What do you do when [Exact Keyword Match] Domain isn't available?

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I've found a pretty good long tail keyword but exact match isn't available.. even the exact keyword match with dashes isn't available in .org .net or .com,

is this a bad sign? The #1 site is a micro niche website with 18 backlinks..

What domain should I try for? How are .info for ranking purposes?


Thanks,

Jeremy
#domain #exact #keyword #match
  • Profile picture of the author evolutionvisions
    Do not get a .info, for the most part they tend to suck (ok for a blog network though).

    Instead make a variation of your EMD (exact match domain)
    If MyKeyword . com is taken then make buy-Mykeyword . com, or MykeywordHQ . com
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    • Profile picture of the author paulgl
      Originally Posted by evolutionvisions View Post

      Do not get a .info, for the most part they tend to suck (ok for a blog network though).
      That advice is typical. Typical and way off the mark.
      Dot info's are just fine, if it really mattered, that is.
      But the extension does not really matter.

      Paul
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      • Profile picture of the author InTheMaking
        Originally Posted by paulgl View Post

        That advice is typical. Typical and way off the mark.
        Dot info's are just fine, if it really mattered, that is.
        But the extension does not really matter.

        Paul
        Do you know from past experience that .info ranks just as well as a .com/.net/.org?
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    • Profile picture of the author DireStraits
      Originally Posted by evolutionvisions View Post

      Do not get a .info, for the most part they tend to suck (ok for a blog network though).
      Forgive the inquisition, but in exactly what way do they "tend to suck" and how did you reach that conclusion?

      The reason I ask is simply because in my experience, and in the experiences of many successful SEO'ers on this forum (and others), less popular gTLDs such as .info and .biz really don't carry any intrinsic SEO disadvantages.

      Quite frankly, the notion of them doing so is rooted in myth and based on hearsay. But once someone decides to believe it, they often substantiate it in their own minds with flawed analysis and backwards thinking, and then go on to perpetuate it for the whole cycle to start again with the next person. :rolleyes:

      That is to say, many people subscribe to the belief if they don't see many .info domains ranking in the top spots in the SERPs, it must be an indication that they're ineffective for SEO. All it's really an indication of is that less people use them for SEO purposes - largely because they too subscribe to this faulty belief.

      Speaking purely in terms of SEO, there's really no measurable difference between the intrinsic ranking potential of a .com, .net or .org, and a .info, .biz or any other gTLD (and even some ccTLDs which have been "opened up" for global/generic use). Their ranking potential is limited only by the amount of work one puts in.
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    • Profile picture of the author JSProjects
      Originally Posted by evolutionvisions View Post

      Do not get a .info, for the most part they tend to suck (ok for a blog network though).

      Instead make a variation of your EMD (exact match domain)
      If MyKeyword . com is taken then make buy-Mykeyword . com, or MykeywordHQ . com
      Nothing wrong with .info domains. A variation of the EMD is much less effective than an exact match .info domain.
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    • Profile picture of the author Oranges
      Originally Posted by evolutionvisions View Post

      Do not get a .info, for the most part they tend to suck (ok for a blog network though).

      Instead make a variation of your EMD (exact match domain)
      If MyKeyword . com is taken then make buy-Mykeyword . com, or MykeywordHQ . com
      Can you prove why .info's suck? :rolleyes:
      I recently outranked .com .net and .org guys for my main keyword with an .info domain which is not even an exact match domain, and the competition is like a war going on for top 5-6 position.

      So what im saying is that TLD doesn't really matter, you can rank any domain if you know the game well.
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  • Profile picture of the author Bruce NewMedia
    I have found adding a single letter that does not change the meaning of the EMD phrase is effective. For example: "shoes for toddlers" becomes shoesfortoddlersv.com
    ...adding the 'V' does not change the meaning.
    _____
    Bruce
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    • Profile picture of the author InTheMaking
      Originally Posted by brucerby View Post

      I have found adding a single letter that does not change the meaning of the EMD phrase is effective. For example: "shoes for toddlers" becomes shoesfortoddlersv.com
      ...adding the 'V' does not change the meaning.
      _____
      Bruce
      But wouldn't that be unappealing to your audience? therefore resulting in less organic views if you do rank well?
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  • Profile picture of the author aaron_nimocks
    If exact match isnt available then I would think it doesnt get any searches and I wouldnt target it.
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    • Profile picture of the author InTheMaking
      Originally Posted by aaron_nimocks View Post

      If exact match isnt available then I would think it doesnt get any searches and I wouldnt target it.
      wouldn't that mean that it does get searches? and I know for a fact it does..
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      • Profile picture of the author aaron_nimocks
        Originally Posted by InTheMaking View Post

        wouldn't that mean that it does get searches? and I know for a fact it does..
        I misread. Thought the results of keyword search for searches per day werent available. Not that the domain wasnt.

