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advice Google’s John Mueller Cautions Against Keyword-Rich Domains

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Keyword-rich domains may harm a website's long-term success, warns Google Search Advocate John Mueller. Here are five reasons why.
Keyword-rich domain names were once thought to be an effective way to increase a website’s visibility and improve search engine rankings.
However, there are several reasons why keyword-rich domain names can be detrimental to a website’s success.
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
No. You basically don't have a brand name.

Call yourself "dental surgery" and your company isn't identifiable by that name.

The same reason that you can't register a trademark for the goods and services.
You can certainly brand something like Best Running Shoes, but it doesn't seem professional, and you're right in that it might be difficult to enforce a trademark with a phrase like that.

But the point Mueller is making is that you shouldn't buy bestrunningshoes.com or best-running-shoes.com for SEO because it won't help you with SEO. The fact that the domain is long and looks unprofessional is just salt in the wounds.
 
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You can certainly brand something like Best Running Shoes, but it doesn't seem professional, and you're right in that it might be difficult to enforce a trademark with a phrase like that.

But the point Mueller is making is that you shouldn't buy bestrunningshoes.com or best-running-shoes.com for SEO because it won't help you with SEO. The fact that the domain is long and looks unprofessional is just salt in the wounds.
Yes. They are the same thing. No brand name - no single term that isolates the results down to your brand. That's a huge problem.
 
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No. You basically don't have a brand name.

Call yourself "dental surgery" and your company isn't identifiable by that name.
But a term like BostonRoofing.com can be.

In fact I sold that domain years ago, and the end users have done very well with it.
It explains where you are. It explains what you do.

That type of domain gives instant credibility in the area that some random "brand" is not going to.

EMD terms work better for some fields than others.

It can be extremely expensive to build a "brand" from scratch if there is no suggestion in the domain what you do. This is simply not feasible for many mom & pop type companies, which represent the vast majority of potential end users.

In certain professional fields like medical, law, etc. people tend to use their own names as brands more than EMD or made up brands.

Brad
 
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I would say there is some truth behind the original statement, but John Mueller's comments go down the path of hyperbole.

His "best-running-shoes.com" example is a classic false dilemma logical fallacy. He is comparing what is objectively a terrible domain to a theoretical "brand" which is not named. That is not a fair comparison.

It really depends on the field and type of domain. There are endless case studies of end users upgrading their domains to generics and doing very well with them.

Some types of generics are far easier to "brand" than others.

I agree that "Dental Surgery" would be a questionable company name. It is very broad.

But at the same time you probably still want some suggestive term in your domain vs some random "brand" that is not connected to dental or surgery in any way.

Brad
 
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But a term like BostonRoofing.com can be.

In fact I sold that domain years ago, and the end users have done very well with it.
It explains where you are. It explains what you do.

That type of domain gives instant credibility in the area that some random "brand" is not going to.

EMD terms work better for some fields than others.

It can be extremely expensive to build a "brand" from scratch if there is no suggestion in the domain what you do. This is simply not feasible for many mom & pop type companies, which represent the vast majority of potential end users.

In certain professional fields like medical, law, etc. people tend to use their own names as brands more than EMD or made up brands.

Brad
For small businesses it can be a good to implement the service and location into the brand. But even then I get the impression that it was more of a brand-decision than a a way to get ahead in web-searches.

But even then I'd say Mueller's two points stand, it's difficult to expand, and it doesn't give you an advantage in SEO.

But I do agree with you that bostonroofing.com is an example of a good EMD.
 
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For small businesses it can be a good to implement the service and location into the brand. But even then I get the impression that it was more of a brand-decision than a a way to get ahead in web-searches.
Then I'd like to hear your opinion about the name BostonRobotics.com.

Edit: BostonDynamics.com it is.
 
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For small businesses it can be a good to implement the service and location into the brand. But even then I get the impression that it was more of a brand-decision than a a way to get ahead in web-searches.

But even then I'd say Mueller's two points stand, it's difficult to expand, and it doesn't give you an advantage in SEO.
That is a mistake he makes with his comments. People are not buying domains only for SEO ranking.
That is a very Google centric mindset.

These domains go on business cards, vehicles, local advertising, etc. It can help establish instant credibility.

As far as expanding, I am sure they will do fine with roofing in a metro area or around 5 million people. Not every company has their sights set on world domination.

This is just one of many real word examples from my own sales.

With many domains the product or service itself is the brand.

