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Do Exact Match Domains Still Have Advantage?

by scottmacair
18 replies
  • SEO
    • |
I'm about to buy a few domains for a new project would like to know other Warriors recent experience with EMD's - do they still get the ranking boost they used to get over domains that are not an exact match of the keyword? Are they still the best way to go?

Recently I created a site with a very successful page and the URL looked like this: mybrand.com/blog/keyword-keyword

I had no trouble in ranking the page for thr keyword in the URL and I was astonished at how many visits the page received.

I know when i'm searching i generally don't click on EMD even when they are top because I know they probably got there just because of the keyword rich domain name, a little bit like the top PPC ads - you immediately filter them out because you know they paid to get there. I'm not sure if this is just an SEO habit I have developed or whether general searchers also do this?

I guess the question is - what do most searchers trust:

mybrand.com/keyword-keyword

or

keyword.com


Would love to hear other views on this.
#advantage #domains #exact #match
  • Profile picture of the author trilogy9013
    At this point, i really don't encourage EMD anymore.

    For 2 reasons,
    1. They don't really provide all that much juice anymore. Google has been cutting down on this for a while.

    2. These types of domains don't look natural AT ALL! Especially when you are trying to go after a long tail keyword like - buy pink ipod. This looks very odd to google and people who are searching for that matter.

    I recommend going after a more authority type domain that covers your product / keyword and very similar keywords. Don't go too broad, but think of a domain that you could build at least 10-20 pages of content rich stuff on.
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    • Profile picture of the author scottmacair
      That has been my thinking for a while now but you hear so many people on warrior banging on about the importance of EMD's that you begin to doubt yourself.

      You are right, most EMD look odd, like: wheretobuywebsitetemplates.com

      The trouble with EMD is that in most cases there is a complete absence of brand identity and for that reason trust is difficult to gain. An EMD just looks low low quality in most cases and the main reason they receive visits is because they easily reach position 1 because of the SEO boost - take that away and and I don't think they are very valuable at all.
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      • Profile picture of the author M Thompson
        There is 2 things being discussed here.

        Do EMD's Work

        Do They Lok Spammy

        The answer to both is yes, a quick look at google will show EMD's ranking well with fewer on page and off page seo factors than the sites around them.

        They look spammy to most of us because we know exactly what the owner of them is doing but do they look spammy to joe public, probably not...

        Does Joe public even notice the URL when he clicks on a link in google? I doubt it they look at the title that shows in google and if it's a good fit then they click on it.
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        • Profile picture of the author scottmacair
          Good points.

          I guess my next question is: if EMD still get a ranking boost do you think this will continue? The way Google are going I could see them making this a negative factor by next year.....partly kidding here but they have made a few changes recently that no one expected....
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  • Profile picture of the author wadboram
    In my opinion I'd rather go for an EMD but with a brandable name
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    • Profile picture of the author scottmacair
      Originally Posted by wadboram View Post

      In my opinion I'd rather go for an EMD but with a brandable name
      Agreed, but you have to be quite lucky to find this type of domain available with decent traffic for the keyword.
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  • Profile picture of the author kulonuwun
    EMD works if only you have quality, original content and frequently updated.

    EMD wont work, if you have spammy website.
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  • Profile picture of the author markowe
    My take: EMD s give an initial boost, but over the long run if your site offers nothing to the searcher it will not save you from doom. A brandable or "umbrella" keyword phrase in the domain name takes a bit longer but I find it more worthwhile in the long run.
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  • Profile picture of the author nicktyler
    Weather it does or it doesn't. If it is an option and doesn't break the bank then why not?
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    • Profile picture of the author scottmacair
      Given the amount of people who rely on EMD to rank low quality sites it's not inconceivable to imagine that this may become a neutral SEO factor or worse a negative. We've seem time and time again every loophole or possible shortcut become devalued or penalised by Google.

      Many people thought Private Blog Network links where the way to soar to the top of the SERPS and for a while it worked but now many, if not all, of these sites have Unnatural Link Penalties with all keywords tanked.

      I want any strategy I rely on to also be future proof.
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      • Profile picture of the author Mike Anthony
        They still appear to be working in some niches not so much in others. Google wants to stamp it out but its not easy. They also want you to find what you are looking for and in many searches the EMD is exactly what users expect. In the US if I put in Best buy I want to see bestbuy.com (although I really am not searching there just being lazy to type.com in the navigation bar). So they have conflicting things working to solve.
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        • Profile picture of the author markowe
          Originally Posted by Mike Anthony View Post

          They still appear to be working in some niches not so much in others. Google wants to stamp it out but its not easy. They also want you to find what you are looking for and in many searches the EMD is exactly what users expect. In the US if I put in Best buy I want to see bestbuy.com (although I really am not searching there just being lazy to type.com in the navigation bar). So they have conflicting things working to solve.
          Yeah, I keep trying to explain this.

