Using a Number or Letter In Your Domain Name?!?!?

[Brekat23]

Hello Fellow Warriors!

Ok, so I'm making steady progress with my IM endeavours - though I expect to have questions and concerns along the way, which is what has brought me here to the forums so to seek a few answers...

I'm at the stage of my campaign where I have chosen the niche and affiliate product I would like to promote, I have compiled my list of keywords and chosen the top 10 or so I feel I could rank for (decent local search volume and lower competition) - atleast, according to the Google Keyword Tool that is...

Now - I would really like to register a domain name, and get a rough 'blueprint' of my site online. Nothing fancy for starters, just a place I can use to start with and build upon...

However, the domain name is holding me up alittle...

I'd like to incorporate some organic seo so I'm going to choose a .com that is a keyword for my niche, plus I'd like to keep it about 4 words or less.

Yet, just about all of these are already taken

Sooooo - my question is, should I go ahead and place a number or a letter after the keyword domain I wish to use?

Will or does this hurt anything for the long or short-term?

The keywords I have compiled that I am aiming to rank for are all long-term - I was thinking of perhaps taking one of these long-term keywords and buying a domain for a portion of that keyword, for example...

Say the keyword I wish to rank for is 'how to create wooden paddles'

Now say that I wanted the domain 'createwoodenpaddles.com' - but it is already taken.

Would it be allright to purchase createwoodenpaddles2.com (or something similiar)??

Would I still be able to rank for 'how to create wooden paddles' but also potentially rank for 'create wooden paddles' as well (over time, of course - after alot of hard work, and after ranking for the more long-term keyword)


I'm merely trying to understand this all correctly, please let me know your thoughts!

Thanks!

-Bre

[pacelattin]

Interesting question, I dont see why it would hurt.

That being said, using a domain name that is also a longer keyword or phrase seems smarter, no?

Ie, if the keyword you want is CARS, better to use CARSANDTRUCKS.com instead of CARS007?

[Brekat23]

So then, I suppose a better question to ask would be...

Is it better to get an exact match long-tail keyword domain name, (although you may then be limited content-wise towards writing for JUST that one long-term keyword) - orrr - purchasing a broader, smaller-tailed exact keyword match domain but adding a letter or number to it?? (As this, I would assume, would then aid you in creating several variables of content structured around a more broad keyword, over time)?

[Bill Cook]

I would not go with adding a number 2 to the end as in your example. Not that there is a rule against it per se, but it just doesn't look right to me, and I don't think that I have ever seen it done.

What I would do is add a small descriptive word to it, like "best" or "my", or "the". Another thing I have done which has worked out well is to add an "i" or an "e" to the front of it.

Hope this helps.

Bill

[Zeus66]

Google (Matt Cutts) has stated that Google essentially ignores hyphens in domains and URLs. Well, technically he said they see them as separators, which is not really the same thing as ignoring them. But for SEO, they do not seem to have any bearing at all. Over 10 years and hundreds of sites, I've seen no evidence in my own business of it mattering at all in terms of organic search rankings. So I recommend using hyphens in your domains as opposed to adding anything extraneous, like a letter or a number. You'll maintain an exact match domain, which clearly adds a significant boost to ranking power for the keyword in question.

John

[mysterrio]

You might want to try other things too like: amazing wooden paddles or create amazing wooden paddles ECT. Like when I did my plr store all the good domains were taken and I was able to add amazing and get a good name.

Just a thought.

[thecableguy]

JMO but I'd look for the non-hyphenated com, net or org first before going to the hyphenated version, then suffix or letter/number at the end, then a prefix. And if still not possible the other TLD's (like I said JMO).

There's a thread in the SEO forum going on about EMD's right now. JMO but EMD's don't carry the magic like they did back in 2006/2007 and sometimes even hinders you from growing the site out.

Don't get to bent out of shape with an EMD, offsite SEO matters more. EMD's won't do magic anymore (JMO)

[Brekat23]

Thanks for the advice everyone - might I ask what EMD stands for tho? I'm not really sure - I tried to Google its meaning but couldn't find it.

Let me recap, if I may...

The voting here seems to be leaning towards getting an exact keyword match domain (whether that be long-tail, short-tail, .com, .net, or .org)

However, if all variations of those are taken, then I should consider using hyphens, then consider using a suffix at the end (letter or number), then consider using a prefix at the beginning (i, e, etc.)

That is what I have compiled here based off the responses I currently have...

Any other suggestions, comments, advice, concerns???

Any and everything is incredibly encouraged, welcomed, and appreciated - thanks so much!!

[thecableguy]

EMD = exact match domain

For example if you're targeting a keyword like - left handed golfers - a EMD domain would be lefthandedgolfers.com, left-handed-golfers.com, etc.

As you can tell something like this would kind of limit you when it comes to trying to build the site out and continue adding content. There are advantages and dis-advantages to EMD's, like a SEO advantage for the keyword, but at the same time it could limit you. Since the latest Panda Google) update I just try to get the general keyword in the domain. An almost complete 180 from a few years ago.

[Brekat23]

Wow, I feel foolish haha - here I am writing out the entire thing "exact match domain', when I should've known what EMD meant, haha!!

Thanks for clearing that up for me @thecableguy, and thanks for your response as well!

Originally Posted by thecableguy

Since the latest Panda Google) update I just try to get the general keyword in the domain. An almost complete 180 from a few years ago.

I'd like to pm you a few more details/another question that I had with this - if you wouldn't mind?? I promise not to take up too much of your time, figured I'd ask first though before I went ahead with it - please let me know, and thanks so much!!

[gtk29]

In my humble opinion, domain should have a keyword in it and thats it. Do not spend too much time thinking about it. But do not hurry it either. Spend time on content and seo

[thecableguy]

Yeah sure, but you'd probably get better advice by starting a new thread here. Haven't had much luck with my domains since the Panda update was using an autoblog plugin to pull in some of the content and got hit hard.