Keyword Vs Brandability - Domain "weight" Depreciating In Seo

[Mal Badman]

Hi Guys

I have been studying the Domain Market Place and all that's involved in buying and flipping, developing and monetizing / off selling, parking and acquiring investment grade Domains for a hold for appreciating growth, etc, etc, etc.

Here's my dilemma -

I have a business concept and a few domains that go with it. For example -

www. ****deliveryaustralia.com - Keyword strong and Generic/Geo.
www.****Fr8 - Keyword and Brandable

What Domain do I use, moving in to a long term Business Opportunity?

Everywhere I look outside the Domain Industry, I see Google moving further and further away from placing high precedence on the Keywords in the root "Domain" itself, it still counts, but is getting less important.

With growing Crawler ability and intelligence, the latest Penguin and Panda updates and the direction of SE, they are moving towards content, links, social media attention, visual aid, anchor keywords, age, etc, etc. Basically everything that will give the Search Engines clients a good experience at the page they have been pointed towards.

This makes heaps of sense to me, as Google wants to give the searchee the best possible link as quick as possible.

So with the Keywords in the Root Domain becoming less important. It leaves the Door open for leverage of using a Brandable word in the Domain much more appealing. As the actual web page on the Domain has the substantial telling factors for SERP position.

Here's my question -

In the Big Picture (essentially Googles' Algo / Consumers) Has the / will the "Root Domain" be recognized less and less, and the Webpage itself be the focus for Search Engine ranking, Hence making the "Generic Domain" redundant? (Im sorry if I got some terminology wrong)

I would love to hear from both, SEO guys and die hard Domainers, to try and shed some light for me on what the Industry / Consumers are looking for. I'M A LITTLE CONFUSED.

Thanks for your input!!

 

[urlurl]

I prefer short brandable names for business purposes. keep in mind 3 key aspects about users;

Lazy - users don't want to retype long domain names to return to sites
Poor memories - you need to make sure it is very easy to remember.
Not always the best spellers - complicated, hard to spell, multiple alternative words and long names are subject to misspelling

Also - I'm not a fan of mixing letters with numbers unless you can score a really short 3- 4L name.

If you are looking at a long term successful business I would recommend spending a little extra money into a name. Peoples first impression (especially with the name) can impact a persons perception about the company.

 

[Mal Badman]

@urlurl

Cheers. 3 points noted.

When you say, "spending a little extra money into a name", do you mean investing in the domain, using a contractor to devised a good brandable name or something else?

 

[urlurl]

you can get a nice brandable name in the $x,xxx range, and well worth it

50% of my portfolio are in brandable names - some examples are in my footer.

 

[icedude]

We have to all remember one thing.... Google's algorithm changes daily and they won't be the number 1 search engine forever... So it's nice to be "Google friendly" but don't build the core of your business/website around "WWGD(What Would Google Do)......." Also, don't forget that millions of people search Bing every month, plus they are the search engine used in Facebook search...

 

[Mal Badman]

Icedude.

Yeah that is definatly a fair point. However they (all search engines) all have the same goal, they are looking to steer their customers to a comprehensive and relevent Webpage in relation to their search request. So the crawlers are going to be looking more and more at Webpage data, development and design then just the Domain. Which is a good thing, as this rats out Black Hat SEO tactics, and fairs up the industry.

Is the future, comprehensive high quality Web Pages that deliver across the board, not just in one area (Domain)? I saw an article that noted the Domain is only 7% of an SE algorithm, correct or not?

 

[Mal Badman]

I Read this article by Brian Dean " Google Ranking Factors: The Complete List ", It is his professional Observation, not an official doc, however seems to be widely accepted. His thoughts on the "Domain", are Age, Keywords in Domain, Keyword at the start of Domain, keyword in Sub Domain, History, EMD, etc. So having an Exact Match Domain (one word - 6 figure $ Domain), only helps you in one small section. I Find it hard to justify the cost unless your are a major organisation that may cover the cost by gaining a small 1-3% Consumer Growth.

