question Does EMD help SEO?

[JayT]

Are exact match domains getting a huge boost in google ranking?
Google 'domain' and see, (past ADS) what is #1? It's domain.com! Other registry are better, bigger, more seo, more traffic, but domain.com on top.

Do search "domains" and what? Surprise, domains.google, ranked #1! Turn the page, just over to p2: domains.me! can you believe it?!? domains.me (.me official homepage) ranks over every other .TLD homepage in existence!

Now the evidence is already pretty convincing, but I check on p3 and there it is finally, domains.com. Domains.com doesn't even have metatags, no robots.txt, I view the site, and it is lacking compared to most! Why does Domains.com rank over a registrar like dynadot.com, p4, for this term?

 

[HKIBC]

What's EMD?

 

[JayT]

What's EMD?

Exact match domain (search terms in domain name). Much debate, and plenty SEO experts says it doesn't matter.

 

[Apprich]

It gives bonus but it's not the only thing in SEO. There are plenty of things that is effecting to SEO.

 

[JayT]

It gives bonus but it's not the only thing in SEO. There are plenty of things that is effecting to SEO.

"Bonus"? Can we figure it out more mathematically? I used "huge boost" to describe it. What else ppl?

 

[HKIBC]

I believe it does give a boost, how huge, that depends on the age of the domain.

 

[TRY]

It's all about relevance and you can't get more relevant than an exact match. 3 or more keywords are not as effective imo as then it starts to look spammy and less credible.

 

[TRY]

.

 

[JayT]

I can't believe some people push that it doesn't matter. Some might say 'a little helpful' I am finding that it helps immensely. I never looked into it very hard until now... Here are some facts i found from a study (couple years old though)

• Keyword domains rank on average 11% higher than branded domains.
• Brand (non-EMD) domains needed an average of 40,000 more links to hit position one,and 35,000 more links to reach the Top 10.
• Branded domains needed 69% higher Domain Authority and 22% higher Page Authority to rank in the Top 10.
• Keyword domains were able to reach position one with half as much content, and only using the keyword half as frequently.

All the terms i'm checking are page one. I guess a better topic would have been "why do people think EMD hardly matters?"

 

[HKIBC]

It's biggest boost comes from a higher ctr.

Isn't ctr a result of positioning, hence mostly dependant on given domain's content and other non-EMD factors? Hence, as much a general factor as age of the domain?

 

[TRY]

Isn't ctr a result of positioning, hence mostly dependant on given domain's content and other non-EMD factors? Hence, as much a general factor as age of the domain?

I would say it's the other way around
" positioning is a result of ctr"

 

[GBA]

I can't believe some people push that it doesn't matter. Some might say 'a little helpful' I am finding that it helps immensely. I never looked into it very hard until now... Here are some facts i found from a study (couple years old though)

• Keyword domains rank on average 11% higher than branded domains.
• Brand (non-EMD) domains needed an average of 40,000 more links to hit position one,and 35,000 more links to reach the Top 10.
• Branded domains needed 69% higher Domain Authority and 22% higher Page Authority to rank in the Top 10.
• Keyword domains were able to reach position one with half as much content, and only using the keyword half as frequently.

All the terms i'm checking are page one. I guess a better topic would have been "why do people think EMD hardly matters?"

Mind sharing a link? Just curious to see what names were compared. Are we talking about domains with no website, or altogether? A fresh and unique content under bad domain will likely beat a self-standing domain, on serp. I have a few ngtld with monthly searches over 1M, still after being indexed they sit modest on serp, that's been proved many times.

 

[JayT]

I was reading this blog, https://econsultancy.com/blog/65696-do-exact-match-domains-still-work-as-an-seo-tactic/ copied those stats a ways down on the page, but they say those stats come from http://canirank.com =/

oops @Grossu gave wrong blog link at first

 

[DomainVP]

It's rare... but almost every post in this thread is incorrect.

EMD's do not give SERP boosts, and haven't since at least 2012.

However, and this is a big however, having an EMD improves the occurrence of your EMD keywords being used as anchor text for backlinks.

So if you have an EMD TigerShark.com most of your links will look like this Tiger Shark
This will allow you to rank better for the keyword, allowing your EMD to help you rank better for the keyword.

The top things that matter in 2016 SEO are:
1) The anchor text of Backlinks coming from authoritative sites.
2) Design & User experience
3) On-topc content
4) Social Signals

Those are the facts of SEO in 2016, good luck to all.

 

[TRY]

It's rare... but almost every post in this thread is incorrect.

EMD's do not give SERP boosts, and haven't since at least 2012.

However, and this is a big however, having an EMD improves the occurrence of your EMD keywords being used as anchor text for backlinks.

So if you have an EMD TigerShark.com most of your links will look like this Tiger Shark
This will allow you to rank better for the keyword, allowing your EMD to help you rank better for the keyword.

The top things that matter in 2016 SEO are:
1) The anchor text of Backlinks coming from authoritative sites.
2) Design & User experience
3) On-topc content
4) Social Signals

Those are the facts of SEO in 2016, good luck to all.

You definitely get a boost if the keyword search includes the extension, especially so if .com, right?

P.s. although google does not give emds as much weight as it used to on the free side (seo), it's probably one of the largest factors on the paid side (sem).

 

[deez007]

EMD do still have SEO clout. They do not pack as much as a punch as they used to back in the day BUT they 100% still have considerable value. I know this for fact, not from reading SEO blogs but from my own experience....

That being said an EMD is a nice to have and not a MUST have. Back in the day EMD's were the golden child for anyone involved with SEO. You could rank for low to medium competition keywords with just an EMD, poor quality content and throw in a few do "Do follow" and .edu backlinks. Now days that wont cut it at all. Over and above everything, at the moment content is king. Good quality content and onpage SEO is an absolute must, coupled with a quality back link profile and social media link profile.

 

[golan]

Man this is a wrong place to ask. Most people here dont have a clue in SEO, this question was discussed here a numerous times in the past but all you get there is a lot of fantasy theories.

 

[TRY]

For example I googled pickup trucks, the first free listing is pickuptrucks in .com, should I assume the keywords in the domain name was a factor or just a coincidence?

 

[TRY]

Man this is a wrong place to ask. Most people here dont have a clue in SEO, this question was discussed here a numerous times in the past but all you get there is a lot of fantasy theories.

Do you think the keyword in a domain name is a factor in seo or totally irrelevant?

 

[golan]

Do you think the keyword in a domain name is a factor in seo or totally irrelevant?

It IS a factor. One of the factors. The question is how you use it. From marketing side, naming your site with EM is usually very bad idea. Thus you'd better use your EMD's as pumpers which funnel traffic to your main site.