Keyword Domain and SEO?

**Gambleer** · 25 March 2022, 4:27 am

What's your thoughts on Keyword Domains in SEO?
Does keyword domains still have value in SEO?

**Mattbar** · 25 March 2022, 6:31 am

Exact match domains don't have the value they once did but they are still important and personally I think they still perform better than an equivalent branded domain. As always it is about what you put into it but there is still value in doing it.

**chaumi** · 25 March 2022, 10:53 am

+1 couldn't have said it better

**ARZ** · 25 March 2022, 5:16 pm

Ass Mattbar said, used to be much better in the past. Nowadays I do not see a point in an exact keyword domain name, depends on the content on it. Google is smarter than we think it is

**bi6liotekar** · 31 March 2022, 12:46 am

That's why you have only EMD domains in your signature?)))

**doublethebitcoin** · 31 March 2022, 2:12 am

Have this new project with EMD so I'm curious if the ranking at the top will be easier to reach.

I do expect some impact, let's see how significant it will be.

**PaulEchere** · 31 March 2022, 3:17 am

From what I was able to see - EMDs do work to a certain extent, however you would need to assess that relation to your plans. While it might be a good strategy to get decent positions for a number of closely related search terms, it might backfire in case you will eventually want to expend out of that.

**eenzoo** · 31 March 2022, 4:11 am

Would be interested to know HOW you guys measure the impact of EMD or Non EMD?
Actually you can't. Or you run two completely equal sites (you can't because of DC).

All other is just guessing around what has moved the needle ... content, links, weaker competition, algo updates, weather ... tons of options.

Maybe in terms of CTR in the serps I could imagine a little advantage for a GREAT EMD. Vice versa for EMD like roulettecasinodepositbonus.guru

**chaumi** · 31 March 2022, 4:27 am

Originally Posted by eenzoo

Would be interested to know HOW you guys measure the impact of EMD or Non EMD?
Actually you can't. Or you run two completely equal sites (you can't because of DC).

All other is just guessing around what has moved the needle ... content, links, weaker competition, algo updates, weather ... tons of options.

Maybe in terms of CTR in the serps I could imagine a little advantage for a GREAT EMD. Vice versa for EMD like roulettecasinodepositbonus.guru

All relevant points ofc.

Personally, I can only go on personal experience. Every keyword domain I ever developed had (at one point or another, not necessarily sustained..and 80% of them not gambling related) page 1 ranking for either the main kw target or closely associated terms. I've never developed a non-kw domain, so you're right, this would not be highly indicative of value either way.

And those developments were in the past, ofc. Whether they would now is debatable and unknown without trying....and who's to say they wouldn't have performed ok just based on some or all of the factors you mentioned, but on a completely random domain.

Still, for me, the balance of evidence (not just my own, but other observations) falls slightly on the side of keywords having value. And if I think that - then in the absence of other evidence - why would I spend the 2 + years necessary developing a non-kw domain?

**baldidiot** · 31 March 2022, 4:33 am

Mozcast tries to track EMD and partial-EMD influence: https://moz.com/mozcast - only over 90 days though which makes it less useful but can potentially give a bit of info around major algo updates.

That said, they're just looking at % of ranking sites that are an EMD or PMD so there's other things going on (ie: if lots of people decided to not use EMDs we might see the long term EMD influence go down regardless of the actual impact on ranking).

**baldidiot** · 31 March 2022, 4:39 am

Originally Posted by eenzoo

Would be interested to know HOW you guys measure the impact of EMD or Non EMD?
Actually you can't. Or you run two completely equal sites (you can't because of DC).

You can kind of test it by re-branding a site. Eg: set a site up as "SportsGenius.xxx" let it get established and then 301 to an EMD like "NewJerseyBookies.xxx" and compare the rankings.

You'd need to keep everything else the same though (ie: use the EMD in the title on the old site prior to redirecting and so on - so literally only change the domain).

I did this a few years ago and found that the new site ranks better for the domain keyword related terms without making any changes or building additional links. Not first page a definite increase. This was a while ago though.

I'm not sure if you could test the other way around though (ie: going from EMD to non-EMD) to see if the opposite is true as the rankings seem to follow it.

**MJM** · 1 April 2022, 7:55 am

I'll give the answer I've been giving here on this question for a few years.

With the right premium domain, a keyword domain and a branded domain are the exact same thing. It's not one or the other.

My personal opinion, and the domain sales market seems to agree with me - premium keyword domains are more valuable than ever. Keyword - premium. Don't waste your time on 4-5 word combos with dashes in them. Focus on a memorable, brandable, domain - and if it has keywords in it, that's a bonus.

**chaumi** · 1 April 2022, 8:13 am

Originally Posted by MJM

I'll give the answer I've been giving here on this question for a few years.

With the right premium domain, a keyword domain and a branded domain are the exact same thing. It's not one or the other.

My personal opinion, and the domain sales market seems to agree with me - premium keyword domains are more valuable than ever. Keyword - premium. Don't waste your time on 4-5 word combos with dashes in them. Focus on a memorable, brandable, domain - and if it has keywords in it, that's a bonus.

I'm not going to argue with any of that.

But just to note some outliers..............

4 word combos (without hyphens) can smash it (as anyone who operates in the US casinos space will know...if you don't know who I mean, that would be a surprise!! I'm pretty sure you will, Mike.)

I've seen tests (admittedly over 6 months ago, and it could have changed) where combo kw domains and hyphenated alternatives were set up side by side...and it was the hyphenated versions that performed better from a ranking perspective. So, why don't we see them in SERPs? A. (I suspect) because no one (that knows what they're doing) tries (hard enough/cleverly enough).

**MJM** · 1 April 2022, 8:30 am

Your last point is very relevant for certain - very rarely do you see a quality website with a lot of resources invested on a lower quality domain - as we all know by now, ANY domain can and will work when combined with all the right ingredients in a blender (quality content, time, links, etc).

**wanipo** · 19 April 2022, 6:11 am

Does keyword domains still have value in SEO?

im not sure, because in my country (Indonesian) so many people use aged domain + setup AMP for rank in google and make a rich content.

Title, description, keyword anything can got rank #1 with aged domain + AMP

Why them use aged domain with AMP ? because online gambling in my country is illegal

**gamslo** · 25 April 2022, 11:01 pm

English Translation:
I think the quality of the site is more important than the domain string.
In the case of used domains, I think it is important what kind of information was recognized in the past.

ドメイン文字列よりもサイトの品質の方が重要だと思います。
中古ドメインの場合、過去にどのような情報を認識していたかが重要だと思います。

**econfox** · 27 April 2022, 5:38 pm

This article from a domainers view of EMD from domainsherpa

https://www.domainsherpa.com/exact-match-domains/

**gamblingkitty** · 14 June 2022, 12:05 pm

everything works so far)

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