Keyword Rich Domains or Brandable Domain Names

Which one should you go for, a exact match domain name that features all those wonderful keywords or something that can be branded.   In practice a lot of people probably trend towards the keyword rich domains, because they’re pushing for good position in Google.

In reality it’s probably not the case, Matt Cutts released a number of posts on  Twitter suggesting that an algorithm change is due which will start to impact keyword rich domains, especially where the content of the site is low quality.

Keyword Rich domains or EMDs (Exact match Domains) which there are plenty that can be found are easy to identify.

If you sell red leather shoes then your website domain could very well be:

  • www.redleathershoes.something
  • www.cheapredleathershoes.something
I don’t know if the two urls actually exist, but perhaps its an opportunity for someone.  The video suggest that creating brand would be a much better option and start to present you in a better light to the end user.
Does this latest update that was announced on the 1st October mean the end to websites operating on keyword rich domains, EMDs.  The answer is as usual – NO.
What it does mean is that you need to ensure the quality of the site operating on an EMD is good, or you’re likely to be on the end of another Google update and start to appear lower in the search results.
It all comes back to providing quality results to the end user.

Matt Cutts refers to looking more at domain names that carry brand ability, something that can be remembered that may or may not have any relevance to the product.  His examples refer to things like:  ‘twitter’, ‘digg’, ‘techcrunch’.

What ever happens and which ever route you take, make sure it links into your strategy overall to ensure you understand why and the benefits it will bring.

SEOMOZ article

If your interested in reading and watching then the Matt Cutts video and the article from SEOMoz are well worth reviewing.

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