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How much does the domain name affect?

Discussion in 'Search Engine Optimization' started by bamb0lin, Jul 15, 2009.

  1. #1
    I would like to rank for a competitive keyword (115million).

    I am thinking in buying a domain with the keywords seperated by a hyphen .net

    How much do you think a domain name affect SE ranking?
     
    bamb0lin, Jul 15, 2009 IP
  2. touster

    touster Peon

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    #2
    If your site has good content you don't need keywords on your domain name. Hyphens can easily make your domain name look spammy and it is also hard to remember. I'd choose a short, descriptive name that is easy to remember, most likely with a .com tld (altough .net and .org may suit some pages better).

    Having your keywords in the name just for search engine isn't worth it IMO. If all other aspects of the domain name are ok, having a keyword in it is a good bonus.
     
    touster, Jul 15, 2009 IP
  3. Gallito

    Gallito Peon

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    #3
    100% Correct, it is good to have keywords in the name but it doesn't necessarily decide the success of your website. It does help, there is no question about that, but unless you expect a lot of traffic from that keyword don't worrry about it. Twitter didn't have any keywords :)
     
    Gallito, Jul 15, 2009 IP
  4. AutoFly

    AutoFly Peon

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    #4
    a dot com will help better than a dot net, actually i am ranking first for a very competitive niche with only 442 backlinks when my direct competitor has over 25,000
     
    AutoFly, Jul 15, 2009 IP
  5. Pixelrage

    Pixelrage Peon

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    #5
    I only use dashed URLs for mini-sites that are there for the sole purpose of being a backlink.
     
    Pixelrage, Jul 15, 2009 IP
  6. sameer-sj

    sameer-sj Active Member

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    #6
    thier is a long on-going discussion for weather or not a domain name is worth if it has a name as that of your keyword

    it all depends on your niche but most importantly it depends on content, their are some sites like carlocab.com that rank no1 on google for 'make money online' while their are sites like makemoneyonline.com which are no where to be found

    so for me content is king, domain name can be anything but not so weird and off niche also lol
     
    sameer-sj, Jul 15, 2009 IP
  7. Canonical

    Canonical Well-Known Member

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    #7
    If the main keyword phrase that you want to rank for is "keyword1 keyword2" then having a domain name that is an EXACT match helps a lot once you get some backlinks to your site with your domain name or URL as the link text IMO. It's definitely not going to instantly rank JUST because of the domain name. So...

    keyword1keyword2.com
    keyword1keyword2.net
    keyword1-keyword2.com
    keyword1-keyword2.net

    Although, if it's NOT an exact match like:

    keyword1.keyword3com
    keyword2.keyword3.net
    keyword1.-keyword3.com
    keyword2.-keyword3.net
    keyword1keyword3keyword2.com
    keyword1keyword3keyword2.net
    keyword1-keyword3-keyword2.com
    keyword1-keyword3-keyword2.net

    then it seems to carry significantly less weight. So if you can't get a domain that is an exact match for your "money" keyword phrase then I wouldn't worry too much about which domain you pick. I'd probably go with something similar like a partially matching domain name with a .com TLD.

    As long as you are comparing non-country specific TLDs then the TLD has no bearing on your rankings at Google IMO. A .com has an equal chance of ranking as a .net. Google.com is TLD agnostic if you are comparing non-country specific TLDs. Maybe it matters at some of the other engines, but I tend to care less about the others like Yahoo!, Live/Bing, Ask because they drive an insignificant amount of traffic to our sites.

    However, which TLD you select might effect your ability to get back links. Perhaps other webmasters are more inclined to link to .coms than to .nets because they somehow view them (like many consumers do) as more official. The TLD definitely effects click-thru-rate once you show up in the SERPs. My experience has been that people looking for businesses are more likely to click on .com than .net in the SERPs. People looking for non-profit organizations are more likely to click on a .org than a .com or .net. And so on...
     
    Canonical, Jul 15, 2009 IP
  8. slayer__

    slayer__ Member

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    #8
    content importer than domain name.
     
    slayer__, Jul 15, 2009 IP
  9. theapparatus

    theapparatus Peon

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    #9
    I think quite a lot. I get lots of steak offers in my adsense on my blog. *grumble*
     
    theapparatus, Jul 15, 2009 IP
  10. willybfriendly

    willybfriendly Peon

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    #10
    Hyphens in a domain name have been problematic for nearly two years now, at least in Google. Don't believe it? try some searches. Examples:

    cheap tickets
    cheap concert tickets
    portland attorney
    detroit web design
    caribbean holiday
    vacation rental

    In all of those I see exactly two hyphenated domains in the top 10 listings.

