Words like "of" in a Domain Name?

atdavidson · 03-24-2009, 08:57 AM

Hello Warriors!

A quick question for you SEO experts out there (or maybe a few quick questions)...

I am about to build a new website and I am unsure which domain to use. There are two possibilities:

word1word2.com or word1ofword2.com

I think the second option (including the "of") is a more of phrase used in real life, but I am unsure because of my keyword research.

Wordtracker gives 103 searches for word1word2, no results for word1ofword2.

Google Adwords seems to show more searches for word1word2 than word1ofword2, but a much higher cost per click for word1ofword2.

A competition search on Google shows 33,000 for "word1 word2" and 17,300 for "word1 of word2"

In terms of SEO does an "of" in the domain name make a difference? Do the major search engines ignore these words anyway? Any advice on which domain to choose?

Thanks to anyone who can help!

Traffic101 · 03-24-2009, 09:48 AM

Hi, I think that words like of, and, if, are dead words. The search engines don't count them. So regardless of which word you used, you would get the same results.

I hope that helps.

askloz · 03-24-2009, 10:01 AM

yup, they're referred to as "STOP WORDS", these words are simply just BOLD in the search engine result on the right along side the results, while others are hyperlinked.

atdavidson · 03-24-2009, 10:15 AM

Wow! You guys are fast!

Thanks for the responses, I also thought of words like "of" as stop words and that they wouldn't make a difference to search engines. But why is there variation in the keyword research?

Wordtracker for example has different results for phrases that contain "of" and phrases that do not. The Google adwords tool also quotes different search volumes and CPC for the phrase with and without the "of".

I think "moneymaking.com" would be more valuable than "moneyofmaking.com", but "championoftheworld.com" seems more valuable than "championworld.com"? Is this just because I am looking as a human? Do search engines ignore these words completely?

I'm confused

askloz · 03-24-2009, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atdavidson

Thanks for the responses, I also thought of words like "of" as stop words and that they wouldn't make a difference to search engines. But why is there variation in the keyword research?

cos that's what ppl are entering, they log everything, it just doesn't make any difference on a SEO perspective, but does on a PPC perspective

Quote:

Originally Posted by atdavidson

I think "moneymaking.com" would be more valuable than "moneyofmaking.com", but "championoftheworld.com" seems more valuable than "championworld.com"? Is this just because I am looking as a human? Do search engines ignore these words completely?

I'm confused

I wouldn't bust your brain over it, sometimes it just looks visually better and easier to remember when typing in the address bar.

Google and other search engines will highlight those stop words in bold if entered by the user, but as I say, has no bearing on ranking overall, but they will provide results that best match the users query.

Hope this helps

atdavidson · 03-26-2009, 06:34 PM

Thanks Askloz and Traffic101 for your replies.

Askloz - I think that's the best piece of advice I've had in a while - I won't bust my brain over it anymore, I will go and take action!

Choosing a domain and building a website has to be better that procrastinating in confusion!

Thanks guys.

paulgl · 03-26-2009, 07:06 PM

First, why do you want that domain?
You may be mixing things up. Or I am.
What I mean is, is your domain related to the site,
is it a catch phrase, or is it the name?

Example, FedEx.com has absolutely no worth, except
to fedex. People know fedex. Instant recognition. It would
be a rather lousy SEO domain without the company behind it.
The term 'fedex' is jibberish. Now if I was doing a site on
shipping, I would come up with an SEO friendly domain.
Unless my business was called xyzbox. Then certainly
I would get the domain xyzbox.com, but it is a jibberish
domain. However, my customers would not expect anything
less.

SO, why do you want word1word2 ? Would people search for
that? I think just the term 'word' is too generic. However, if that
is the name of your business, blog, niche, or whatever, then that
makes sense. SEO does not even come into play. Your monicker
would automatically be recognized by your followers/users.
But it would, IMHO, be a jibberish domain, not even close to SEO
friendly. But as stated before, SEO would be of no matter if that is
indeed your chosen byline. And from what I read here and elsewhere
that the domain name is only one part of any SEO anyway.

Unless of course, I got things mixed up, which is probable.
That's why I am doing more reading here at warriorforum.

Paul

sam12six · 03-26-2009, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulgl

SO, why do you want word1word2 ? Would people search for
that? I think just the term 'word' is too generic. However, if that
is the name of your business, blog, niche, or whatever, then that
makes sense. SEO does not even come into play. Your monicker
would automatically be recognized by your followers/users.
But it would, IMHO, be a jibberish domain, not even close to SEO
friendly. But as stated before, SEO would be of no matter if that is
indeed your chosen byline. And from what I read here and elsewhere
that the domain name is only one part of any SEO anyway.

