Are Exact Match Domains Still Worth it?

[$5 submissions]

It may not always be the silver bullet it used to be (though the site Socks mentioned and some I've seen myself would beg to differ) but in conjunction with a sound SEO/content strategy, it can only help.

I think what may ultimately suffer are hyphen EMDs. It used to be that search engines wouldn't see them any differently, but given they look spammier to most humans (especially if it's a non-.com), fewer people click through and people would be quick to bounce off if they don't immediately see what they're looking for, so ultimately those wouldn't rank well for long if they would at all.

But yea, you can't really EXPECT to rank an EMD well with a thin site anymore. It can still happen, but you can lose the ranking as easily as you got it, if you can even get it.

Consider this though: The matching words still get bolded, which helps the domain stand out, which arguably attracts more clicks, which in turn can help the rankings improve. Also, Google does still look for relevance, and any match including in the domain help with determining that.

We primarily sell mainstream EMD and business has been up this year, so I presume that they must still be working well for many people.

Great response, PornMD. I love your $99 mainstream domain sale. Get at me via ICQ, my man!

[shake]

Funny enough, I have great results with my mainstream EMDs with solid #1 results for some small niche topics. However NONE of my adult EMDs place even in the top 100 results... strange how search engines work.

[DamageX]

all things being equal having an emd will give you an advantage.

period.

Though that kinda goes without saying...

[Denny]

And how do you know if it ranks so well because of EMD or because of quality backlinks?
Backlinks is and was way more important than EMD. Your post proves nothing.

http://www.hotnakedgirls.com

#5 for "hot naked girls"

-no incoming links
-no content

[DamageX]

http://www.hotnakedgirls.com

#5 for "hot naked girls"

-no incoming links
-no content

12 yo domain. Probably still easy to overtake though, thanks.

[u-Bob]

Look at it this way: Anything that shows you are committed to the site will most likely be seen as something positive by Google:

Using an old domain you've been renewing every year over the last 12 years > this is not some fire-and-forget project.
Using an expensive domain (a domain that could be sold for a lot of money) > high level of commitment.

[XXXInsights]

It still helps, I get faster rankings on my keywords when having a exact match... no matter if it's .com / .net / .org

[Nicky]

12 yo domain. Probably still easy to overtake though, thanks.

Nice find indeed.

[$5 submissions]

Interesting how quite a few EMD owners forget to buy the .org when they buy up the .com version.

[ErectMedia]

Interesting how quite a few EMD owners forget to buy the .org when they buy up the .com version.

for resale when dealing with a minimum 500-1000 domains in inventory at all times I only buy the .com as it will have the highest sales price and if any type in traffic exists it will fall to the .com as well.

for development I usually snag .com,.net,.org,.info,.biz,.us

[HandballJim]

yahoo loves them and will list you 1st page, with google you need a lot elements to get ranked.

I like exact match domains, but make sure people are searching those terms.