you won't be able to rank solely on having an exact match domain. You will have to put content on the domain and get backlinks. It's as it should be.

Lee