Unless of course, I got things mixed up, which is probable.
That's why I am doing more reading here at warriorforum.

Paul

LOL! He's saying word1 is the first word of a keyword phrase he's targeting and word2 is the second...

Like if he's targeting "Dream Boat", he was wondering if dreamboat.com is treated the same by search engines as dreamofboat.com.

paulgl · 03-26-2009, 09:24 PM

Oh yeah. Now I get it.
If he's targeting word1 as the first word in a keyword phrase
that will be searched for, then I am using the wrong list
of actual searched for terms that matter.
I gotta get that list, baby!
Maybe word3 is 3 times better.
Nobody would search for word1 unless they had in mind
already what they were looking for.
Dreamboat is a bad comp. I can see a search for dream and boat.
But not word and 1. That was my point.

Paul

atdavidson · 03-27-2009, 04:43 AM

Ok guys, I think things are getting even more confusing...
Perhaps I should just be more open with my plans...
I am planning on building a blog and forum for optimistic people who love life. It will be a place to share and learn the reasons why people feel happy, and methods of improving happiness and quality of life.
There will be philosophical debates and discussions on psychology, self hypnosis, NLP and real life tactics to succeed in whatever you desire, especially increasing confidence, feelings of self worth and happiness.
Which domain do you think would be best:
Philosophyhappiness.com or Philosophyofhappiness.com
Please give your opinion, I welcome any input and criticism, it’s the best way to learn.

Bob007 · 07-23-2009, 10:51 AM

A lot of it depends on which domain is available. If the domain with the "of" is available why not go for it. "of" won't hurt you in the rankings. If not available, then take out the "of" and try that.

chadmunsey · 07-23-2009, 11:42 AM

I think people get way to caught up in search terms in domain names and lose sight of the real money maker which is people. My advice is to find the most relevant and easiest to remember domain name and work on building that from a brand perspective. If it has keywords in it then that's great, it does help a little with your rankings but it isn't the be all end all of SEO, that could change at any minute as well. Then all you have is a messy sounding domain name that won't stick out in anyones mind.

If you follow search you would know is that there is going to be much more of a focus on brands so treat you business as any other and build a brand that people know and love. The rankings will follow.

03-24-2009, 08:57 AM	#1
atdavidson Warrior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: England Posts: 19 Thanks: 7 Thanked 4 Times in 2 Posts	Words like "of" in a Domain Name? Hello Warriors! A quick question for you SEO experts out there (or maybe a few quick questions)... I am about to build a new website and I am unsure which domain to use. There are two possibilities: word1word2.com or word1ofword2.com I think the second option (including the "of") is a more of phrase used in real life, but I am unsure because of my keyword research. Wordtracker gives 103 searches for word1word2, no results for word1ofword2. Google Adwords seems to show more searches for word1word2 than word1ofword2, but a much higher cost per click for word1ofword2. A competition search on Google shows 33,000 for "word1 word2" and 17,300 for "word1 of word2" In terms of SEO does an "of" in the domain name make a difference? Do the major search engines ignore these words anyway? Any advice on which domain to choose? Thanks to anyone who can help!

03-24-2009, 09:48 AM	#2
Traffic101 HyperActive Warrior Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 221 Thanks: 64 Thanked 6 Times in 5 Posts Social Networking	Re: Words like "of" in a Domain Name? Hi, I think that words like of, and, if, are dead words. The search engines don't count them. So regardless of which word you used, you would get the same results. I hope that helps.
	How to find freelance writing jobs \| Free guide to Blogging for Profit \| Internet Marketing Everything you want to know about computers

03-24-2009, 10:01 AM	#3
askloz DailyTradingSystem.com War Room Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: United Kingdom. Posts: 2,766 Blog Entries: 3 Thanks: 151 Thanked 264 Times in 207 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: Words like "of" in a Domain Name? yup, they're referred to as "STOP WORDS", these words are simply just BOLD in the search engine result on the right along side the results, while others are hyperlinked.
	HEADS UP Forex JV Partners Required - NEW Daily Trading System Forex Videos NEW Forex Signal Mentor - EVEN NEWER Ultimate Golden Cross NEW FX Signal Book

