Domains and SEO
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Domain names play a big role in the search engine optimization game. Many SEOs will not go into a market niche and dish out link investments until they catch a good domain name for the field. In this article I try to answer the question of what is considered a good domain and how domains affect SEO.
Domain Age
Domain age is one of most crucial SEO factors. Since older domains cost a lot more than new ones, search engines take this as a quality cue. If a webmaster purchases an old domain name for several thousand dollars, it's a good indicator that the website will have quality content.
Search engines cannot see for how much one buys a domain, but they can check the date of registration in WHOIS.
When buying a domain name, check its age. Aim for something that is at least one year old, as Google will put more trust on it than a brand new registration.
Another benefit of old domains are old links and existing pagerank. Though links may be irrelevant to your content, they still pass page rank and some authority.
Domain Match
Here is an example of a domain match in a search:
Search | mortgage loan |
domain match | mortgageloan.com |
I have no affiliation with mortgageloan.com.com.
A domain match can be very powerful. If you have a domain name that matches your keyword, you're 25 percent of the way to top rankings. The reason for this is that search engines classify an exact match to a domain as a navigation query. For instance, if someone searches for "baseball bat" and your domain is baseballbat.com, search engines may classify this query as a navigational one, thus showing you as an authoritative listing.
If an exactly matching domain is in a non-competitive market, sometimes the name is enough to rank on the first page, coupled with a few links and some content. If, on the other hand, you're entering a crowded field, expect to invest much more time and money in content and links. An exact match won't produce magic in competitive market place, but it increases your chances.
The domain matching approach works for .com, .org, .net and other extensions. A domain match is also known to increase search and pay per click CTRs.
Next: Domain Age plus Domain Match >>
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