I've been hearing that a its easier to rank for a keyword if its in your domain name. I was wondering if the effects are diminished if it is a .net or .org domain? I'm guessing that it would still have positive effects if the .com version is parked or am I wrong?
see the .com, .edu, .gov are more trusted one but having keywords in .org and .net will have the same effect. i have used keywords in my .org domain and it is ranking first on Google and that too above .com and .gov. moreover having a trusted domain doesn't guarantee anything. Google will view your website for various options to attach importance to it before it begins ranking them
I don't think the extension matters for SERP purposes. It's a bit unfair as well to penalize some extensions. Random examples [Where .com's are lower] http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=w3 http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=the+hub
do you guys recommend using dietcoke or diet-coke as far as the domain goes, not for domain value, but for SERPs or course.
if you use dietcoke then it will be taken as single keyword. on the other hand diet-coke will be taken as two keywords i.e. a keyword phrase
I don't think it will diminish the importance, but I guess Google may prevent keyword reach domain name in future to take the benefit of keywords in ranking, however if I've option to choose between Keyword or branded domain name, I'll go for branded.
Why do you suggest branded? I was going to try and get high SERP for the keyword domain and maybe point it afterwards to a branded website. Or is that not a smart strategy? Unless you are suggesting I try to obtain the branded domain of my competitors? Wouldn't that go against TM?
google definitely favors coms. The reason could be deliberate, or it could be a natural reflection of the fact that people favor coms. Ask yourself - what would you rather have - creditcards.com or creditcards.info
The fact of the matter is most .com are taken, and if you can't afford the prices some .com portfolio owners are asking, you have no choice but to go with a different extension. To the OP, keywords in the domain is what is important, not the extension.
it's great if your main keyword is your domain name whether you have .net, .org or .com. It will give you a good burst in SERPs I would use dietcoke in your case. Sometimes people remember your domain name and use it to come back to your site. Don't be surprised if they forget about your hyphen
.com's used to be more favored in the past and still are over a great amount of the extensions. However, .org .net are pretty reputable as well and that would come down to the content, backlings, ect of the website itself to gain the edge. However, if you had the same exact website with a .com or .net, I think the .com would take it.
Extension didnt make much effect on SERP. I have a .org site listed the second place of SERP with the domain name
Really? I was actually going to use the hyphen version. I wasn't trying to use the domain to gain hits from people who type directly in the address bar. I was try to target the people who would use a search engine. I am overlooking something? It makes a bit of sense to target the single mispelled kw domain if thats where your going. But wouldn't that be a whole new competition in itself? I'm not sure if people would search "web20designer" over "web 2.0 designer" enough anyway for me to tackle it this way. What do you guys think? (I''m not a competing for kw web 2.0 designer, it was just an example, so please continue to help me)