Get the top 10 simply by having the right domain name

I assume you mean top 10 in Google. Yes the domain name is an excellent way for a new site to get ranked high. Congrats.

 

keyword rich domains can be good for SEO but their role isn't to big, its better to have a nice sounding domain rather then a long tail spammy looking domain name just because its a keyword

 

In my experience, it only helps if it is an exact match. Otherwise, always choose a brandable name that can be sold on.

 

Look up the top 10 of mortgages in google uk and see who ranks well with the domain mortgages.co.uk

Then compare the quality and quantity of links with the surrounding sites. Mortgages.co.uk is not in the same ballpark yet it ranks for what is probably the best keyword out there. Separating age from the equation is difficult as it is a site regged in 1999. However, it is still difficult to write off the power of the domain.

 

I think the people who are more likely to buy keyword rich domains are people that know how to optimize a website, and do quite a lot of SEO work on it. Therefore they beat domains who don't have keywords in the domain down to the SEO work.

A good test would be to buy 2 domain names, one that's keyword rich, and one that isn't. Do exactly the same link building work to them both with similar or the same content and see what happens. If someone can be bothered...

 

This is absolutely correct. These sites couldn't care less about SEO, they get all the traffic they need without it, and don't have to put a lot of effort into getting the search results they do get (which is probably a lot).

I agree with you Greg, for lower competition terms especially the domain name makes a big difference. I've nailed quite a few terms for customers that were very close to their domain, with very little effort.

There is another thing to think about though, and that's how much it limits you. I have worked with a lot of clients who bought keyword loaded domains, and acheived success, but a year or two later they try for more varied terms and don't get it. I have noticed when I do SEO for company-name domain names they have a lot more room for expansion when it comes to terms they are targeting.

For example, right now with JeremyMorgan.com, which is obviously my name, ranks really well for SEO phrases and the like, everything from "Porltand SEO" to "text to code ratio". I also have top rankings for things like "Ford GT Pictures" (from my personal section). Because the domain isn't really linked to any particular niche, it was harder to get the rankings in these niches, but I'm sure I can change the direction of my site a lot more freely than if I named it "portlandseoblog.com" or something. Just something to think about.

 

I think that's circumstantial. You can have a keyword-rich domain name that still sounds nice or brandable.

 

Well, you can still rank highly for "any" keyword or key phrase if you do a good job at building backlinks. Even if your domain name doesn't have any of those keywords. You should also pay attention to your anchor text and the quality of backlinks you build with your time.

 

@OP - That's not true if its a competitive term.

Try "gaming reviews" and you'll find all the big players like IGN, GameSpot and such.
www [dot] gamingreviews [dot] com is no where to be seen!

It all depends on competition but nevertheless keyword rich domains are really helpful

 

Extremely poor example given there is no actual website on gamingreviews.com! It will never rank without content, exact match or not...

 

Here's a good example - "Insurance" on Google pulls up Insurance.com first, Wikipedia second (no surprise there!), and then finally Allstate comes in third.

 

Yes probably because they've done shit loads of optimizing work. The domain maybe gave a slight edge, but it's not really a heavy ranking factor. The point is that you have no idea how much SEO work, advertising work, link building work, marketing work to get there.

I believe keyword rich domains are more likely to be owned by someone that knows how to get ranked that high by optimization and won't baulk at the price of purchasing one-word domains from someone else.

 

'php script installation' has 2,040,000 results.

'seo services london' has 768,000 results.

 

Yes, but it gives you an idea of how many pages already rank for the term you are attempting to rank for. It would stand to reason that the more pages ranking for a particular term would mean more competition in getting ranked for that term.

Am I totally wrong about this? This is always how I have understood Google's 'results 1-10 of about...".

 

If you setup a "well-optimized" website on GamingReviews.com and built a bunch of backlinks with the anchor text "Gaming Reviews" you could easily get the top 10 even if there are other authority websites that are competing for that.

 

maybe. we can always discuss this one on one

 

You're partially right. However, you need to look at the websites that are on the first page and ask yourself if you think they purposely are trying to show up there, or if they're just "randomly there".

For example, in the insurance industry, in non-competitive geographic areas you'll get mainly online directories pulling up on the first page because there are no companies that are building sites and optimizing them. Therefore, not much compeition on the page. For SEO, obviously this is going to be hugely competitive in any market because every SEO firm is going to want to target that keyword.

 

having a right domain name is really a factor in SEO. Most of the time, they use their keywords as their domain name in order to have an easy traffic.

 

domain all by itself doesnt help all that much... example i came across a couple of days ago

"HisName Law Group" owns www. hisnamelawgroup .com

A search for "HisName Law Group" brings up only 1680 results, his site is #2, my site is #1, my site mentions "HisName Law Group" only once on the main page, now im not even trying to rank for it at all yet i still outbeat it.