First of all, domain names are of two broad categories. They are Exact Match Domains(EMD) and Brand able domains. Exact Match Domain SEO advantages is a permanent topic for discussion among web masters. Actually it is very important for everyone who wish to build a website, to understand the pros and cons of exact match domains. Today I will try to explain some aspects of EMDs and Brand able domains.
What are Exact Match Domains?
Let me start with a simple example. Consider the domain HotelBooking.com. This name contains two key words, the combination of which perfectly gives indication of what will be the content of a website with this domain name. It simply tells that the website may provide hotel booking services. Remember that it is just a probability. You can use HotelBooking .com for news website also!
Now look at the name Agoda.com. It is just an abstract name. By looking at this domain name only, we can not at all predict what will be the content of the website. This is a brand able name. Websites created on brand able domain names require heavy advertising promotions to let the customers know about the services offered.
Exact Match Domain SEO Advantages
The importance of exact match domains in SEO perspective has been declining for the last few years.
There are lot of other Search Engine Optimization Techniques other than EMDs.
If you consider the two biggest search engines Google and Bing, it is learnt that Big still gives slightly greater importance for exact match domains, than Google.
Back in the old days, Exact match domains were a big factor in getting ranked in search engines. Many people utilized this and created small small sites on EMDs with full of affiliate links and were able to rank on the first page of Google!
Then around the year 2010, Google introduced an important update in their search engine algorithm which simply ripped off the micro niche sites which ranked top overthrowing the biggie brands. From then on wards, EMDs started declining in the field of SEO importance. Remember that they have been made less important for SEO purpose, not irrelevant.
EMDs in Organic Search
Organic search means querying in any Search Engine by giving keywords. Look at the results on Google search for keyword “Cheap Hotels”.
After the Paid Advertisements, you can see that CheapHotels.org ranks #1 on Google for that keyword. This is a typical example of how an exact match domain is used brilliantly. Now look at the urls. You will find that the url of CheapHotels.org is appearing in bold while all others, are given only normal appearance. This bold url increases click Through Rates (CTR), especially in case of paid search campaigns.
Direct Type In Traffic
EMDs increase the number of direct type in traffic. There are still lot of people who directly type HomeForSale.com instead of doing a Google search for “Home for Sale” !
Exact Match Domains Ranking on Bing
As I told above, Bing gives more importance to EMDs than Google. It is often very easy to get ranked top on Bing with an Exact Match Domain if you tweak your title meta tags and content keywords. With Bing having 20% to 25% search share in the USA, this can not be ignored.
Disadvantages of Exact Match Domains
There are some disadvantages for EMDs as listed below.
- Increased domain length: See CheapestCarInsurance.com. Now a days people become busier and busier and no one will be actually interested in typing such a long website name.
- Scarcity: The number of EMDs are very limited even if you consider the bunch of different extensions.
- Less attractive: EMDs lack the freshness and unique feel of brand able domains.
Why People Choose Brand able Domains?
The most common reason is that the exact match domain ( mostly a .com) is not available or its price is not within the purchasing power. Also in many occasions choosing a brand able domain helps in shortening the domain length. Even though you will have to spend money in advertising, usage of a unique catchy name helps in establishing your business firmly.
