Brandable vs Keyword Rich
The first thing you will want to do is decide whether you want a brandable domain or a keyword rich domain. A brandable domain is usually one or two words that are very easy for people to remember. Twitter, Google, Digg, Facebook, Smogrettes, Apina Press - names like this are considered brandable.Even though these types of domains don't have any built in search engine optimization (SEO) weight, they may offer a more long-term success factor. Top of mind awareness is very important to an authority site in any niche and having a domain that people automatically associate with something can make all the difference between someone finding your site and never visiting you again or someone remembering the site and even telling there friends about it.
On the other hand, for smaller micro niche sites, a keyword rich domain can have a big advantage over a brandable one. If you're wanting to target a very specific keyword, like the model of a product you're doing a small review site for, then a keyword rich domain can be the better route.
Here's a short video by Matt Cutts with his thoughts on the subject. It's always good to hear things straight from the horse's mouth. In reference to the video, I believe Google has lessened the weight they give to keyword rich domains but they are still very powerful so don't hesitate to go that route if it's something you feel is right for you.
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Hi Tyler, a great article indeed! It cleared many of my doubts. Just couple of things I want to ask being a newbie in this field.
1) To what extent your ranking suffers by naming a website with keywords rich domain from naming the site unrelated to it?
2) Do your domain or webhost have anything to do with your overall ranking in the web search?
Thanks
1) To what extent your ranking suffers by naming a website with keywords rich domain from naming the site unrelated to it?
2) Do your domain or webhost have anything to do with your overall ranking in the web search?
Thanks
Reply
Ty Johnson
Premium
My name is actually just Ty.
To answer your questions you're site is not going to suffer from using a keyword rich domain at all. Keyword rich domains are very good for getting ranked for a specific keyword. At one time Google gave a lot more weight to keyword rich domains than they do now. In that video Matt Cutts explains that they just turned the knob down a bit, they didn't make it a bad thing.
The advantage to a brandable domain is that people will remember it more than a keyword rich domain name. In my opinion brandable is better for authority sites whereas keyword rich is better suited for smaller micro niche sites.
This is a widely debated topic of course and this is just one guys opinion.
To answer your second question if I understand it correctly your registrar and web host shouldn't nave any influence one way or the other on your ranking.
To answer your questions you're site is not going to suffer from using a keyword rich domain at all. Keyword rich domains are very good for getting ranked for a specific keyword. At one time Google gave a lot more weight to keyword rich domains than they do now. In that video Matt Cutts explains that they just turned the knob down a bit, they didn't make it a bad thing.
The advantage to a brandable domain is that people will remember it more than a keyword rich domain name. In my opinion brandable is better for authority sites whereas keyword rich is better suited for smaller micro niche sites.
This is a widely debated topic of course and this is just one guys opinion.
To answer your second question if I understand it correctly your registrar and web host shouldn't nave any influence one way or the other on your ranking.
anindochk
Premium
Intersting read! I too have bought domains from almost every known registrar. I really do not find anything different among all three except (you mentioned) customer support. Hostgator has great support, Bluehost is another great support provider. They too have a robust support system in place and they are very prompt. In terms of everything else I do not see any difference among all of them. At WA there is an advantage that one can directly contact Kyle and Carson in case of any problems which is very cool. Accessing the top most person in the hierarchy will always get the job done.
Ty Johnson
Premium
I used to use 1&1 for everything until I needed help with something and it took them 3 or 4 days to return my email. I was like you know what, it's worth paying a few extra bucks to get support. Name Cheap also has a decent support system and if you look online you can always find a savings coupon. For the most part they are all the same tho.
As for hosting hosting I am actually very happy having WA as my host. Yes you can always get a hold of someone here but for the most part I have never had a need to, Plus I love how easy they made it to get a new website live.
WA wins the ease of use award hands down
As for hosting hosting I am actually very happy having WA as my host. Yes you can always get a hold of someone here but for the most part I have never had a need to, Plus I love how easy they made it to get a new website live.
WA wins the ease of use award hands down