          What if you own a company called Gilded Watering Cans and you buy up the domain GildedWateringCans.com for your company site. Now if someone Googles "gilded watering cans" - what are they looking for? Are they looking for the luxury gardening item, or the company/site with the same name? Especially if that site is all about gilded watering cans, and appears to be selling/promoting them too. See the problem from the standpoint of a dumb algorithm?

          For some reason people think an algorithm can "know" what an EMD is - it's just not that simple. That's why they have to keep giving them weight, at least until they figure out how to interpret authentic branding signals better.

          There are huge numbers of EMDs ranking from way back when, many of them from before people really figured out that this was something they could game. They don't look like going away any time soon.
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  • Profile picture of the author WebPen
    Bring the Fresh is still pushing EMDs, so they must think it's not going anywhere.

    That said- Google is obviously trying to throw down spammy, lower quality sites and that's what tens of thousands of EMDs are.

    For now though, they still work.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ashera
    Like other posters said- they give you a slight advantage, and if you have quality content and build strong links- even if they lose their upper hand, your site will still rank. I don't see anytime where people are going to be "punished" for EMD's... tons of businesses rely on them to rank.
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  • Profile picture of the author paulgl
    It's not about EMD's, it's about spam sites. There are EMD's that are
    not really EMD's. Like Mike's Best Buy example. Bestbuy.com is not an
    exact match. It's a brand name. What do you get when searching for
    things like buying a computer online? buyingacomputeronline.com?
    Of course not. You get amazon, bestbuy, tiger, etc. No EMD's
    there.

    People use parlor tricks to show EMDs work in fake searches using
    fake terms.

    Real world searching is entirely different.

    Hence, wikipedia ranks high and even #1 for a plethora of stuff.

    If you want to build an authority site, do it the way authority
    sites do it. If you want to build a sucky site, get an EMD, slap
    WP together, then come back and complain how mean google is.

    You people are on one of the biggest, baddest internet marketing
    forums called warriorforum.com. And it ranks for a gazillion words
    and phrase. Why people want to stay stuck in 1998 is beyond me.

    Businesses DO NOT rely on EMD's. That sure comes out of left
    field. Businesses rely on brands, maybe, but that's not an EMD.
    It's a brand name.

    Like I said. The top businesses rely on an easy, short domain to
    build authority with. They will NOT use some sappy EMD.

    Hence zillow, kayak, zoosk, etc.

    Step into 2012 before it's 2013 and you REALLY get left behind.

    Paul
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    • Profile picture of the author StevenJones
      Great explanation Paul.
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    • Profile picture of the author markowe
      Originally Posted by paulgl View Post

      It's not about EMD's, it's about spam sites. There are EMD's that are
      not really EMD's. Like Mike's Best Buy example. Bestbuy.com is not an
      exact match. It's a brand name. What do you get when searching for
      things like buying a computer online? buyingacomputeronline.com?
      Of course not. You get amazon, bestbuy, tiger, etc. No EMD's
      there.

      [...]

      Businesses DO NOT rely on EMD's. That sure comes out of left
      field. Businesses rely on brands, maybe, but that's not an EMD.
      It's a brand name.

      Like I said. The top businesses rely on an easy, short domain to
      build authority with. They will NOT use some sappy EMD.

      Hence zillow, kayak, zoosk, etc.

      Step into 2012 before it's 2013 and you REALLY get left behind.

      Paul
      I agree with all that - I am saying that Google as a dumb algorithm is not able to reliably distinguish "EMD as brand name" as "EMD as attempt to game rankings".

      But I would definitely be getting away from EMDs - they are just a hindrance to any serious business in the long-term.
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  • Profile picture of the author scottmacair
    Thanks for all the contributions guys - much appreciated.

    The more I think about it the more i think i want to build a useful brand that attracts links through useful content. I'm getting tired of playing cat and mouse with Google algo updates.

    Every shortcut we discover to get low quality sites into top SERP positions, Google devalues or penalises and i can't see this changing.

    Sure I can accept my site getting bashed by Google and just exploit the next loophole with a new wave of sites but I actually believe i can create useful site that people will want to link to
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