Does A Keyword Domain Has Ranking Power?

Is a Keyword Domain good for google ranking?

Let's look at the power of keywords in domain names, as well as what two Googlers have to say about domain selection.

Keyword-rich domain names are desirable for a variety of reasons, including the long-held belief that they may be useful for ranking purposes directly or indirectly.

Choosing a domain name is a vital stage in the process of starting a website, therefore it's crucial to get it properly.

A domain name can be classified into one of three categories: 

• Domain with the keyword.
• Keyword domain + word 
• Domain name for a brand.

 

It's debatable which method is the most effective. What is undeniable is that learning about a topic before making a choice is beneficial.

 

Keyword Domains

A keyword domain is one that contains keywords. Widgets.com is a good example. Using a domain name that includes the keywords might give the impression of authority.

For whatever reason, several businesses own generic domain names and route them to their websites.

Coffee.com, for example, takes you to Peet's Coffee, an artisanal coffee roasting firm. This makes it simple for people to find Peet's.

However, the disadvantage of generic keyword domains is that "all of the excellent ones" are already taken and will be prohibitively expensive to obtain from a domainer.

There's also some background on generic keyword domains on the internet.

 

There was a time when internet users simply put the keywords for a product or service into their browser or search engine. This method was known as direct navigation.

 

Direct navigation generated enormous ad income for individuals who owned and "parked" those domains.

 

Parking a domain was the process of ensuring that the domain names displayed only advertisements.

 

The profitable business of parked domains was aided by search engines of the time, which placed parked domain names higher in search results.

 

So, if someone searched for [burgers] in a single word, Burgers.com may come up first.

The prominence of parked sites in Google search results was then lowered in 2011.

So, do keyword domains have any ranking power? Not any longer, although Google's John Mueller has something to say about it, which we'll get to later.

 

Word + Keyword Domain

As a result, adding a word to the domain name that helps to convey what a site visitor may expect on the site is a common choice.

 

Cheap[name of product/service].com, [name of product/service]Reviews.com, Fast[name of product/service], and so on are examples of such domains.

 

For a domain name, combining a word with a keyword is a good idea.

 

Advantages Of Word + Keyword Domain

The keyword quickly marks the site's content and informs site visitors of what to expect in terms of user intent.

 

Are you looking for a review? Try [product/service name]Reviews.com.

 

Disadvantages Of Word + Keyword Domain

The disadvantage of this strategy is that it confines the website to a single niche, limiting its capacity to expand.

It will be difficult to switch [JoesCameraReviews] to evaluating (or selling) other items if you start out as [JoesCameraReviews].

 

There are a lot of sites that score well because they have keywords in their domain.

 

Branded Domain

A branded domain is a domain name that does not contain any keywords. Branded domains include Amazon, Zappos, and Etsy.

 

What's fantastic about a branded domain is that the brand name doesn't have to limit the content of the site.

 

Many branded domain sites have no difficulty ranking in search results.

 

Google Provides Four Keyword Domain Insights. Google's John Mueller provided four insights on the ranking power of keyword domain names while addressing a question in a recent Webmaster Hangout.

 

Four key takeaways on keyword domains and rankings:

• Keyword domains do not rank more quickly.
• Keyword domains do not always rank higher.
• Years ago, keyword domains lost a lot of their ranking power.
• Keyword domains were rated similarly to branded domains

 

1. Keyword Domains Don’t Have A Time Advantage

There's a popular perception that keyword domains rank quicker than branded domains. This, however, is not the case, according to Google's John Mueller.

 

Obtaining keywords in links through the anchor text is thought to provide a benefit. This is a topic that has been debated for years. It is possible to make both a pro and a con argument.

 

Regrettably, John Mueller's statement made no mention of this apparent benefit.

 

John Mueller verified the following:

 

"...like with any new website, it takes time... There are obviously a lot of websites that rank for the terms in their domain name. But they may have worked on this for years..."

 

2. Keywords In Domains Don’t Rank Better

John Mueller was adamant that keyword domains do not outrank branded domains in search results.

