Key Phrase Domain Names In All Likelihood To Get DeJuiced - Matt Cutts
Tuesday, May 10th, 2011Matt Cutts, Google webmaster anti-spam guru, did a very interesting video on keyword domains.
He covers using a more ‘brandable’ domain name in contrast to using a keyword-rich domain name.
Ok, before I talk about ‘DeJuicing’, allow me to describe the difference between a brand domain name and then a keyword-rich domain…
A ‘brand’ domain name would be, as an example, Facebook.com. The term ‘Facebook’ is a ‘made up’ term, if you will, that has no particular meaning, apart from the company it symbolizes. Facebook’s business model is a Social Networking internet site, however the domain obviously doesn’t have the words ‘social network’ in it.
So whenever the query what is a blog and how does it work are inquired in connection to domain names, it needs to be stated there is simply no distinction. Blogs are just another sort of website and the domain scoring is actually equal.
In contrast, a keyword-rich domain name is really as its term suggests. It’s a domain containing keywords and phrases to which you may or may not get ranking for in the major search engines. One example is buycellphones.net, where the term ‘cell phones’ and ‘buy cell phones’ are naturally part of the domain name.
It is basically well-known in the SEO (search engine optimization) world that keywords and phrases within the domain name will get a search positions boost from Google.
As a result in the preceding illustration of ‘buycellphones.net’, in cases where all other ranking variables ended up being equal (they hardly ever are of course) then I will have a search engine rankings edge for the search term ‘buy cell phones’ because that particular keyword phrase is in my domain name.
However it would appear that this could change. Near to the end of the video Matt Cutts reveals that Google could decrease the ranking advantage of keyword-rich domains by ‘adjusting the mix’, as Cutts describes it.
What’s interesting is Cutts doesn’t mention they want to eliminate the ranking edge. He suggests that they may modify it a bit.
Just what exactly does this mean for webmasters as well as SEO’s?
As is frequently the case with Google, who knows for certain??
Google has made a few modifications to their ranking algorithm lately to address spam, low quality web pages and improve the overall search experience for their end users.
One obvious positive aspect found in decreasing the keyword phrase domain edge is it definitely should stop small-scale, crappy internet websites from seeking to snap up the # 1 search engine spot for a keyword/keyphrase by way of placing said phrase within the domain name. Inside my weblog building course, I cover how to set up a blog for the search engines given that they will last a long time when done correctly.
Google has made strides over the past few years in this topic and yet I’ve still observed instances of small crappy internet sites being ranked highly merely by placing the key word in the domain name and generating a handful of web pages to the site. I should point out that this ordinarily happens when working with a keyphrase that has little competition, especially backlinks-wise.
Precisely What Do You Do? Make use of a Keyword Domain Name or possibly a Brandable Domain?
There’s no one set remedy here. If you’re building a website for the long-term and want to build brand identity then I wouldn’t be worried about having a key word in the url of your website.
However, when you’ve got a significant keyword phrase which relates to and/or increases your business’ identity and you’re able to incorporate that keyword phrase in the brand then you should do it. Look at it like a bonus. You were able to make the keyword phrase a part of the brand and that can certainly help.