Use of long tail keywords in url

[rvrabel2002]

Just wondering if the use of long tail keywords in url is helpful for seo. I hear varying opinoins. Gimme yours and then give me your stats (i.s. how long have you been doing this)

RV

[edd666666]

I operate in a small niche and wanted to make it clear what I was about, so I used a longtail description in my URL. my site conductknockoutbroadcastinterviews.com is for people interested in doing interviews on TV/radio and shorter domain names just didn't work. Sorry no stats available. OK, thanks, Ed.

[AffiliateInABox1]

Having keywords in your URL is part of a good marketing strategy (SEO-wise). It\'s not the only thing, but should be a part of it. Google does give some weight to keywords within a domain name.

[rvrabel2002]

but i dont suppose the extension matters right? like .com vs. .net, .org., etc.? I guess people themselves trust a .com more though...

[rtrotter]

Just to make sure we are on same page in regard to definition of longtail let me state me understanding. It has nothing to do with length of phrase but has to do with volume of search. That is, 20% of keywords/phrases get 80% of search and the other 80% of keywords/phrases (longtail) get 20% of search. Since this 80% is not targeted that much, they are easier to rank for. If you check allintitle, allinanchor andallintext for these keywords you will find that very few pages rank well for all 3 and if they do they usually do not have a good backlink profile. That makes it easy to rank for the terms.

Now to your question, yes having it in url will help but having it in url plus title helps a LOT more.

[davis9461]

Having a long tailed keyword as a domain name is generally great, but it depends on more than just that. A longtailed domain could become to long and hurt you rather than help and vic-versa. It really depends on what you are using as a domain name and everything else you do along with it will ultimately decide on whether or not it helps. (i.e.- if you have a nice domain name like ww.howtogetseoranked.com (note: not a real/functioning domain. Used just for example purposes) and your keywords and content is not structured to your domain name, you could confuse your audience and the search engines.) It will help, but there is a lot more that goes with your question to be able to fully answer, but a very nice Q. Hope this helps!

[Rohit Shah]

Its better to buy a short domain, as long tail probably have less competition so putting that keyword in title can take you to top 10 rankings itself.

Edit: Short domain is easy to remember and convenient for user.

[rtrotter]

long tail does not equal high character count in phrase.

Go to Google External Keyword Tool and check out search volume. You will find plenty of short phrases that are long tail keyword phrases.

[Keywordology]

Pros and Cons to both. A few off the top of my head.

Pros:

Google does give weight to the kw phrase in the URL. Other search engines give considerable weight for it.

It will attract targeted visitors.

Cons

Not as ideal for branding and "rememberability" as shorter URL's. Most of the most popular sites in the world are short names (Google, Facebook, YouTube, Yahoo, etc.).

[mad_hatter_29]

RV,
to answer your question:

If your long tail keyword is also what you want to optimise the site for then it's great in terms of SEO.

Hope that sets your mind at ease - and dont forget that if you cant quite get the full long tail domain name you can always start using subdomains.
Paul.

[excanuck]

@rvrabel2002
.edu matters but you can't get one unless you're an educational institution. You may, however talk a university into a subdomain.

[excanuck]

rtrotter is correct. The term LONG tail doesn't imply long character count, rather it's more a reference to LONG SHOT. His previous post about the 80/20 is partly true, but long tail also means that words in the phrase are synonyms of, or related to, the actual specific key phrase. Example: ULTRASOUND is your niche and exact keyword, sonogram is a related synonym, but medical imaging is more long tail because it can imply x-ray also. I used this example because it is the scenario of the current YWPD project for DrSmart.com where we are getting Smartsound Ultrasound ranked in SERP's first for their niche and then will cover the variations and long tails. It's important to note that a higher word count phrase (being more specific), a longtail, or even a less commonly searched phrase can be more profitable than the phrases that are exact and popular and highly competitive.

[digigo]

it is very helpful.. and keywords can be in domain name or other part of the url.. that is pretty much standard practice nowadays.. I run a automotive site, and I have all the car makes and models in the url.. and it serves me well

[Kerryrus]

Hey everyone

I have been following the conversation here and would like to ask you guys a question in regards to longtail keywords and domains.

I have found a longtail keyword that only has 5,000 competing pages and gets 590 searches per month but the keyword is too long to have as a domain. So i was wondering if it would be an option to buy two domains. One that is brandable and easy to remember for site users and another which will be my longtail keyword.

I won't actually put any content on the first or very minimal if i do and I'll have it redirect to my longtail keyworded domain.

Hope i have explained this clearly. Question is; would this work for seo purposes?

Thanks

kerry