How necessary is keyword in domain name REALLY?

Having keyword in domain name does help. I have seen exact match domains up in SERPS with less backlinks.

But keep in mind that it is not a deciding factor. What you lack in exact match can be easily compensated by high quality(and quantity) backlinks and some good on-page SEO.

Keyword in domain is just one of those many factors that influence your SERPs. Don't get disheartened if you cant get it, get a nearly good domain name and then work on On-page and off-page SEO.

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BillyBee

13 years ago

Wow, I'm pleasantly surprised by the replies.

Makes sense, though, because when I go to Google I always see sites ranking on Page 1 WITHOUT the keyword in their domain name.

I know that many of those who teach this sort of thing (Commission Ritual comes to mind) insist on getting the keyword in your domain, but I think courses like that one are into putting up sites quickly and moving on to other sites.

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Robert Domino

13 years ago

A lot of minsinformation here.

Keyword in domain isn't necessary but it makes a big difference.

If you're building a brand, you want something catchy that doesn't sound like a keyword. But for your average website, always try to put them the domain name.

I have plenty of websites who's domain name are 100% exact keywords and they rank #1 with a handful of links.

You can still rank without but unless you're building a brand, why shoot yourself in the foot?

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Always-A-Warrior

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Robert Domino

A lot of minsinformation here.

Keyword in domain isn't necessary but it makes a big difference.

If you're building a brand, you want something catchy that doesn't sound like a keyword. But for your average website, always try to put them the domain name.

I have plenty of websites who's domain name are 100% exact keywords and they rank #1 with a handful of links.

You can still rank without but unless you're building a brand, why shoot yourself in the foot?

hey pro what is minsinformation?

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Always-A-Warrior

13 years ago

Originally Posted by BillyBee

If you build a content-rich authority-type site, is having the keyword in your domain name really THAT necessary?

Just asking because so many good keywords I research are taken when it comes to .com, .net and .org

I know everyone claims that tons of great domain names are still available, but I'm having trouble finding good ones that are available for those three suffixes.

Thanks for any advice and insight.

Oh yes it is good to have relevant keywords in your domain name or atleast something that shows what your product.service is all about OR use a brandable made-up name like Google or Yahoo.

You can add YourNameNews.com, YourNameNow.com, YourName1.com or anything of that nature but stick with .com - if you find a stronger generic word even if you have to pay a high price for it then go for .net and .org, also .co is good too.

You can use NameStation to create new names for your project.

x

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DireStraits

13 years ago

It does give some SEO/relevance weight to your site, but I think the benefits of that are greater for smaller niche-focused sites; less for authority sites.

For sites one intends to expand (not only in terms of number of pages, but also perhaps the broadening of topical coverage) and build into authority sites over time, I prefer shorter, cleaner-looking, more brandable domains.

I may still include related words in the domain so that anyone looking would immediately have an idea of what niche or market the site covers, but it'd be highly unlikely I'd use an exact-match domain for any of the SEO benefits so popularly discussed.

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BillyBee 13 years ago

What do you guys think of hyphenated domain names using the keyword? Is that a good second choice?
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- Jordan Kovats 13 years ago
  
  Hyphenated domains work if you are only planning to be found via search. If you are developing a company of any sort, I am not a fan of hyphenated domains. Trying to spell it over the phone to a customer or having your customer type in the url without a hyphen is going to take them to the wrong place. Just my opinion.
  
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- rome9t9 13 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by BillyBee
  
  What do you guys think of hyphenated domain names using the keyword? Is that a good second choice?
  
  Personally I am against hyphenated domains. They dont have any SEO value and look clumsy. You are better off putting a "now/the/best/1" in addition to the keyword you are putting in the domain name.
  
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bfas

13 years ago

By my own experience and in reading other forums, the most recent algo update lessened the weighting for the domain name.

It used to be almost a 'free pass' to strong ranking, particularly on 'longer-tail' 3+ word phrases, but it seems Google is no longer weighting it as strongly. I believe there is still significant benefit, but not nearly as much as there once was.

bfas

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thecableguy

13 years ago

Originally Posted by bfas

By my own experience and in reading other forums, the most recent algo update lessened the weighting for the domain name.

It used to be almost a 'free pass' to strong ranking, particularly on 'longer-tail' 3+ word phrases, but it seems Google is no longer weighting it as strongly. I believe there is still significant benefit, but not nearly as much as there once was.

Ditto

Back in 2007 it was kinda magic. Now it still works somewhat, though not as effectively, if it did the SERPs would be dominated with exact match domains. Sometimes it'll hinder you when trying to build the site out.

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jonrpatrick 13 years ago

while I'm no SEO expert, I agree it makes a big difference.
I have a site which is myname.com, and I'm ranking for my Network Marketing company's name as keyword. I have more backlinks, some from .edu or .gov, etc. than my competitors, and I find it very difficult to get from result #11 onto page 1.
My thoughts have been the fact I'm working uphill to make this happen, and may rank better if my keyword had been in the domain name.
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socialbookmark

13 years ago

I believe having keywords in domain names can help but only for low or average competitive keywords. But as you know usually these domains are long and memorizing them is difficult for users and if you can't rank high for them, you get a very little traffic.
Its not a necessary for ranking high in search engines, Its only better and as i said it doesn't work for competitive keywords in my opinion.

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ann1986

13 years ago

its just one of the many factors that help a site rank better.

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fixpunk

13 years ago

I have found that for my website, 99% of the incumbents in my keyword searches have topical URLs, so, it's a pretty big deal i think.

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BillyBee 13 years ago

Originally Posted by fixpunk

I have found that for my website, 99% of the incumbents in my keyword searches have topical URLs, so, it's a pretty big deal i think.

Yes, but topical URLS are a lot different than exact match keyword URLs. Topical URLs would really open up the door to getting more dot-com domains.
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Ethan Ooi

13 years ago

it depends what kind of site you want to build, if you want to achieve success in a shorter term for with a long tail keyword, then incorporate keyword into domain helps alot.

but if you going to build authority site and build tons of quality backlink with anchor text which will eventually take times, then it really doesnt matter whether ur site has the targeted keyword incorporated or not.

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Aussie_Al

13 years ago

Originally Posted by seowebempire

.

but if you going to build authority site and build tons of quality backlink with anchor text which will eventually take times, then it really doesnt matter whether ur site has the targeted keyword incorporated or not.

Yup, look at sites like Google, Ebay, Amazon, Expedia they used made up words that became house hold names

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jazbo

13 years ago

Is it neccessary? NO.
Does it make a difference, YES, a little bit.

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mad.hat

13 years ago

Originally Posted by BillyBee

If you build a content-rich authority-type site, is having the keyword in your domain name really THAT necessary?

Just asking because so many good keywords I research are taken when it comes to .com, .net and .org

I know everyone claims that tons of great domain names are still available, but I'm having trouble finding good ones that are available for those three suffixes.

Thanks for any advice and insight.

Its always better to have the exact match domain. Sure, if you don't have it you can still outrank the exact match domain but with equal SEO efforts the exact match domain will outrank the rest every time.

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moore.joshua4

13 years ago

I do not see a domain name keywords is very important, its just easier for consumers to remember them

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leo.prash

13 years ago

it is good to have to keyword in the domain name anyways.

ok if its a blog or something it really doesnt matter.

but if its a sales or a conversion site, yeah buddy it really matters.