My clients often ask me if having the keyword that you are targeting in your domain can have a positive impact on your search engine rankings. The short answer to this is yes.

It seems to be easier than ever to rank highly for specific keywords if you have a keyword rich domain.

I have noticed an increasing amount of domains ranking well on the search engine results page with very low quality content and hardly any back links just because they have the keywords in their domain, some with no content expect from ‘Website under construction’ rank highly on the search engine results page just because they have a keyword rich domain. This was with a relatively small number of low quality back links and plenty of competition in the market.

Matt Cutts said, at the begging of the year, that Google has been accused of giving too much benefit to keyword rich domains and he indicated that Google has been thinking of turning down the amount of weight given to these websites. However, the opposite seems true and it appears even easier to rank on the search engine results page for keyword rich domains. The full video can be viewed here.

There are obviously advantages from an SEO point of view, however, I feel that this is having a negative impact on user experience and is a bit of a kick in teeth to website owners with high quality content but are ranking below websites that just happen to have the target keyword in the URL.

Putting my rant aside, let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages of using a keyword rich domain.

Advantages

- The first obvious advantage of using a keyword rich domain is that it will allow you to rank very quickly for the keyword contained in your domain

- Keyword rich domains can show that a site is very relevant to the particular niche so it may encourage a higher click through rate. Also, as keywords used in search queries show in bold, your domain name will catch the searchers eye

- Because the keyword is contained in your domain, it is more likely that when people link to your site the link will contain your target keyword as the anchor text, even if it’s a naked link*

- A keyword rich domain may be easier to remember so it could also increase the amount of direct traffic coming to your site

Disadvantages

- Keyword rich domains may pigeon hole your site and reduce click through rate if searchers are not looking specifically for your target niche

- Keyword rich domains may provide short term gains, however, in the long term it may be better to build a brand

- If search results continue to be low quality due to keyword rich domains Google may reduce the amount of benefit given to such sites

- Because so many people use keyword rich domains to spam, many users get put off by them as they appear spammy.

Verdict

Keyword rich domains definitely provide short term wins. If you can find a profitable niche with low to medium competition a keyword rich domain can be a quick way to achieve a first page ranking. However, if you are looking to build a brand and focus on multiple different markets it might be a better idea to choose a domain name that is unique to your business.

To get the best of both worlds you could always start off with a keyword rich domain, capitalise on the benefits that this brings and then some time in the future buy your branded domain and do a 301 redirect from your keyword rich domain to your new domain.

This solution may bring a drop in your rankings due to your site no longer having a keyword rich domain, but at least your new site will have some authority passed to it, and it will be much easier to build on that authority.