 

[icedude]

Do you think Microsoft/Google would really give clues to cracking their algorithms. These guys that write these articles are clueless.... usually followed by some promotional tool or reference to some SEO company... Like the "Download a free checklist, blah, blah, blah.... "

Have to open your eyes people and spot everyday bs, because there is a lot of it... lot's...... Just like in the domain industry, the "big guys" pass the word down to do this and that, and they do the opposite, while you doing this and that is benefiting their this and that... Wake up....

 

[Mal Badman]

Okay dearly noted Icedude. . thanks

This is going away from the original question and the topic, Are the Generic Root Domains still Relevant, and are Brandables, with solid Marketing, a better investment?

 

[asfas]

It's mostly about how your clients see you, especially if they are repeat clients.
SE traffic is good for new clients, but existing clients don't search for you, they try to remember your identity.
In 2014 people know (maybe without realizing) that a poor business domain more often than not means lack of professionalism.
For instance...you certainly could use MalsDeliveryAustralia.com but I think your clients would see you as cheap !

 

[icedude]

Clients don't notice the domain name, they notice the content, computers notice domain names. If you build your business around what a computer see's and not what the end user see's, you will satisfy the computer, but will not get any business. Computers being web crawlers, etc...

Now, for example DataCenter.com just sold for 500K, but it comes with type-ins which means Instant business without having to worry about advertising budgets, etc... If you bid on the keyword "Data Center" with AdWords with the average CPC and no budget it will cost roughly $2,500 a day which is almost 1 million dollars a year, so do the math.

At the end of the day, a good domain name beats the hell out of spending big marketing dollars trying to establish a brand identity. With a great domain name you already have a "brand."

 

[Mal Badman]

Asfas

That's a good call. Brand ability would definitely come in play for repeat customers, especially if it was a blog or a repetitive product.

Yeah that Domain does sound cheap, haha, it is the method of delivery that is at the start tho, not a name. So again a Brandable Domain would seem more "professional", as opposed to a generic.

I have thought along the lines of keeping one Major Keyword at the start of the Domain but ending with Fr8 - Brandable kick.

So do you sacrifice Keywords in the Domain to obtain "Professionalism", and spend cash on Marketing and building a kick arse Web Page?

 

[urlurl]

my personal opinion, but I wouldn't use word + fr8 - unless you can also get the word + freight,com

 

[urlurl]

also keep in mind not all brandables names are good - quality ranges from excellent to very poor.

Build a company around a good name and use content to drive traffic.

 

[Mal Badman]

@icedude

Okay . I suppose that's why it is good to have a Good Page Developer and a Designer, 1 to get customers there, 2 to keep them.

Datacenter is a good example, so the money you would spend on Marketing and advertising well and truely pays for a one-off Domain Payment. I suppose Datacenters don't really need to be brandable as such either, being a Professional/Industry specific Niche. . . Cheers

 

[icedude]

How much will the keyword domain cost you? What is the advertising looking like in that space? Those are a few questions you should ask yourself and factor that into making your decision.

Good luck....

 

[Mal Badman]

@urlurl

Yeah I have seen some bad and complicated, brandable domains.

So if you had +Fr8.com and +Freight.com, which would you develop, and what would you do with the other one, duplicate it and redirect it, or just hold it.

 

[asfas]

I agree with urlurl that Fr8 doesn't work very well....

 

[Mal Badman]

@urlurl and @asfas

You guys are recommending that "word+Fr8" won't work as a Domain.

So your opinions are to Get a Brandable Domain ($x,xxx, roughly), that it totally not Keyword Generic for the Industry and Spend money on Good Webpage Developement and Design and Marketing. Hence taking an Development and SEO approach to the Business structure?

 

[Mal Badman]

Thanks to everyone who has posted. Its all very helpfull.

I am new to this side of the industry, your patience is appreciated! Thank you.