Partner Article

What are Exact Match domains?

There has been a lot of buzz as of late in the SEO grapevine about exact match domains (EMD). Matt Cutts, the Head of Google Web Spam team, announced on Twitter that Google will be rolling out a small algorithm change to reduce low-quality exact match domains.

The result? Well in the past EMD’s have ranked highly in search engines. They have been much easier to rank for their exact match keyword with very little effort. However, that has now changed and some websites have been hit.

First of all, what is an exact match domain?

These domains match exactly for the search query. For example, if we sold custard (the yummy pudding) and owned the domain www.custard.co.uk, that would be an exact match domain.

Years ago all businesses strived to have an exact match domain because it really was a sure-fire way to get to the top of Google’s search results.

Some companies got a bad reputation, but whatever you think, they did seize the opportunity to buy exact match domain names of big named brands, ‘cyber squat’ them and then sell them back to them at a massive profit.

According to SEOmoz, here are 5 examples of domains that lost ranking, the morning the algorithm rolled out; all of which had previously ranked for at least the previous 7 days:

• www.bmicalculatormale.com (#4)
• www.charterschools.org (#7)
• playscrabble.net (#3)
• www.purses.org (#3)
• www.teethwhitening.com (#4)

Google will be using many factors in determining a low quality EMD; it can be argued that such techniques include spammy link building, stuffing of keywords and low-authority.

Has your rankings dropped?

Has your exact match domain name been affected? If your domain is keyword focused it doesn’t necessarily mean that you are ruined according to Search Engine Land. Google are aiming to target low-quality sites that solely rank for their exact matching.

We recommend you to start varying the kind of links pointing at your website, and to invest in a high quality, engaging content marketing campaign.

If all else fails, you may need to purchase a new domain. Try choosing a brand domain over a keyword-focused one and in the words of SEOmoz, spend 10-15% of your overall budget on the best domain name possible.

ahrefs.com is a fantastic tool which can help you to analyse your links and the percentage of exact match anchors.

How to choose a domain for SEO?

• Related to your business
• spelling and grammar free
• easy to market in terms of pronunciation
• avoid hyphenated

Conclusion…

Now you know just how crucial your business’s domain name is to your overall rankings in search engines. Is your domain rankable or is it keyword stuffed? Is it SEO-friendly and linkable, or over-optimised?

Adhere to the latest algorithm and boost your brand’s exposure online.

This article was provided by Custard, a leading creative marketing agency Manchester based that specialises in search, social media, web design and content writing.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Jake Hall .