Keywords in Domain Names?

1. 61

   Bluehoopposted 13 years ago

   I've heard a lot of differing advice, all from reliable sources, all saying different things about whether it's important to put keywords in domain names. Does anyone have any advice here about this? Do they benefit in Google's eyes?

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   1. 60

      net4gainsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      IMO it does help to have keywords in domain names. But these have to be meaningful too. A bunch of keywords put together without being relevant does not help much.
      Other SEO parameters being same, domain with keywords will rank higher than the one without.

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      1. 49

         Harry Santosposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         I agree. Quality of content is the most important really. I've seen so many sites go successful with no SEO techniques used. How about focusing on quality and originality then SEO follows. Just my two cents.

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   2. 60

      cornishhostingposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Hi the title of your page is the most important

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   3. 84

      psycheskinnerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      In my experience it helps a lot to use you top level key words in the domain and the title.

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   4. 62

      jpwriterposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Absolutely.
      
      Using your keywords in your domain name is extremely important for a couple of reasons.  It gives you a push in the SE.  Think about it.  If you write articles you want your keywords in the title, right?  Well, it's similar logic.  Your URL is your title and Google crawls these.  Of course, websites have different content on different pages but cumulatively it's all about a similar topic.  You should also do keyword research before selecting a name.
      
      It also gives the reader an idea of what your site is about.  When I'm doing research and I come across some site that is like "green tree calculator. org" and it's about SEO or medications or whatever, I think WTH?  Isn't this about calculators, math, vegetation, heck I don't know. 
      
      Example:  I think eHow has the best name of the writing sites when it comes to understanding product.  People don't have a clue what about hubpages, infobarrel (though it has info in it), squidoo (squid? fish?). You have eHow -- electronic How to.  Very brilliant.  [even though I dislike their business practices].
      
      I can't imagine why someone would think it's anything but a good idea to put your keywords in your domain name.  As long as it makes sense, it makes sense.

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      1. 61

         nclark140posted 13 years agoin reply to this

         I'm embarrassed to say I don't even know what key words are. My Adsense account has been disabled so I didn't  go out of my way to learn what key words are. Is that a bad idea?

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   5. 40

      saishposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      friend go to help section situated on your accounts page in the right corner and see for the advice given by hubpages itself  it will help you for sure

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2. 69

   Bill Manningposted 13 years ago

   Many may disagree, but yes, having your main keywords in your domain helps a heck of a lot! If I could do it over again I'd change a lot of my domain names.

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3. 60

   maruthirpposted 13 years ago

   For the websites targeting single keyword for two the domain with keyword will be an advantage. But for targeting hundreds and thousands of keywords such domain will give no advantage.

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4. 61

   fdoleacposted 13 years ago

   Absolutely.  We manage 600+ sites with keyword phrases in the domain matching the title.  All things being equal ( quality content, backlinks, etc) these domains rank higher.

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   1. 62

      SEO Ibizaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      do you think this is because of algo weighting on the actual domain name?
      
      or because necessarily all "brand" links pointing to the domain name will have the keywords in them
      
      www.keywordkeyword.com
      
      when the competition without KIDs do not, and have to work harder for their anchor text?

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5. 57

   naijenniposted 13 years ago

   NOT necessarily. Most times you will realise that the domain you are after is not available any longer.
   
   It is wiser to concentrate on the page title.
   
   This is found on the top most left side of your website.
   
   That title must be spot on and include your keywords.
   Remember, that it must have 60 characters (including spacing) or less and no more!!!

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6. 40

   Ralph Thorndykeposted 13 years ago

   I believe that having your keyword as your domain name is overrated. Having said that, if I had the choice, I would rather have it than not.
   But if you can't, the next best thing, or maybe THE thing is to make sure you have your keyword in your url. So, if you are shooting for "gerbils" make sure it goes something like this... jellydonuts.com/gerbils.htm. Or better, jellydonuts.com/gerbils/gerbils.htm. This strategy has worked well for me for years.
   Of course the best of all world is gerbils.com/gerbils.htm.

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7. 52

   mikeallenposted 13 years ago

   Google has their algos so maybe this month keywords in domain names gives you a tick in the box. But next month they may change it and penalise you.
   Imagine a world where every company was called phones4u.com , pizza2u.org , cheap-budget-mobiles4u.de etc
   
   Google likes to reflect the real world - so for example what about a brand that doesnt contain a keyword.  Wines are a good example - they tend to be called things that promote a sense of something that makes you want to but ,  RoseMount Hills, Clearstream Chateau - I made those 2 up.  So given a choice which would you select wines4u.com or clearstream-chateau.com , personally I would go for the second one.
   
   Google for example could change their algo - to read the page title and anchor texts etc in order to give you a better mark rather than your domain name.
   Just do what you feel is right and what your customers would like to see.

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   1. 59

      Sekhargposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      If it doesn't make any difference, I would rather have keyword in domain name. It doesn't hurt.
      
      Many people suggest that you have keyword in domain names.
      Some other also suggest that it doesn't matter as long as you promote your website well and build enough back links.
      
      I was listening to a PPC expert today.
      
      He mentioned that to have a 10/10 quality score, you have to have the keyword in
      
      Head line
      sub head line
      relevant keywords in bullet points and
      keyword in domain name
      
      For me, it makes sense.
      
      So, if possible, have the keyword in domain name.

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8. 88

   IzzyMposted 13 years ago

   Not that I know much about anything, but a I do know that a lot of the times if you have targeted a specific keyword phrase in your hub, you will be kept off the top position in google by a domain that has that exact phrase in the title, url and summary, even if that domain is new with no PR or backlinks to speak of.

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   1. 62

      SEO Ibizaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      not if you point enough good links at the hub.
      
      they can be difficult to get past sometimes, but anything's possible.

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9. 60

   PR_amposted 13 years ago

   Answer is more of "Yes" than "No". It helps your ranking in SE if you have your targeted keywords in your domain name + back it up with content.
   
   And "No" if you make it spammy or try to game search engines by parking a bunch of keywords in your domain name with no content relevant to the keywords on the site.
   
   Well, I would use keywords in my domain name.

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10. 68

    xixi12posted 13 years ago

    It does help to have your keyword in your domain name especially if  you have one website for each niche. With just a little effort in backlinking(if the keyword is not very competitive)you will definitely rank higher on google. If you check the front page of any google search, you will see that most of the high ranking sites have the keywords in the domain name.

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11. 0

    Twenty One Daysposted 13 years ago

    Generally speaking, the domain name is the prime link to a location on the server. So applying a keyword to it really would not be useful, unless the meta list is optimal.
    
    for example:
    1. Did you author the pages?
    2. Did you set the Google, Yahoo, Bing bots; Google & Alexa verification codes?
    3. How often do they revisit your location on the server?
    4. What title do your pages have? Are there multiple pages with the same title?
    5. What keywords did you place in? How many?
    6. What was the description of your page?
    7. What anti-words did you add as well?
    8. Is your CSS set up to capture their attention through classes and tags? (this is big coding, but if you need help, let me know)
    These are 8 powerful little slices of relevance you can use in addition to the domain itself and RSS channels. The Search Engines are not looking at single pages or domain names but groups of links -like a Sitemap!
    
    James

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