Aaron Wall discusses the interaction between domain names and seo in a post titled "Synergy Between Domain Names & Keyword Based Search Engine Optimization Strategies". He thinks the exact match domain bonus can't last. His post is full of important stuff and these are the key points:
- This post is about the current market, and is highly focused on Google's relevancy algorithms (rather than other search engines). I expect the weight on domain names to be lowered significantly (especially for competitive queries) as Google moves toward incorporation more usage data into their relevancy algorithms. This is especially true if many domainers put up low quality to average quality websites on premium domain names. Moves like creating 100,000 keyword laden sites in one massive push (as Marchex recently did) don't bode well for the future of domain names as a signal of quality.
- The search traffic trends are moving toward consolidating traffic onto the largest high authority sites, so it probably is not a good idea to have 100 deep niche domain names like OnlineNursingDegrees.org, OnlineNurseDegrees.net, OnlineNursingSchools.com, OnlineLawDegrees.com, OnlineParalegalDegrees.net etc when you can cover a lot of those topics with a singular broad domain like Online Degrees.org.
- Any advantage exact match domains seem to have for ranking is much smaller for related phrases that do not exactly match the keyword string or phrases within the anchor text of most of the inbound links.
- For local businesses a keyword matching domain might be a way around paying to list in all the regional directories and other related arbitrage plays.
- Domains that use familiar language and sound credible also have a resonance that helps build trust, make the information seem more credible, easier to link at, easier to syndicate, and easier to do business with. It is hard to estimate the value of that since much of it is indirect, and few have measured the affect of domain name on linkability or clickability of a listing outside of paid search arbitrage.
This is a very respectable analysis and Aaron has deep knowledge on these subjects. But still, I want to point out some countervailing mechanisms.
- As the web fills ever further with both more specific useful content and more seo spam, searchers will become more and more sophisticated and will look for more and more clues in paid search ads and organic results for legitimacy and authenticity. The exact match domain will always be a significant clue that will help users find exactly what they are looking for. Aaron mentions that exact match domains have high credibility but few measurements have been made on the subject outside of paid search. Personally, I doubt the clickability advantage enjoyed by a generic exact match domain could be lower in the organic listings. I don't like to make assumptions, but this one seems pretty safe to me.
- As corporations like Marchex develop names further with more useful content, users may be more satisfied with parked generic names, not less, thereby reinforcing the instinct to click on the exact match domain.
- Exact match names in the .com tend to have a steady stream of type-in visitors, playing right into the usage pattern filter that Aaron believes will serve to weaken the exact match bonus.
- The rising cost of exact match names may boost average development quality diminishing the need for search engines to devalue them.
Maybe our difference of opinion hinges on the use of the domains. As an seo gimmick, maybe exact match names won't hold up long term. But for reasonably well developed sites, I'm betting the bonus on exact match names will hold up - even outside the .com extension. In other words, maybe the bonus will hold steady and traffic patterns will carry more weight making the exact match bonus relatively less important, even though in absolute terms it will not have changed. Only time will tell!