 

"Just because keywords are in a domain name doesn't guarantee it will rank for those keywords automatically."

There are several factors that go into ranking, including content, user intent for that material, and linkages. All of this is likely to take precedence over things like the domain's keywords.

While John Mueller did not directly state that keywords in the domain name are not a ranking indication, he did state that having the keywords in the domain name has no significant benefit. That is a crucial realisation.

 

3. Keyword Domains Lost Influence Years Ago

Keyword domains, according to John Mueller, have lost their power years ago.

 

Here's what John Mueller had to say:

 

"...simply because keywords are in a domain name doesn't guarantee it will rank for those keywords automatically." And this has been the case for a very, very long time."

 

This might be a reference to a 2011 algorithm modification (official Google announcement here).

 

Google changed their algorithm in late 2011 to include a classifier for removing parked sites from search results.

 

The following is a quotation from Google's announcement of the algorithm update:

 

"This is a novel technique for discovering parked domains automatically." Parked domains are placeholder sites for our users with minimal original content and are frequently populated exclusively with advertisements.

 

We prefer not to reveal them in most circumstances."

Despite the fact that Google no longer gave parked keyword domains a boost, the notion that keyword domains were better than brand domains persisted in the search market.

 

There's a case to be made that there's a minimum signal. However, there is no evidence to back up such idea.

 

It's been a long time since any search engine produced research that used domain keywords as a signal.

 

We live in a period where the importance of keywords in headers (H1, H2) has dwindled.

 

Title tags are no longer given extra weight in current algorithms. We know this, and it puts into doubt Google's continued practise of awarding a direct ranking benefit to a term in a domain name.

4. Keyword Domains Ranked The Same As Branded Domains

This is just another remark that refutes the notion that keywords in a domain name help with rankings.

 

The keywords of a domain are irrelevant to their present position, according to John Mueller:

 

The following is John Mueller's comment on domain keywords:

 

"...it's kind of expected that they'd rank for those keywords, and the fact that they have them in their domain name has nothing to do with their present rating."

 

Mueller makes it plain that the presence of keywords in the domain name has no bearing on their ranking.

 

Research A Domain Name Before Using It

It's usually a good idea to look into a domain name's history to discover whether it's been registered before and how it's been utilised.

 

Rarely, a spam-related domain might become locked in a Google algorithm loop, leading it to be banned for a month, then freed for a few days before being banned again, preventing the site from ranking higher than the second page of search results.

 

SEO Advantage Of Keyword Domains

Having a keyword in a domain name has several benefits. However, as Mueller points out, an SEO advantage is not always one of the benefits.

 

"...the fact that they have them in their domain name has nothing to do with their present position."

 

Stand Out With Your Domain

It could be a good idea to go with a unique domain name. This might be done using a keyword or with a brand name.

 

In a webmaster support video from 2011, former Googler Matt Cutts said that in some cases, picking a domain name that sticks out might be a good idea.

 

Matt Cutts recommended:

 

"For example, if you have 15 Android sites and they all say Android, Android, Android, Android, it's going to be a bit difficult to recall, to rise above the din."

 

People are more likely to remember you if you have something that is a little more brandable. They'll be able to return to it later. Even on sites like TechCrunch, there's nothing that indicates "tech news."

 

Takeaway On Domain Names

There are advantages and disadvantages to using various types of domain names for a website.

 

A domain name that is less dedicated to a topic or even a brand name is acceptable if the firm wishes to provide wiggle space to develop to embrace a broader topic.

 

Of course, a narrow-topic domain name can be chosen at first and then changed afterwards. However, this may cause other sites to reconsider connecting to the site, as well as site fans to lose interest.

So, the best advice could be for the company to think about what it wants to accomplish right now, what impression it wants to create on site visitors, what story the domain name tells the visitor, and how well the domain name fits into the company's future.

 

In terms of ranking, it's evident that a domain name has no direct keyword-based ranking effect, which makes choosing one a bit simpler.

You may also like: 4 Simple Technical SEO Tasks To Improve Websites Ranking