Hi gang, I would highly appreciate anyone that could help me with something that has been bugging me for a while. I would also appreciate short and specific answers if possible? Here are the questions folks: 1. If I find a very highly searched keyword that has a domain name available, how will that benefit me? 2. If I did purchase a domain containing the keyword of interest, will it matter which extension I purchase? 3. Which is better; (keyword.net) or (key-word.com)? To hyphenate... or not to hyphenate? That is the question! LOL! - sorry I just had to say that. 4. How do search engines rank domain extensions? 5. Is a file extention the same as a subdomain like; keyword.bizza(.)com :: bizza(.)com/keyword ? Cheers!
1. You will benefit if you develop it into a site because having the KW in your domain name will boost your SE rankings somewhat. 2. Yes, .com is always better because you will receive some natural type-in traffic. 3. From a SEO perspective the results are mixed. From a domain valuation perspective I would stay away from the hyphens. 4. Only a few SE engineers who run the SE's know for sure. 5. same as #4
Thanks alot for your help Illum Much appreciated! 1. [Re: Domain name with keyword] When you say "somewhat", how much significance would it have metrically? Could you give a very rough % relevance/influence on ranking? 2. [answered] 3. [Re: To hyphenate... or not to hyphenate?] So, if I were to end up selling my hypethetical site, you say, you would prefer my domain to be keyword.net over key-word.com (in this eg.)? Thanks again for your valued help Illum. Cheers! -Bizza.
1. Having the keyword in the domain name is the 5th most important ranking factor for SEO according to community input found here: http://www.seomoz.org/article/search-ranking-factors - Personally, I think it is Top 3 3. In general I would prefer KeyWord.net over Key-Word.com unless you were already ranking high in the search engines with the hyphenated domain. Just ask yourself which sounds better when telling others about your site; (Key Word dot Net) or (Key dash Word dot Com) Which is easier for you to remember and type into your browser the next day?
3. Which is better; (keyword.net) or (key-word.com)? To hyphenate... or not to hyphenate? That is the question! LOL! - sorry I just had to say that. -- Google says they like hyphens, but I'm not so sure...
2 and 4. If you're talking about search engine ranking, then the extension doesn't matter. Search engines don't rank by extensions though .com may the first thing people may think of when entering your domain in the address bar. 3. Same thing goes for hyphens Search engines recognize hyphens are word separators but they also have the ability to break no-hyphenated domain names into separate words. Though "key word" isn't a common search phrase but "keyword" is, so putting a hyphen in "keyword" isn't going to help you.