A Couple of Domain Issues – Age and Keywords
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There has been a lot of buzz lately on the topic of whether or not it’s a good idea to purchase domain names that target specific keywords, and whether or not that is a benefit for your site. Related to this is the question of whether domain age is useful in the whole equation. Let’s look at these.
So is it a good idea to have a keyword specific domain name? We feel the answer is… maybe. Think about it: for a very popular term in a market, the term would not be available in any extension and very often the stakes have risen in that keyword space, where the number of backlinks and other factors far outweigh the juice given to the keyword in the actual domain. You’ll see exact match domains, subdomains, and folders that bear the terms, and just as many or more that do not.
It’s almost exactly the reverse for long tail keyword phrases. Given that many of them do not have large numbers of backlinks and authority as of yet, the weighting of that particular factor is higher in the final outcome and you’ll find many exact match domains carrying Page One listings, based on little more than the keyword in the domain.
So for practical purposes, for larger, authority sites, don’t worry about it so much. For smaller, highly-niched sites, consider an exact match domain if it is available.
As far as aged domains go, the answer is an emphatic YES. Google gives them a lot of weight. There is a trend toward buying aged domains that carry both Page Rank and sometimes DMOZ or Yahoo directory listings. These obviously sell at a premium, but the benefits could be huge. The longer a domain has been live on the Web with no drops and no questionable history, the more valuable it is!
Something to think about!
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Tags: aged domains, backlinks, domain age, domain name, exact match, Google, keywords, long tail
Which is more important for a highly niche business?
Obviously, you would have to choose either exact match domain or domain age. It would be virtually impossible to get both. I would appreciate your opinion.
Hey Jason,
I would say for a highly niched business I’d go for the exact match domain is I could get it. You can do more to effect the keyword optimization of your site than you could do about the the age, except over time, of course!
The exact match domain is what I was thinking as well. It seems to make more sense than spending that kind of cash on an aged domain when competition is relatively low.