Keyword in domain name?

[mikepetersonwi]

I know that having keywords in a URL such as whatever.com/keyword-keyword-page/ is no longer much of a factor in SEO, but what about the domain name itself? Does it help to have a domain such as Keyword.com (Prev. SerpBook) - Win more rankings and projects

 

[keyserholiday]

I know that having keywords in a URL such as whatever.com/keyword-keyword-page/ is no longer much of a factor in SEO, but what about the domain name itself? Does it help to have a domain such as Keyword.com (Prev. SerpBook) - Win more rankings and projects

Nope, not a thing at all. John Mueller again has come out against this practice.

 

[djbaxter]

Google Says Keywords In Domain Names Are Overrated
by Barry Schwartz, Search Engine Roundtable
June 24, 2022

Google's John Mueller said once again that "keywords in domain names are overrated." He and Googlers over time have said this numerous times over the years and he said it again. Instead he said "pick something for your business, pick something for the long term."

Here are some of our older, previous coverage of this topic:

• Google: Keyword Rich Domains For Your Website Won't Help You Rank
• Will Exact Domains Always Rank Well in Google? Some Will
• Google: Exact Match Keyword Domain Does Not Mean Rankings
• Google EMD Update: Exact Match Domains No Longer Rank As Well
• Google: Keywords In Domain Aren't Needed For Ranking Well
• Google: Migrating To A Keyword-TLD Won't Improve Rankings
• Google: Exact Match Domains Don't Get Magic Ranking Bonus

 

[seosemsocial]

Just do a search.

If keywords in the url didn't influence rank, why are there so many on the first page? Coincidence?

On one two word search (service city) with 8 organic listings, five included the city name. and five included the service name.

 

[djbaxter]

That's flawed logic.

Look up "correlation vs. causation" on Google.

 

[seosemsocial]

That's flawed logic.

Look up "correlation vs. causation" on Google.

I'm aware. Just saying.

John is always saying things that don't match reality.

 

[djbaxter]

Whose reality? The only thing that matters to Google search is Google's reality.

 

[JoyHawkins]

I'll throw in that I actually have found keywords in the URL (any part) have an impact on ranking. We don't publish everything we test but we did publish part of this one: Does the URL You Link to in Google My Business Impact Ranking in the Local Pack? - Sterling Sky Inc

Our findings are similar to what Brian Dean says here:

"Having a keyword in your domain name doesn’t give you the SEO boost that it used to. But it still acts as a relevancy signal."

I would also agree that I don't listen much to what Google has to say when it comes to ranking factors.

 

[keyserholiday]

Was it the keyword in the URL or the content and meta title that helped? As for @seosemsocial, I would love to see some data to prove your point that keywords in the URL impact rankings and not just the content.

Also are talking about organic rankings or map pack rankings?

 

[Ana]

I know that having keywords in a URL such as whatever.com/keyword-keyword-page/ is no longer much of a factor in SEO, but what about the domain name itself? Does it help to have a domain such as Keyword.com (Prev. SerpBook) - Win more rankings and projects

/services/keywords-marketing/ still works, whoever told you this probably was giving you negative vibes.

Ideally having invested with keyword within your domain name is more robust.

If you know how to apply it on your onpage or onsite SEO, it can reward you with a 12% swing compared to others who have not.

Example:

invested with keywords within, you seo scoring will hit 100/100
poorly invested in your name "Jane Doe" so no keywords will only secure a scoring of 88/100.