Does a "keyword" domain helps for ranking ?

Hello ,
I am really interested does really "keyword" domain help for better rank. I am SEO from 2002 and all software that i use for SEO like IBP, WPG and WEB SEO tells that it doesn't matter , but from the results that i seen even .cn, .cc, .info domain are very powerful even with lower PR .
Do you think so ?

 

Dont use Tools for seo., Keyword sure Helps., Even if you have a new domain with a good keyword, with a good effort from your side to build links from authority site and have a user friendly navigational architecture will help you gain good ranking

 

Definitely it helps ... indeed its 3rd most important factor after 'quality backlinks' and 'content'.

 

Keyword in domain helps but is not a major factor. Go for a user friendly domain name.

 

Actually I find that having the keywords in the domain makes a huge difference. It just becomes that much easier to rank well. And you have to worry less about getting quality backlinks if you can almost instantly rank well. In many cases when I work with regional clients, I just tell them to have two websites, their vanity website (MyCompany.com) and another website that is MyKeywords.com and go from there. Usually just getting yourself indexed at all is enough to rank fairly well for those keywords, and there's a lot less work than going on an extensive link building campaign.

I'm curious what version of that software you're using, as I know for a fact that WebCEO does tell you that having your keywords in the domain helps.

MR

 

Keywords help, but they are not as important as content and links.

 

Hello again,
Thanks to everybody. I want to make this topic more wide range. The first point was keywords in domain name. I think it is clear for everybody ...

What about "dashes" in the domain name ? Does the search engine read dash like "best casino"+"atlantic city"-"las vegas" i think everybody understand the example of advanced search...

King Regards...

 

Google used to give it a lot more weight than they now do. I think in the long run you would be much better off going with a brandable domain rather than a long spammy looking domain or a bunch of hypens. It really depends on the long term intent of the site.

 

Definitely will hit the webworld. Recently launched a keyword domain- emesotheliomainformation.com

 

I agree that long term can bring higher rank. I had a domain name that is 2 years old and actually it is forwarded , never been submitted to any directories and this one have PR3 .

long term = higher rank !

 

i think domain name having a combination of two widely searched keywords makes it beneficial!

 

yes it helps...but it's not vistor friendly so i would never buy a domain with stupid keywrods in it...
the domain has to be catchy so for the vistor to come back...if u r looking for visitors to come back..!!!
example: miniclip.com
or : freeflashonlinegames.com

which one sounds better???!!

 

I've used keywords in the domain to get great rankings recently. I remember this not playing such a big role, but lately, it seems to be pulling 3rd and 4th tier keywords straight to the top of the SERPs.

 

I'm going to say freeflashonlinegames.com

I don't know what the hell miniclip.com is. Now, eventually if I come back I might remember it. But, it's not like I'm really going to type it in, other than I did when you mentioned it.

And the fact of the matter is that most browsers don't type in a URL. So who cares if it's 8 characters of 30. They are most likely finding you in a search engine, they might check your domain name, and if your domain name and the short text that google/yahoo/msn displays looks like it matches what they are looking for, then they click it. If they want to come back, then they either bookmark it or they search for it again.

How many domains that you go to do you free type in? I type in google.com and yahoo.com and that's about it, everything else is either bookmarked or I find using a search.

So, I tell my clients to keep it as short as possible, but if you can squeeze your keywords in the domain then by all means do so. It just makes it easier.

In so many cases I've seen websites like BostonMassage.com end up in the top of SERP's for no other reason than their domain name. While other websites that do everything right, languish pages behind.

M

 

It's definitely important, though the impression I get is that it's more important to Yahoo and others than it is to Google. It is definitely not the only criteria though.

There are also cases where your or your client's brand is a stronger keyword than the generic one, for when trying to find info about duplication machines do people search for "xerox copier" or "photo copier"? Either might be good but I'm guessing the brand name has a pretty potent pull. I've noticed this outside of institutional contexts as well, in terms of furniture and appliances. You may get a lot of searches for "washing machine" but I bet that "maytag (washing machine)" will convert better since the searcher has already made a decision on what they're looking for. This is hard to do with CPC since Google isn't fond of you using copyrighted phrases/brands in your adword placement but can still happen if you are an authorized reseller depending on the manufacturer.

Those examples are pretty specific though, in the general categories (e.g. "flashgames") it's probably better to go with the more accessible keywords since there's so much segmentation about what people might want out of a flash game.

EDIT-to actually talk about domain names I've noticed this trick a couple of years ago. Google differentiates between "word" singular and "words" plural. I've seen a lot of domain names lately that are like "GameScene.com" because it will trigger for both "game" and "gameS", as opposed to "GamePlace.com" which only triggers "game" (and "gamep" but who searches for that). If the second words starts with "s" you've got free pluralization that could increase your results from the doubled keyword classification.

 

Yes, keywords in the domain do help.

When I started my website a few years back, I naively and unwisely used my first and last name as the domain name. Result? Type in my first and last name and I come up #1 on the main search engines. The downside? Big deal! Overture tells me that my name is searched for one time per day worldwide! I was a rank amateur at SEO when starting up, so I in a sense wasted the opportunity of using a more-searched-for keyword(s) when I chose and registered my domain.

The lesson? A noncompetitive keyword in the domain can put your domain right at the top quickly. A highly competitive keyword just puts you in with the thousands of others. If I had it to do again, I would use the Keyword Suggestion tool to find a keyword(s) in the mid-level range of competition and do lots of SEO to work it towards the top.

 

I answer "Yes" in the poll, but there is some condition - Google seems to desn't care much about keyword. Or maybe it cares, but much less than Live for example. I have one domain within strong keywords (but not .com) but as I observe now it doesn't help to much (This is quite fresh domains, and other tld exists and are established well already).

 

SEs factor keyword in domain in its ranking and SERPs. I think it is quite natural. For example, www.truckparts.com is more likely to sell Ford gear box assemblies than www.hauling.com, at least from the searchers' point of view. The SEs also try to mimic the way searchers sift through results.

 

A very simple yes! -- who said no?