Which of these URLs is better for SEO?

15 replies
  • SEO
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Hey guys & girls,

I wanted to pick the brains of all the SEO expert in here

I'm just about launch another website. I've previously had HUGE success in the organic Google searches but with one major factor in my favour:

I've always bought a domain with the EXACT keyword i'm targeting.

i.e keyword.com, keyword.org or keyword.co.uk

Here's the deal...

The latest niche i'm looking at is super popular with the domainers which has pretty much ruled out buying an exact match domain. Unless I want to part with $100,000 which just ain't gonna happen!

So, what are my options?

Let say that my keyword is 'French Beer'.

Do you think I should go with:

1. FrenchBeerUK.com/.org/.co.uk

or 2. French-Beer.com/org/.co.uk

I'd be REALLY grateful for you thoughts as always.

Cheers,
Martin
#seo #url #urls
  • Profile picture of the author Oling
    I would go for the second one as this can have a wider scope unlike having the other with the UK in it which to means that you can easily get into the UK market but I do not know how it will fare on the world wide web.. that is for #1

    Just my 2 cents
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  • Profile picture of the author jhonsean
    I prefer number two also. I would suggest that you must have the targeted keywords for the site for this it will reflects the search engines as well as your page.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jeff S
    The truth is they both can rank for "french beer" if that's your target keyword/keyphrase since it's in domain (which is just one aspect of seo). With the proper onsite setup and linkbuilding, you can get any domain to rank for any keyword. TLD's (top level domains) are important for SEO (com/net/org are the best, country-specific tld's are great for country-specific search engines). However, since you mentioned domaining, .com's are preferred for those folks that like to build portfolios and resell. For the domainers that are looking for passive ad revenue through SEDO or something similar, what's important is that you rank on top to get the most type-in traffic (which gets the most traffic/$).
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    • Profile picture of the author Martin N Smith
      cheers guys.

      To be honest, my internet marketing strategy has always been quite simple.

      1.Find lucrative niche
      2.Identify keywords
      3.Buy keyword rich domain
      4.Build wordpress blog
      5.Spend 6-9 months building high PR links and the daily on-site SEO
      6. Get in #1 in Google
      7. Monetise!

      I probably didn't make myself clear with my question earlier. I'm not really a "produce great content" kind of guy so I don't really give a cr@p about direct traffic. All I really care about is lovely FREE organic search traffic!

      All things (on and off site SEO) being equal, which domain do you think will rank better in Google?

      Keyword = French Beer

      1. FrenchBeerUK.com
      2. French-Beer.com

      Cheers,
      Martin
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  • Profile picture of the author Jordan Kovats
    Eventhough I own domains with hyphens, I am no longer a fan of using them. Stick with the non hyphens.
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    • Profile picture of the author Martin N Smith
      Originally Posted by theseoguys View Post

      I am no longer a fan of using them
      Is this a personal thing or do you think Google prefers non-hyphens domains?

      Cheers,
      Martin
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  • Profile picture of the author Oling
    I would still be incline to choose # 2

    just my opinion
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    • Profile picture of the author Martin N Smith
      Originally Posted by Oling View Post

      I would still be incline to choose # 2

      just my opinion
      cool - thanks

      M
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      • Profile picture of the author Martin N Smith
        does anyone else wanna throw in their two pence on these URLs?

        Cheers,
        Martin
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  • Profile picture of the author BAC Ops Manager
    #1 if the domain is still available (.com)
    #2 if still available (.com with dashes)
    #3 if still available (.org)
    #4 try a .net domain
    #5 try other versions of your keyword with dashes in between words and other domains.
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    • Profile picture of the author Martin N Smith
      I like that you put a .com with dashes above a .org with no dashes.

      Have you had any experience / success in doing this?

      Cheers,
      Martin
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      • Profile picture of the author BAC Ops Manager
        Originally Posted by Martin N Smith View Post

        I like that you put a .com with dashes above a .org with no dashes.

        Have you had any experience / success in doing this?

        Cheers,
        Martin
        Yes I do. .com domains are still the best (even with dashes). You can also make it FrenchBeerForYou.com I'm sure you will come up with something better.

        .com domains with dashes works with SEO.

        .org is my third option which also clearly works.

        .net is still cool.

        I even tried a .co domain and was able to put in on the first page of google.
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        • Profile picture of the author Martin N Smith
          Originally Posted by BAC Ops Manager View Post

          Yes I do. .com domains are still the best (even with dashes). You can also make it FrenchBeerForYou.com I'm sure you will come up with something better.

          .com domains with dashes works with SEO.

          .org is my third option which also clearly works.

          .net is still cool.

          I even tried a .co domain and was able to put in on the first page of google.
          Cool - i've got to #1 for some awesome keywords with .com, .org and .co.uk but NEVER .com with a dash.

          So if FrenchBeer.com is $100,000

          Sod it, i'll buy French-Beer.com for $1,000

          Cheers,
          Martin
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          • Profile picture of the author BAC Ops Manager
            Originally Posted by Martin N Smith View Post

            Cool - i've got to #1 for some awesome keywords with .com, .org and .co.uk but NEVER .com with a dash.

            So if FrenchBeer.com is $100,000

            Sod it, i'll buy French-Beer.com for $1,000

            Cheers,
            Martin
            That's a good $99,000 money saving decision! :p
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            • Profile picture of the author Martin N Smith
              Originally Posted by BAC Ops Manager View Post

              That's a good $99,000 money saving decision! :p
              ha ha - yes it is
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