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How to choose the right domain name

by MrMontgomery
10 replies
  • SEO
    • |
Hi fellow Warriors,
this is my first post here but I have followed discussions a long time now and today I decided do become a member.

I have invested in 30+ domain name where each and every one is about the same keyword. My original thought was to use theese site as microsite and link to my big project site. Now I want to choose the right domain name for the big site.

Should I go for a domain name with as many exact searches as possible? Or the name I think would generate more organic links because that its on .org domain that really sound official?

How can I see exact search matches? Google Adwords Keyword tool seem to group similar search terms. "about keyword" and "what keyword" seem to have the same amount or searches. And that makes me suspicous.

So what would you do? Should I choose the domain with highest search terms (low competition) or the commercial one? How can I use the other 30 websites in a good way in order to improve the main sites popularity?

Thanks for any advice!

M.
#adwords #choose #domain #seach terms #strategy
  • Profile picture of the author buzilla
    Originally Posted by MrMontgomery View Post

    How can I see exact search matches? Google Adwords Keyword tool seem to group similar search terms. "about keyword" and "what keyword" seem to have the same amount or searches. And that makes me suspicous.
    You have to select 'exact' and not 'broad' in the left hand column to get exact searches.
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  • Profile picture of the author linkassistant
    There are 2 schools of thought here: some guys will tell you to look for EMDs because that'll do half of the job, others (myself included) will advise to go after a brand name.

    The reasons for the second point are summarized in this post: How to Choose a Domain Name with SEO in Mind. Part 1: Brand vs Keywords | SEO Blog of Link-Assistant.Com.

    Also many webmasters have noticed that one of the recent Google updates was particularly hard on EMD sites, so make your decision with that in mind.
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    • Profile picture of the author MrMontgomery
      Thank you both for helping me out. When I did the exact match research I found out that the "brandname" actually has 28 000 exact searches vs the other on 170. But when put as "broad match" the latter has 20+ million searches/month but I guess that is with all long tail searches containing those words.
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      • Profile picture of the author linkassistant
        Originally Posted by MrMontgomery View Post

        Thank you both for helping me out. When I did the exact match research I found out that the "brandname" actually has 28 000 exact searches vs the other on 170. But when put as "broad match" the latter has 20+ million searches/month but I guess that is with all long tail searches containing those words.
        There might be misunderstanding here. What I mean by a brand name is the unique name you choose for your site, so it'll most likely have zero relevant searches. Thus, a brand name is not a popular name of some product you might be promoting, but just a name you've chosen for your site.

        Here's an example. You sell adidas running shoes at joggingfrog.com.

        The brand here is "jogging frog", not adidas. How many people search for "jogging frog"? Probably zero.

        What would you choose this weird irrelevant domain then you might ask?

        - keywords in the domain name is just one of ranking factors. There are many more others. Excel at content, on page and link building, and your won't need relying on your EMD.

        - EMD is spamy and unnatural - both for users and search engines. Users tend to confide in brands more. They also remember them and type them into their browsers unconsciously with no need to google for them.

        RE search engines and EMDs. Google has already hit EMDs with one of the recent updates, and new sanctions might follow, so it's definitely not a safe harbor.
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  • Profile picture of the author patco
    Have your best keyword is recommended! According to me, do NOT post your brand name, because this will not help you get higher ranking (because you could rank for your brand name... but this is not helpful!)
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    • Profile picture of the author MrMontgomery
      Originally Posted by patco View Post

      Have your best keyword is recommended!
      Thanks But how can I determine which word is the best. Exact searches or words that is used a lot in combination for long tail?

      Example

      1. The domain/keyword londontourism
      Broad match: 60 500
      Exact match: 6 660
      Med-High competition

      2. The domain/keyword what london
      Broad match: 151 000 000 (the same as just a broad search for london)
      Exact match: 46
      Low competition

      So in this case I guess "what london" would be bad in terms om EMD unless i go for long tail content such us "what can you do in london", "what to see in london" and so on... while the tourism domain cointains the major keyword is 11 years old and the term tourism is related to a lot of content?

      So I guess it is two different strategies here...
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  • Profile picture of the author SandraElam
    u can select any good keyword in the domain name

    try getting the domain name short so it can be memorable to people when they recommend you to someone else etc
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  • Profile picture of the author Nicole Thomas
    This is my opinion - Complete keyword based domains can look like a spam unless it is short and neat. We are looking for keyword based domains just to grab that additional SEO benefit but we don't know when Google is gonna hit us. If possible go for a domain name which has your keyword and can be brand able too.
    You can refer to the guideline listed in this article for more detailed information about it - How To Choose a Good Domain Name For Your Blog?

    Good Luck
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  • Profile picture of the author JakeStatler
    30 domains is a ton of online real estate. You're like a digital Donald Trump..

    But on a more serious note. I would have to agree with some of the other warriors by saying that exact keyword domains look spammy, especially if you're marketing to the IM niche. I like to use the keyword in my domain and still make it fun..

    Example: keyword = "shopping tips" / url may be something like = "mybigshoppingtips2save .com" or something like that.. It just seems less spammy.

    This may be pretty basic, but I usually focus less on the domain name of my sites and more on the content and keywords for SEO on my sites. This is just my 2 cents and I know everyone is different. You may even decide to create many small niche sites with your other domains and point them back to your main site to create back links and/or drive targeted traffic.

    Just an idea keep working hard, you're on the right track
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  • Profile picture of the author LJKrooker
    I've recently got the exact match domain for my niche. It's potentially going to be a directory style site, it's two words and directly nails the topic without any confusion. I plan to make it into the brand name as well. Just reading the links posted now, thanks for the info and provoking more thought about it. Does anyone have an update on Google's friendliness to EMDs?
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