Is There a Future in Keyword Rich Domains?
Now that certainly is an interesting question; especially if you are contemplating on what domain name to use for your new website. I recently watched a Google posted video on YOUTUBE that sheds some light on the topic. According to software engineer Matt Cutts, domain naming can be approached in two ways – incorporating keywords or avoiding them altogether. Whilst the former is easy enough to understand, the second option specifically refers to the marketing strategy of branding.
In the broadest sense, branding refers to a name or symbol that is employed chiefly for product identification. When used properly, it can be a tool to make that merchandise truly stand out. Where e-commerce is concerned, using a brandable name for the site domain would enable your business or blog to “rise above the din”, as Mr. Cutts put it. Aside from increasing the potential for name recall, such a tactic would also prove useful if you are thinking of launching two or more related sites at the same time.
While the Google spokesperson is more partial to branding, he also noted that one should not turn his back on keyword domains so quickly. Perhaps you just want to keep things simple and keep all information on a single online resource. Would it not be better to maximise on link weight, starting with your domain name?
However, I believe I ought to put in a word of caution for those who have yet to take the plunge. Cutts mentioned that complaints over Google prioritising rankings and weight of keyword domains would have them “turning the knob down on the algorithm.” Best be prepared ladies and gents. Remember that there are other ranking factors that you can turn to (e.g. page speed, strength of internal link structure) if you want to land at the top spot Google search results. Thus, I suggest that you make good use of these to be able to cope with possible algorithm changes in the future. Still stumped? Check out the video below and decide for yourself.
