URL question

[matthyde]

Hey guys,

I know that getting the exact keyword phrase you are targeting in your URL can be a big benefit in ranking for that keyword.

But I have a quick question that I hope you can help me with.

If I were building a niche site to promote a specific model of a blue widget (just as an example) and the domain names bluewidget.com and bluewidgets.com are available.

When I do the market research I find that the keyword "BLUE WIDGET" has 4000 exact searches per month, and the exact term "BLUE WIDGETS" has only 400 exact searches a month.

I would rather register the domain bluewidgets.com, but I am wondering if it would be better for search engine rankings to buy bluewidget.com.

Thanks for any feedback.

[Nik]

The exact domain match is better for for ranking. So because of this I would go with bluewidget.com. It should be easy to rank for the plural as well.

Nik

[matthyde]

Thanks Nik,

That is what I thought, I just wanted to get a little confirmation before I put a bunch of work into my first site.

Matt

[intmktr]

I would get the exact match of the exact main keywords you are targeting. In this case it would be without the (s). Most of the time you aren't going to be able to get an EMD because it will already be taken. In those cases you can add a letter or word to the end.

[addyj672]

If you want to target BLUE WIDGET which got 4000 direct search then surly BLUEWIDGET.com is better then buying bluewidgets.com. Url naming is a important part of on-page optimization which should be kept in mind while purchasing any domain....

[Leif]

Or else you can by both domains and use the plural form as a parked domain, as explained here :
http://support.hostgator.com/articles/cp...delete-one

[thriftgirl62]

(07-16-2011 07:29 PM)Leif Wrote:  Or else you can by both domains and use the plural form as a parked domain, as explained here :
http://support.hostgator.com/articles/cp...delete-one

Always a smarty pants in the crowd! That's what I was going to say too! Even running them like "sister" sites where one theme was different from the other and contextually link them through the content like you would any other blog. The only difference is you don't have to pay or ve a guest blogger with anyone else's rules.

They are treated the same as if they were owned by different people on different servers in different countries IF the content is unique, helpful and visitors like what you offer and stay on your sites (either one) longer. Put a FREE download or two because that counts as "conversions" that search engines do pay attention to.

Steady traffic is more important than 100's of weird links and it only costs about $25.month to keep 5,000 unique visitors coming to your site and people just ignore that - I guess it's just too easy for the human brain to handle - challenge is what people want!! CHALLENGE is the dragon holding the prize in its mouth. Tame the dragon and the prize is yours!!!

[money making]

exact match in a killer way to get on top of Google and there are a lot of people who just type in a domain hoping it's the right site. I have around 20% of direct traffic on one my sites.

[Nik]

@money making are you sure?

I heard a long time ago, and I even find myself doing this, that with the popularity of search engines people tend to just type the domain in a search. Especially if they are not sure if it's the one they are looking for.

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People typing in the domain name directly are normally return visitors.

Also re-reading your main post, how does direct traffic help your google ranking?