Numbers in Domain Names - Good or Bad for SEO?

1. 61

   SiddSinghposted 14 years ago

   Calling all SEO experts on Hubpages -
   
   What do you think about using numbers in domain names - does it have any effect on SEO? Does this look spammy, or more importantly, SEs will consider them spammy?
   
   For example, which do you think will be better -
   
   99keyword.com
   keyword-365.com
   
   All this because keyword.com is already taken up!

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   1. 68

      strategylabposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      If you're using Moz software numbers in a domain will flag the spam indicator. It's just one of the tells that it may be a spammy site. I would try to steer away from them if I could.

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   2. 57

      isparmopakarseoposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I think number in domain it;s ok. no problem. But, put number in the end of your domain name not in the begining.
      
      Thanks.

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2. 69

   Peter Hogganposted 14 years ago

   Numbers are not spammy but they have to make sense.
   
   99keyword.com and keyword-365.com dont make much sense nor are they very brandable.
   
   www.keyword-select.com is free so are many others that might work better for you.

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   1. 78

      MyWebsposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Yes I agree with Peter. I would only use a number if it made sense. Unless you want a .com because they typically have a better resale value you might consider an alternative like .ws or .biz among many other choices.
      
      Often its easier to find what you want like this when the .com is already taken. But you probably wont find any single word dictionary word available under any extension as those go fast.
      
      These alternatives do just as well as a keyword phrase domain name as a .com does. There is no difference. Just avoid a ccTLD, Country Code Top Level Domain,  unless you plan to only target that one country.
      
      I have a hub that may be useful to you about How To Pick A Good Domain Name.

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3. 59

   lender3212000posted 14 years ago

   If given the option, I would include a popular descriptive word along with the target keyword instead of a number.

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4. 60

   Mike Rogersposted 14 years ago

   IMO, a subdomain is quite effective.
   
   i.e. target.mydomain.com
   
   Mike

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5. 59

   srwnsonposted 14 years ago

   A plucky word combination can be handy in a domain name keyword-kid for example.

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6. 61

   SiddSinghposted 14 years ago

   Hi,
   
   Thank you everyone for your response.
   
   
   
   
   
   @Peter/@My Webs - By keyword I mean any keyword, and not "keyword". I had sites like 123greetings.com or 123print.com in mind, which have numbers apparently unrelated with the subject matter. For some sites numbers might make sense - for example- something like 1000cheese-recipes.com.
   
   
   
   @Mike - OK. But what if 'target' was not related to 'mydomain.com in any way. I have my personal site as myname.com, so do you mean I should opt for a subdomain such as keyword.myname.com.
   (do you think a subdomain such as jewelry.siddsingh.com would be OK) - If I understood you correctly!

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   1. 60

      Mike Rogersposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, that is an approach that I would advocate.
      
      Mike

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7. 74

   skyfireposted 14 years ago

   Mike, subdirectory is always better idea instead of subdomain. Subdomains appear spammy as well.
   
   Check matt cutt's take on it:
   
   http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/subdomain … rectories/

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   1. 60

      Mike Rogersposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      There is an understandable split between those who prefer subdirectories versus subdomains, and I can see and respect the advantages of both.
      
      My own experience makes me a fan of subdomains, if only for the ability to create authority sites in specific genres using them. Subdirectories on the other hand become "part and parcel" of the main domain, and in that regard can be less effective for that specific purpose.
      
      I think either works fine, and each has unique characteristics that may make one a better choice over the other depending upon application.
      
      Mike

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   2. 76

      sunforgedposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I would like to point at no point does Matt Cutts down sub domains in that article, he merely points out that they are more difficult to manage by novice webmasters.
      
      Using subdomain in clever ways is pretty common and will only become more common.
      
      For example, del.icio.us
      
      Such things are great for branding,im not sure what SE are thinking of them at this time.
      
      Im not sure if I think anything "looks" spammy just by the phrasing of the domain and def dont think a few numbers would make SE or humans discount the site based on just he domain name..the spammy part begins once they see the site.
      
      .info's look spammy , and the supposedly get a little extra scrutiny from google, but they make it to the top of the serps all the time.
      
      Where are you looking for available domain names

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8. 60

   darksideposted 14 years ago

   Here's what I look for in a domain name: Memorable, easy to communicate and brandable.
   
   Like a URL (the domain, directory and page name) it doesn't matter as much as the content. It will be the content that is indexed.
   
   But you want to make it as easy as possible for people to remember your site.

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9. 78

   MyWebsposted 14 years ago

   I love keyword domain names.
   Lets say I owned, I wish, Las-Vegas.com. I actually do own something similar and longer.
   
   I'm making hotel pages now for THE major hotels on The Strip.
   I'd do it like:
   Las-Vegas.com/Hotels/Bellagio.php
   Las-Vegas.com/Hotels/Wynn.php
   Las-Vegas.com/Hotels/Palazzo.php ....
   
   When someone searched for "Palazzo Hotel Las Vegas" or any combination of that I have all the keywords covered. By having my main keywords in the domain name I wouldn't have to resort to other tactics for each page to work "Las Vegas" in as much.
   
   Del.icio.us that sunforged mentioned is a great example of smart subdomain usage. "Hotels" could just as easy become a subdomain in my example.

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10. 60

    darksideposted 14 years ago

    It was Sunforged that mentioned del.icio.us
    
    The creative use of sub-domains in conjunction with the domain name and sometimes the the Top-Level Domain (or at times the country-code TLD aka ccTLD) is known as a Domain Hack.

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    1. 0

       ryankettposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       In fairness, it is easy to confuse the two of you, I hold you both in equal regard when it comes to this kind of stuff! I think I have said it before.... Sunforged coming along was like the site gaining a second Darkside!
       
       Thats enough bum licking from me.... off I waddle for another 16 hours hopefully!

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       1. 60

          darksideposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          Lets hope that no one signs up as Sunside and Darkforged

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          1. 78

             MyWebsposted 14 years agoin reply to this

             lol I would be hopelessly confused then

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11. 60

    calcolasposted 7 years ago

    as far as digits & hypen concerned...digits give better readability & let visit remember site url as compared to hypen and for search engines also digits are better rather than adding hypen also to url.

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