Brad
 
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Another example from one of my sales - WireJewelry.com.
Guess what they sell?

I think they are far better served with that keyword .COM than some random "brand".

Brad
 
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Another example from one of my sales - WireJewelry.com.
Guess what they sell?

I think they are far better served with that keyword .COM than some random "brand".
Exactly. Plenty of examples like this. BuyDomains.com is also one of them.
 
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I would say there is some truth behind the original statement, but John Mueller's comments go down the path of hyperbole.

His "best-running-shoes.com" example is a classic false dilemma logical fallacy. He is comparing what is objectively a terrible domain to a theoretical "brand" which is not named. That is not a fair comparison.
I think you're misunderstanding what he's trying to say. He isn't trying to prove that EMD:s (in general) are bad (in which case it would be a case of cherry-picking, not false dilemma). His point is that you're not getting a SEO bonus for saturating your SLD with keywords.

The other point he's making is that the "big boys" don't do this. They're called Nike, Puma, Adidas, New Balance, etc. not Best Shoes, Running Shoes, or Super Shoes. So you might come off as as a knock-off by branding yourself in that way.

It really depends on the field and type of domain. There are endless case studies of end users upgrading their domains to generics and doing very well with them.
Generic domains are the most valuable class of domains. Because something like precision.com has so much flexibility. It can be used for pretty much any business, and it's super-memorable. You can literally sit and read a news article and come across the word "precision" and be reminded of this company.

So of course, re-branding and upgrading to a generic can be fruitful. But we're specifically talking about

Some types of generics are far easier to "brand" than others.

I agree that "Dental Surgery" would be a questionable company name. It is very broad.

But at the same time you probably still want some suggestive term in your domain vs some random "brand" that is not connected to dental or surgery in any way.

Brad
Sure, but now you're leaving EMD:s and turning to brandables. smithsclinic.com isn't an EMD, it's a brandable.
 
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Let's say this again. Mueller included the hyphen in his example (keyword-keyword domains, he said. Not keywordkeyword.). The SEJ article made this broader, and a lot of confusion ensued. Also here in this thread.
 
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Another example from one of my sales - WireJewelry.com.
Guess what they sell?

I think they are far better served with that keyword .COM than some random "brand".

Brad
Wirejewlery.com is a brandable, not an EMD, "wire jewelry" isn't a common search phrase.

Then I'd like to hear your opinion about the name BostonRobotics.com.

Edit: BostonDynamics.com it is.
You made your case for me with the edit. Boston Dynamics is not an EMD, it's a brandable.

An EMD means that it's a natural phrase people search for when looking for a service or product.

If I live in Boston and I'm looking for someone to fix my roof, I might Google [boston roofing] not knowing that Boston Roofing is an existing company. That's what makes bostonroofing.com an EMD.
 
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Let's say this again. Mueller included the hyphen in his example (keyword-keyword domains, he said. Not keywordkeyword.). The SEJ article made this broader, and a lot of confusion ensued. Also here in this thread.
It doesn't matter whether a phrase contains hyphens or not, it's still an EMD. It's a less valuable EMD, but it's an EMD nonetheless.
 
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I think you're misunderstanding what he's trying to say. He isn't trying to prove that EMD:s (in general) are bad (in which case it would be a case of cherry-picking, not false dilemma). His point is that you're not getting a SEO bonus for saturating your SLD with keywords.
False dilemma is the false choice between two options when more exist.

In this case he gave (2) choices. One is an objectively terrible domain.
The other is some unknown brand. It is safe to assume he is not referring to some terrible brand.

That is a false choice and a very disingenuous way he framed that point.

Brad
 
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You made your case for me with the edit. Boston Dynamics is not an EMD, it's a brandable.
Lol, didn't look it up. So I remembered them as Boston Robotics. Says something about their brand name, marketing, and me.
 
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Wirejewlery.com is a brandable, not an EMD, "wire jewelry" isn't a common search phrase.
Wire Jewelry is most certainly a keyword. It can also clearly be used as a brand.
People who go there would know what to expect.