        My bad
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    • Profile picture of the author IcedSEO-CEO
      Banned
      Originally Posted by aaron_nimocks View Post

      If exact match isnt available then I would think it doesnt get any searches and I wouldnt target it.
      well that is your own version, cos when the exact match is not available, I tent to think that the keyword is good and people are already using it.
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  • Profile picture of the author mediasurgeons
    I create as many websites without exact match domains as I do with them and I can tell you first hand it makes no difference. Stop words are fine, as are single letters at the start or end of the domain.

    It's more about on page and off page seo than what is in the domain, so if you're feeling adventurous you could even go for something completely random like happygreenhippo.com and still rank for the micro niche you desire.
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  • Profile picture of the author InTheMaking
    Does anyone know if .info rank just as well as .com/.net/.info?
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  • Profile picture of the author mediasurgeons
    Yes .info is fine but bare in mind if you want to sell it you'll get less than you would for a .com.
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  • Profile picture of the author mediasurgeons
    We're talking such slender advantages anyway but if you want the facts then listen to DireStraits, he has got it spot on.
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  • Profile picture of the author evolutionvisions
    Well I am an experienced SEO'er who lives solely off the income from my sites.

    But... as for the .info analysis.
    1. .info domains used to be free (I haven't checked but you still might be able to get them). This takes much of the value away.
    2. It is straight up proven that many spam filters have serious problems with .info. So if you are going to start a site and have email that could be a problem
    3. How many .info domains do you see ruling the serps?
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    • Profile picture of the author mediasurgeons
      Originally Posted by evolutionvisions View Post

      3. How many .info domains do you see ruling the serps?
      Quite a few, in fact I believe makemoneyonline.info is fairly high up so it can be done. Besides it's not really a fair argument because there are many many many more .com domains than anything else. Whilst your post maybe accurate, they are statistics and statistics mean nothing to the individual.

      There is zero proof that any domain extension holds any extra weight - that is fact.
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  • Profile picture of the author evolutionvisions
    I stand behind my argument, just for the spam filtering reasons if nothing else.

    But, I will definitely say that there are some .info's that do just fine, but they definitely aren't owning it.

    In the end it doesn't seem like much of an argument that matters, they might not be as strong or they might be an equal. But if I was me I wouldn't risk it. Why take an unnecessary risk no matter how small it is if it is something that you are going to invest money in.
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  • Profile picture of the author LiamP
    Originally Posted by InTheMaking View Post

    I've found a pretty good long tail keyword but exact match isn't available.. even the exact keyword match with dashes isn't available in .org .net or .com,

    is this a bad sign? The #1 site is a micro niche website with 18 backlinks..

    What domain should I try for? How are .info for ranking purposes?


    Thanks,

    Jeremy
    Having an exact match domain is an advantage, but it's one that is easily overcome in a low competition niche.

    I like to think of SEO as "he who has the most points wins". An EMD gives you a few extra points, but you can outscore an EMD by building more or better links.

    So the advantage of an EMD is that it saves you some linkbuilding. It's not a dealbreaker unless you really want to avoid the linkbuilding.

    If the competition is low enough I'd even consider ranking an inner page for your long tail. e.g. Suppose the long tail is "small blue widgets", think about creating JeremysBluewidgets.com with a page JeremysBluewidgets.com/smallbluewidgets
    This gives you scope in the future for a blue widgets authority site and ranking for more keywords.
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  • Profile picture of the author jacked
    Use a suffix. Google places more value on the beginning of the domain, so keep the normal beginning and add something to the end. Like

    product.com <---taken

    use
    productreviews.com
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  • Profile picture of the author alastairevans
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    • Profile picture of the author jacked
      Originally Posted by alastairevans View Post

      With this topic everyone has different opinions but here is my experience to date.

      .info domains do rank and can be effective 'google jumpers' but only for low competition keywords.

      Hyphenated domains (e.g. example-domain.com) are an effective alternatively if you are not looking to brand your site. These are especially good for sniper type affiliate review site.

      I am currently testing hyphenated EMD .nets and .orgs so can't speak for their effectiveness. However, it's telling that your rarely see these sites ranking high....

      Suffix domains (e.g. exampledomainhq.com) are preferred over prefix domains (yourexampledomain.com) but don't have quite the ranking power of a hyphenated EMD .com.

      This last point is contentious and the difference is marginal. My experience with this isn't scientific (i.e I haven't done a split test on the same keyword with two different domains) and is just from observation.

      As with anything, the only thing you can really do with this stuff is read other people's comments, coming up with a sensible working strategy and then test it .
      Have you tested this out? I used to believe this and bought tons of hyphenated domains, but they all suck even with almost a thousand backlinks on each one, while my suffix domains are doing great with just 100-200 links. And these are for fairly low-medium competition terms.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jonathan Beaton
    I usually just panic and quit.
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    • Profile picture of the author IcedSEO-CEO
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Jonathan Beaton View Post

      I usually just panic and quit.
      yea... I do that sometimes, I guess it's cos of my addiction to exact match domain names but these days if I'm targeting something like clearpores and all the exact match is taken, I just go for something like clearpore.net or cleapores.net and it turns out pretty well too, I have had tons of success using that strategy with .net domain names.
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