03-24-2009, 10:15 AM	#4
atdavidson Warrior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: England Posts: 19 Thanks: 7 Thanked 4 Times in 2 Posts	Re: Words like "of" in a Domain Name? Wow! You guys are fast! Thanks for the responses, I also thought of words like "of" as stop words and that they wouldn't make a difference to search engines. But why is there variation in the keyword research? Wordtracker for example has different results for phrases that contain "of" and phrases that do not. The Google adwords tool also quotes different search volumes and CPC for the phrase with and without the "of". I think "moneymaking.com" would be more valuable than "moneyofmaking.com", but "championoftheworld.com" seems more valuable than "championworld.com"? Is this just because I am looking as a human? Do search engines ignore these words completely? I'm confused

03-26-2009, 06:34 PM	#6
atdavidson Warrior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: England Posts: 19 Thanks: 7 Thanked 4 Times in 2 Posts	Re: Words like "of" in a Domain Name? Thanks Askloz and Traffic101 for your replies. Askloz - I think that's the best piece of advice I've had in a while - I won't bust my brain over it anymore, I will go and take action! Choosing a domain and building a website has to be better that procrastinating in confusion! Thanks guys.

03-26-2009, 07:06 PM	#7
paulgl Plundering the Web War Room Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: , , . Posts: 4,411 Thanks: 668 Thanked 1,002 Times in 775 Posts	Re: Words like "of" in a Domain Name? First, why do you want that domain? You may be mixing things up. Or I am. What I mean is, is your domain related to the site, is it a catch phrase, or is it the name? Example, FedEx.com has absolutely no worth, except to fedex. People know fedex. Instant recognition. It would be a rather lousy SEO domain without the company behind it. The term 'fedex' is jibberish. Now if I was doing a site on shipping, I would come up with an SEO friendly domain. Unless my business was called xyzbox. Then certainly I would get the domain xyzbox.com, but it is a jibberish domain. However, my customers would not expect anything less. SO, why do you want word1word2 ? Would people search for that? I think just the term 'word' is too generic. However, if that is the name of your business, blog, niche, or whatever, then that makes sense. SEO does not even come into play. Your monicker would automatically be recognized by your followers/users. But it would, IMHO, be a jibberish domain, not even close to SEO friendly. But as stated before, SEO would be of no matter if that is indeed your chosen byline. And from what I read here and elsewhere that the domain name is only one part of any SEO anyway. Unless of course, I got things mixed up, which is probable. That's why I am doing more reading here at warriorforum. Paul
	Missed the last one? Don't be late on next freebie backlink space.

03-26-2009, 09:24 PM	#9
paulgl Plundering the Web War Room Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: , , . Posts: 4,411 Thanks: 668 Thanked 1,002 Times in 775 Posts	Re: Words like "of" in a Domain Name? Oh yeah. Now I get it. If he's targeting word1 as the first word in a keyword phrase that will be searched for, then I am using the wrong list of actual searched for terms that matter. I gotta get that list, baby! Maybe word3 is 3 times better. Nobody would search for word1 unless they had in mind already what they were looking for. Dreamboat is a bad comp. I can see a search for dream and boat. But not word and 1. That was my point. Paul
	Missed the last one? Don't be late on next freebie backlink space.

03-27-2009, 04:43 AM	#10
atdavidson Warrior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: England Posts: 19 Thanks: 7 Thanked 4 Times in 2 Posts	Re: Words like "of" in a Domain Name? Ok guys, I think things are getting even more confusing... Perhaps I should just be more open with my plans... I am planning on building a blog and forum for optimistic people who love life. It will be a place to share and learn the reasons why people feel happy, and methods of improving happiness and quality of life. There will be philosophical debates and discussions on psychology, self hypnosis, NLP and real life tactics to succeed in whatever you desire, especially increasing confidence, feelings of self worth and happiness. Which domain do you think would be best: Philosophyhappiness.com or Philosophyofhappiness.com Please give your opinion, I welcome any input and criticism, it’s the best way to learn.

07-23-2009, 10:51 AM	#11
Bob007 Active Warrior Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 59 Thanks: 1 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	Re: Words like "of" in a Domain Name? A lot of it depends on which domain is available. If the domain with the "of" is available why not go for it. "of" won't hurt you in the rankings. If not available, then take out the "of" and try that.

07-23-2009, 11:42 AM	#12
chadmunsey Warrior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 9 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Words like "of" in a Domain Name? I think people get way to caught up in search terms in domain names and lose sight of the real money maker which is people. My advice is to find the most relevant and easiest to remember domain name and work on building that from a brand perspective. If it has keywords in it then that's great, it does help a little with your rankings but it isn't the be all end all of SEO, that could change at any minute as well. Then all you have is a messy sounding domain name that won't stick out in anyones mind. If you follow search you would know is that there is going to be much more of a focus on brands so treat you business as any other and build a brand that people know and love. The rankings will follow.