Just some other registrations in the field. It is a keyword.

wirejewelry.biz
wirejewelry.net
wirejewelryart.com
wirejewelryartist.com
wirejewelryartists.com
wirejewelryartists.org
wirejewelrybootcamp.com
wirejewelrybydave.com
wirejewelryclasses.com
wirejewelrycourse.com
wirejewelrydesign.com
wirejewelrydesigns.com
wirejewelryfest.com
wirejewelrylessons.com
wirejewelrymadness.com
wirejewelrymagazine.com
wirejewelrymasterclass.com
wirejewelrysupplies.com
wirejewelrytools.com
wirejewelrytutorials.com
wirejewelryworkshop.com
wirejewelrywrapped.com
alivewirejewelry.net
artwirejewelry.com
artisticwirejewelry.com
barbedwirejewelry.com
beadedwirejewelry.com
beadnwirejewelry.com
beadonawirejewelry.com
beadonawirejewelry.net
belindawickwirejewelry.com
bestwirejewelry.com
birdonawirejewelry.com
bishopwirejewelry.com
bldesignswirejewelry.com
coolwirejewelry.com
dasannispeakswirejewelry.com
designerwirejewelry.com
digwirejewelry.com
earthwindandwirejewelry.com
elegantwirejewelry.com
enchantedwirejewelry.com
finewirejewelry.com
gemsnwirejewelry.com
goldwirejewelry.com
groundwirejewelry.com
hammeredwirejewelry.com
handmadewirejewelry.com
hardwirejewelry.com
heywirejewelry.com
hiwirejewelry.com
hotwirejewelry.com
isabelleswirejewelry.com
isafarfanwirejewelry.com
jenniferswirejewelry.com
lbowmanwirejewelry.com
learnwirejewelry.com
learnwirejewelry.org
livewirejewelry.com
makewirejewelry.com
masterwirejewelry.com
onthewirejewelry.com
randomwirejewelry.com
rockinwirejewelry.com
sculptedwirejewelry.com
sculpturedwirejewelry.com
silkwirejewelry.com
silverbirchwirejewelry.com
spectralwirejewelry.com

Brad
 
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It doesn't matter whether a phrase contains hyphens or not, it's still an EMD. It's a less valuable EMD, but it's an EMD nonetheless.
Cool then let's compare apples to apples.

Best-Running-Shoes.com is an EMD.
Blor-bbles.com is technically a "brand".

Which one is better?

You can't compare some shit EMD to some unknown brand.
That is not a fair comparison.

Brad
 
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False dilemma is the false choice between two options when more exist.

In this case he gave (2) choices. One is an objectively terrible domain.
The other is some unknown brand. It is safe to assume he is not referring to some terrible brand.

That is a false choice and a very disingenuous way he framed that point.

Brad
He's clearly not making the point that there are only two domains in the world to choose from. What you're thinking of is called cherry-picking, but he's not doing that either because his point isn't to prove that EMD:s are all terrible.

Lol, didn't look it up. So I remembered them as Boston Robotics. Says something about their brand name, marketing, and me.
I don't think there's a lot of search volume for boston robotics either. It's not like people looking to automate their factories aren't willing to consider options outside of their city.

Wire Jewelry is most certainly a keyword. It can also clearly be used as a brand.
People who go there would know what to expect.

Just some other registrations in the field. It is a keyword.

Brad
I've never heard of wire jewelry before. Maybe it's a thing people are specifically searching for, in which case you'd be right.

Cool then let's compare apples to apples.

Best-Running-Shoes.com is an EMD.
Blor-bbles.com is technically a "brand".

Which one is better?
best-running-shoes.com would be better. But I wouldn't consider blor-bbles.com a brandable either. Because it's not short and memorable.

You can't compare some shit EMD to some unknown brand.
That is not a fair comparison.

Brad
It depends on the point you're trying to make.

Mueller's point wasn't that EMD are all absolutely terrible and only idiots use it. His point was that it doesn't help with SEO, so a brandable (short and memorable) would be better.
 
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These are not EMD:s, they're Generic Domains (or in case of NFT.com an Abbreviated Domain).

An EMD is something like buyqualitygems.com, rentacaralicante.com, bestloans.net, etc. that's to say SLD's composed of phrases people search for when they're looking for a product or service. And while people might search for "chocolate," chocolate.com is not generally considered an EMD, because it's a single dictionary word, which covered under the class of Generic Domains.

Here, Mueller specifically refers to keyword-rich domains (e.g. domains with many keywords in them), and when you consider that, what he says makes perfect sense. Because if you own rentacaralicante.com for a car rental service in Alicante, aside from looking cluttered (like a spam site domain), if you want expand to other cities, say Valencia and Ibiza, then you might have to re-brand in some capacity.


