Keyword in domain name (the right way?)

by BoJon
9 replies
  • SEO
  • |
Let's say I want to rank for a keyword in my domain, and that name is taken.

Then I might add something to the end or in front of that keyword to get something that's available.

What's the better option for SEO? Add something to the beginning or the end?

For example If I want "guitarlessons.com" which isn't available, then I could do:

NEWguitarlessons.com
or
guitarlessonsNEW.com.

The main keyword is in there, but is one approach better than the other?
#domain #keyword
  • Profile picture of the author dave_hermansen
    Keep in mind that there is no direct SEO value, at least with Google, for having the keywords in your domain. There is a little bit of secondary SEO value when people link to you using your domain name as the anchor text because your keywords are in the anchor text.

    It's tough to say which is better without knowing the real domain names being considered. In you example, I would say that none of them are good because "new" has nothing to do with guitar lessons and is also not brandable.

    My advice would be to watch the video that Rand Fishkin put up yesterday about this very subject - How to Choose a Domain Name - Whiteboard Friday
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    • Profile picture of the author BoJon
      Originally Posted by dave_hermansen View Post

      My advice would be to watch the video that Rand Fishkin put up yesterday about this very subject - How to Choose a Domain Name - Whiteboard Friday
      Thanks for this video. I've seen a lot of descriptions on how to pick a good domain name, and so far this is the best one. Very good explained. You can't get much more detailed than this.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tim3
    Originally Posted by BoJon View Post

    Let's say I want to rank for a keyword in my domain, and that name is taken.

    Then I might add something to the end or in front of that keyword to get something that's available.

    What's the better option for SEO? Add something to the beginning or the end?

    For example If I want "guitarlessons.com" which isn't available, then I could do:

    NEWguitarlessons.com
    or
    guitarlessonsNEW.com.

    The main keyword is in there, but is one approach better than the other?

    Brand it, then you won't have to worry about spammy-looking URL's

    e.g. justinguitar.com (real authority site in guitar niche)

    so...
    wxw.justinguitar.com/guitar-lessons

    looks a lot better than wxw.guitarlessonsnew/guitar-lessons and is an awful lot easier to promote and market with.

    Also you may not get the full effect from an EMD unless it contains hyphens thus:
    wxw.guitar-lessons-new.com

    as SE's will see it as all one word... guitarlessonsnew, i.e. a nonsensical phrase,

    not only that, but you may not even rank for the keyword in the domain name at all.
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  • Keywords used in your domain name doesn't really matter much. They just give a better search on the engine.
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  • E.g if you used the New in front our at the end, it doesn't matter. Funding the best domain name for your site solely depends on you. Google one the other hand uses keywords from your post contents to rank your site on their engine. Using the right keyword for your web topic on your post contents should be your priority and not domain name. Don't get me wrong there!!! Domain names are the foundation if a site's success, so choosing the best should also concern you.
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    Originally Posted by BoJon View Post

    Let's say I want to rank for a keyword in my domain, and that name is taken.

    Then I might add something to the end or in front of that keyword to get something that's available.

    What's the better option for SEO? Add something to the beginning or the end?

    For example If I want "guitarlessons.com" which isn't available, then I could do:

    NEWguitarlessons.com
    or
    guitarlessonsNEW.com.

    The main keyword is in there, but is one approach better than the other?


    It doesn't matter because it's not ranking pages on Google SERPs.

    CTR is a whole other deal.
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  • Profile picture of the author minmin91
    it really doesn't much matter nowadays
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  • Profile picture of the author BoJon
    Sorry for the bad example.

    As I have heard and also what is mentioned above is that keyword in domain names doesn't matter that much anymore and other things are more important for SEO, but I just thought that having the keyword in domain name could help a tiny bit, as a bonus.

    So Google has the ability to split words, right?

    So it would read "guitarlessons.com" as "guitar lessons" instead of "guitarl essons". With that in mind I was thinking that having an extra phrase at the beginning or end would be more beneficial over the other, along with the fact that keyword in domain still holds some weight (if not much).

    I guess going the brand route with domains names is much better, than having the spammy looking URL, but I think I will going for a hybrid. Somewhere in between having the keyword there as well as look as a brand.
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  • Profile picture of the author Corey Taylor
    Originally Posted by BoJon View Post

    Let's say I want to rank for a keyword in my domain, and that name is taken.

    Then I might add something to the end or in front of that keyword to get something that's available.

    What's the better option for SEO? Add something to the beginning or the end?

    For example If I want "guitarlessons.com" which isn't available, then I could do:

    NEWguitarlessons.com
    or
    guitarlessonsNEW.com.

    The main keyword is in there, but is one approach better than the other?
    EMD (Exact Match Domains) are not so powerful as they used to be. I mean, they are still a ranking factor but not so important.

    I'd go for a brand name easy to remember for the clients and I'd seo optimize the articles instead.

    Originally Posted by BoJon View Post


    So Google has the ability to split words, right?
    Some years ago it'd help to use hyphens. For example guitar-lessons the - was like a space to the algorithm.
    I think it still works like that in 2016 but as said it's not as powerful as it used to be.
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