Are Exact Match Domains A Good Idea?
A question we get asked a lot by our clients is: “Will having a domain name with the exact phrase I want to rank for help my website in Google?” The short answer is: not by itself.
Before 2012 website owners would enjoy a boost in their rankings by simply using a domain that had the keyword they were targeting. These websites required less content and links to rank above their competitors, but why?
As you may know, Google’s aim is to provide the most relevant websites to their searchers’ queries. Years ago, an indication of relevance was not only the use of the keyword in a website’s content but also the use of the keyword in the website’s domain.
One of the main objectives for every website owner is to appear at the top of Google for the main keyword they are targeting. As you can imagine with what webmasters learned about Google and the way they measured relevancy people started to buy domain names with the exact keyword or phrase they were targeting in order to increase their chances of being on page 1 of the search results.
Unfortunately, the search results became filled with low-quality websites and this started to cause issues for Google.
Understanding that a vast amount of webmasters were using exact match domains to game the system, Google decided in 2012 to release an update to their ranking algorithm that decreased the value that exact match domains had. However, webmasters that made an effort in providing high-quality content for their users were not as negatively affected as those that produce low-quality content.
Websites that also built a brand from their exact match domain also survived the Google update.
The takeaway from this is that exact match domains will not necessarily provide a ranking advantage; the key to ranking success is building a brand, producing high-quality content and having a powerful SEO strategy.
More posts from our team
Five Star
Reviewed Marketing
"Would definitely recommend to a friend"
"I cannot recommend Dental Design highly enough"
"Really great company to deal with"
"Very professional, efficient & adaptive to new situations"
"I cannot recommend them highly enough"
"Has been invaluable and gone out of her way to help us"
"We love the look of our practice website. Very professional!"
"Dental Design stood out both in their knowledge of the industry and their professionalism"
"The team and package offered at dental design was unrivalled"
"absolutely fantastic and are always on hand to help"
"Dental Design are fantastic to work with"
"always met with a swift and professional response"