I made this point in an other thread, but as Google's leading Search Engine Coordinator he can be held legally accountable for lying about how Google's Search Engine works, similar to how a Lawyer, Physician, or Economist can be held legally held accountable for giving you misleading advice in their respective fields of expertise.
I think there's a lot of over-complicating and hair-splitting here.

Keyword domains are keyword domains. No need to split hairs to try and win an argument. "Business" is first a generic keyword. "Car" is first a generic keyword. The search engine, foundationally, is based on generic keywords. So keyword domains are going no where, EMDs being the most valuable.

And I would suggest Mueller knows more about programming than he does words. What he says is so nebulous that he will avoid any litigation, so no worries there.
 
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I've never heard of wire jewelry before. Maybe it's a thing people are specifically searching for, in which case you'd be right.
That's fine. There are lots of things I have never heard of either.

Whether of not someone is personally aware of something has no relevance on it being a keyword or not.

best-running-shoes.com would be better. But I wouldn't consider blor-bbles.com a brandable either. Because it's not short and memorable.
And that is exactly what makes his point disingenuous.

He is comparing an objectively terrible EMD to some unknown brand.
You could fill that brand in with whatever you want. Everyone will have a different definition.

Why did he not use RunningShoes.com or something like that? An actual viable option.

The point of his comparison was blatantly obvious. It was to discredit EMD as a legitimate option.

Brad
 
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"everyone thinks you’re a spammer"

That is honestly one of the most ridiculous takes I have seen in a very long time.
That and the terrible example EMD discredits his entire argument in my view.

He should go back to the drawing board and come back with a more cogent argument.

Brad
 
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I think there's a lot of over-complicating and hair-splitting here.

Keyword domains are keyword domains. No need to split hairs to try and win an argument.
No one is trying to win any arguments, we're trying make sense of what Mueller is saying.

"Business" is first a generic keyword. "Car" is first a generic keyword. The search engine, foundationally, is based on generic keywords. So keyword domains are going no where, EMDs being the most valuable.
You're conflating site keywords with SLD keywords. Keywords on your site will affect your SEO, keywords in your SLD won't.

Personally I'd say that EMD:s are some of the least valuable in general, above alpha-numeric. But I'd also limit my definition of EMD:s to be two words or more. Any one-word domain I classify as a generic domain because they're more consistently valued that way.

And I would suggest Mueller knows more about programming than he does words. What he says is so nebulous that he will avoid any litigation, so no worries there.
I agree. But people aren't reaching out to Mueller for help on semantics, they're reaching out to him to figure out how Google's search engine works.

This is Google's official advice / opinion, and confirms that Mueller is talking nonsense.

domains.google/learn/how-to-come-up-with-a-good-domain-name/
Nowhere does this say that keywords in the domain help with SEO or even mentions EMD:s.

And that is exactly what makes his point disingenuous.

He is comparing an objectively terrible EMD to some unknown brand.
You could fill that brand in with whatever you want. Everyone will have a different definition.

Why did he not use RunningShoes.com or something like that? An actual viable option.
Because it wouldn't matter. His point is that EMD:s don't help with SEO and that it might also be difficult to expand your business in the future. The point stands even if you go with runningshoes.com.

The point of his comparison was blatantly obvious. It was to discredit EMD as a legitimate option.

Brad
No, it was a good choice because it emphasized the point he was trying to make: EMD:s don't help with SEO, and it makes it difficult to expand your business in the future.

A great example is zenpayroll.com who had to rebrand to gusto.com since they couldn't secure zen.com when they wanted to expand into different services. Now zenpayroll.com is a brand and not an EMD, but the point stands.
 
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Because it wouldn't matter. His point is that EMD:s don't help with SEO and that it might also be difficult to expand your business in the future. The point stands even if you go with runningshoes.com.
RunningShoes.com is certainly a viable option, especially if a company does not have the millions or billions to build a brand in a highly competitive field.

On what planet is Best-Running-Shoes.com a viable option?

There is no point when you present an option that would never be viable vs. another option.

There are generic domains in use all over the place. GunBroker.com for instance.
That is another EMD, and one of the biggest websites in the field.

Does everyone think they are a spammer, as John stated?

That is a viable choice. Some double hyphenated turd EMD is not.

People might think "Best-Running-Shoes.com" is a "spammer" because the domain sucks, not because it is an EMD.

Brad
 
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@bmugford, set aside your grievances with Mueller's example choices for a second, and answer this question: What do you think Mueller's is trying to say with the article? What do you think his point is?
 
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