    The purge began in late 2007 and was evident enough that I converted a hyphenated domain to the non-hyphenated in January of 2008. It had enjoyed excellent rankings for many years, but they were slowly eroding. Since I already owned the non-hyphen version and had it redirected, it wasn't too hard to switch the redirects, although there was a painful period while the changes were absorbed by the SE's and reflected in the SERPs.

    But, if you are competing in my niches, please do use a hyphenated domain. Makes things much easier on my end...
     
    willybfriendly, Jul 15, 2009 IP
  11. freelistfool

    freelistfool Peon

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    #11
    I don't go after hyphenated domains, but I do go after domains that have my keywords somewhere in them if possible. So instead of keyword1-keyword2.com I try for keyword1keyword2.com. The reason for this is that it looks more professional and the major benefit of having the keywords in your domain name is that when people link to you naturally they usually use your domain name separated as the anchor text...and it's the anchor text that matters most in helping your site rank for keywords.
     
    freelistfool, Jul 15, 2009 IP
  12. Narrator

    Narrator Active Member

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    #12
    Don't worry about the TLD, google doesn't give preference over .com compared to .net.
    Hyphens do not hurt SEO but they do not give you an advantage like they did in the past.

    You do not need the keywords in your domain name but it definitely helps, especially with a competitive niche.
     
    Narrator, Jul 15, 2009 IP
  13. hockeychick

    hockeychick Peon

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    #13
    literally how much does a domain name affect?---very much
    hyphen .net are non recommended
     
    hockeychick, Jul 15, 2009 IP
  14. evolveforever

    evolveforever Peon

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    #14
    domain name is important and is a factor for SERP but by getting more amount of backlinks you can outrank a website that has the keyword in its domain.This is the main point here.So do not worry if you are not able to get the exact keyword in the domain.instead get the anchored backlinks and you will outrank them all.
     
    evolveforever, Jul 15, 2009 IP
  15. onlinewebcreater

    onlinewebcreater Peon

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    #15
    If you have keyword in domain name then it can give you additional advantage but there is no problem if you are not getting this. Because domain name with keyword is good but some other factors are also as important as your domain name with keyword. These are as follows:
    1. Website designing and placement of all required things at web page.
    2. Content is the king in website internet marketing but content should be in crisp language and easy to understandable.
    3. Website popularity at internet can increase your internet presence.
     
    onlinewebcreater, Jul 15, 2009 IP
  16. CoreyB

    CoreyB Active Member

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    #16
    Just what I've heard/read/experienced: if you are going to use Hyphens you don't want to use more than one or two. Personally I would not use any. They are just too hard to remember, type in correctly, and way to hard to convey when you are reading your domain (i.e. in a podcast, on the radio, in your recorded product, etc.)

    As for .net I also would not recommend using those. I read on Jon Jonas's blo the other day that he recommends .com first, then .org next and .net after that.

    The reason for using .com is simple. More people will remember .com. try out this little experiment call your friend and ask them to go to a site that is a .net site. I almost guarantee that they will assume (despite the fact that you told them .net) it is a .com site. (I used to work at a website and we were a .org site and people would ALWAYS say, ".com?" :-D

    Take care,

    Corey
     
    CoreyB, Jul 15, 2009 IP
  17. webinxs

    webinxs Peon

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    #17
    I don't think so, I post a link on high pr site with the same name then mine result comes first then domain. I already did that.
     
    webinxs, Jul 15, 2009 IP
  18. JessieJames27

    JessieJames27 Active Member

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    #18
    Domain name plays a huge role in SER, but if it is too competitive, domain name only won't outrank other blogs/websites. I suggest you still create quality contents regularly. In that way, there will be a support for your targeted keywords.
     
    JessieJames27, Jul 16, 2009 IP
  19. HR_MBA

    HR_MBA Active Member

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    #19
    very important i think, a domain name that compromises on quality can give the consumer a poor initial impression of your organisation
     
    HR_MBA, Jul 16, 2009 IP
  20. nishiagarwal

    nishiagarwal Peon

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    #20
    a lot. A small and good niche domain name can give you much better result even with a little seo
     
    nishiagarwal, Jul 16, 2009 IP