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Words like "of" in a Domain Name?

by atdavidson
11 replies
  • SEO
    • |
Hello Warriors!

A quick question for you SEO experts out there (or maybe a few quick questions)...

I am about to build a new website and I am unsure which domain to use. There are two possibilities:

word1word2.com or word1ofword2.com

I think the second option (including the "of") is a more of phrase used in real life, but I am unsure because of my keyword research.

Wordtracker gives 103 searches for word1word2, no results for word1ofword2.

Google Adwords seems to show more searches for word1word2 than word1ofword2, but a much higher cost per click for word1ofword2.

A competition search on Google shows 33,000 for "word1 word2" and 17,300 for "word1 of word2"

In terms of SEO does an "of" in the domain name make a difference? Do the major search engines ignore these words anyway? Any advice on which domain to choose?

Thanks to anyone who can help!
#domain #words
  • Profile picture of the author Traffic101
    Hi, I think that words like of, and, if, are dead words. The search engines don't count them. So regardless of which word you used, you would get the same results.

    I hope that helps.
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  • Profile picture of the author atdavidson
    Wow! You guys are fast!

    Thanks for the responses, I also thought of words like "of" as stop words and that they wouldn't make a difference to search engines. But why is there variation in the keyword research?

    Wordtracker for example has different results for phrases that contain "of" and phrases that do not. The Google adwords tool also quotes different search volumes and CPC for the phrase with and without the "of".

    I think "moneymaking.com" would be more valuable than "moneyofmaking.com", but "championoftheworld.com" seems more valuable than "championworld.com"? Is this just because I am looking as a human? Do search engines ignore these words completely?

    I'm confused :confused:
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    • Profile picture of the author askloz
      Originally Posted by atdavidson View Post


      Thanks for the responses, I also thought of words like "of" as stop words and that they wouldn't make a difference to search engines. But why is there variation in the keyword research?
      cos that's what ppl are entering, they log everything, it just doesn't make any difference on a SEO perspective, but does on a PPC perspective


      Originally Posted by atdavidson View Post

      I think "moneymaking.com" would be more valuable than "moneyofmaking.com", but "championoftheworld.com" seems more valuable than "championworld.com"? Is this just because I am looking as a human? Do search engines ignore these words completely?

      I'm confused :confused:
      I wouldn't bust your brain over it, sometimes it just looks visually better and easier to remember when typing in the address bar.

      Google and other search engines will highlight those stop words in bold if entered by the user, but as I say, has no bearing on ranking overall, but they will provide results that best match the users query.

      Hope this helps
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      • Profile picture of the author atdavidson
        Thanks Askloz and Traffic101 for your replies.

        Askloz - I think that's the best piece of advice I've had in a while - I won't bust my brain over it anymore, I will go and take action!

        Choosing a domain and building a website has to be better that procrastinating in confusion!

        Thanks guys.
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        • Profile picture of the author paulgl
          First, why do you want that domain?
          You may be mixing things up. Or I am.
          What I mean is, is your domain related to the site,
          is it a catch phrase, or is it the name?

          Example, FedEx.com has absolutely no worth, except
          to fedex. People know fedex. Instant recognition. It would
          be a rather lousy SEO domain without the company behind it.
          The term 'fedex' is jibberish. Now if I was doing a site on
          shipping, I would come up with an SEO friendly domain.
          Unless my business was called xyzbox. Then certainly
          I would get the domain xyzbox.com, but it is a jibberish
          domain. However, my customers would not expect anything
          less.

          SO, why do you want word1word2 ? Would people search for
          that? I think just the term 'word' is too generic. However, if that
          is the name of your business, blog, niche, or whatever, then that
          makes sense. SEO does not even come into play. Your monicker
          would automatically be recognized by your followers/users.
          But it would, IMHO, be a jibberish domain, not even close to SEO
          friendly. But as stated before, SEO would be of no matter if that is
          indeed your chosen byline. And from what I read here and elsewhere
          that the domain name is only one part of any SEO anyway.

          Unless of course, I got things mixed up, which is probable.
          That's why I am doing more reading here at warriorforum.

          Paul
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          • Profile picture of the author sam12six
            Originally Posted by paulgl View Post


            SO, why do you want word1word2 ? Would people search for
            that? I think just the term 'word' is too generic. However, if that
            is the name of your business, blog, niche, or whatever, then that
            makes sense. SEO does not even come into play. Your monicker
            would automatically be recognized by your followers/users.
            But it would, IMHO, be a jibberish domain, not even close to SEO
            friendly. But as stated before, SEO would be of no matter if that is
            indeed your chosen byline. And from what I read here and elsewhere
            that the domain name is only one part of any SEO anyway.

            Unless of course, I got things mixed up, which is probable.
            That's why I am doing more reading here at warriorforum.

            Paul
            LOL! He's saying word1 is the first word of a keyword phrase he's targeting and word2 is the second...

            Like if he's targeting "Dream Boat", he was wondering if dreamboat.com is treated the same by search engines as dreamofboat.com.
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  • Profile picture of the author paulgl
    Oh yeah. Now I get it.
    If he's targeting word1 as the first word in a keyword phrase
    that will be searched for, then I am using the wrong list
    of actual searched for terms that matter.
    I gotta get that list, baby!
    Maybe word3 is 3 times better.
    Nobody would search for word1 unless they had in mind
    already what they were looking for.
    Dreamboat is a bad comp. I can see a search for dream and boat.
    But not word and 1. That was my point.

    Paul
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    • Profile picture of the author atdavidson
      Ok guys, I think things are getting even more confusing...
      Perhaps I should just be more open with my plans...
      I am planning on building a blog and forum for optimistic people who love life. It will be a place to share and learn the reasons why people feel happy, and methods of improving happiness and quality of life.
      There will be philosophical debates and discussions on psychology, self hypnosis, NLP and real life tactics to succeed in whatever you desire, especially increasing confidence, feelings of self worth and happiness.
      Which domain do you think would be best:
      Philosophyhappiness.com or Philosophyofhappiness.com
      Please give your opinion, I welcome any input and criticism, it's the best way to learn.
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      • Profile picture of the author Bob007
        A lot of it depends on which domain is available. If the domain with the "of" is available why not go for it. "of" won't hurt you in the rankings. If not available, then take out the "of" and try that.
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  • Profile picture of the author chadmunsey
    I think people get way to caught up in search terms in domain names and lose sight of the real money maker which is people. My advice is to find the most relevant and easiest to remember domain name and work on building that from a brand perspective. If it has keywords in it then that's great, it does help a little with your rankings but it isn't the be all end all of SEO, that could change at any minute as well. Then all you have is a messy sounding domain name that won't stick out in anyones mind.

    If you follow search you would know is that there is going to be much more of a focus on brands so treat you business as any other and build a brand that people know and love. The rankings will follow.
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