There has been much debate over the last few years on whether exact match domains help the owner to rank in the search engine ranking positions (SERPs) for a keyword term.

The owners of the exact match domains vehemently defend their asset value by claiming that historically the search engine algorithms give a weighting towards them. However looking at the largest websites from Alexa ie: Google, Facebook, Youtube and Yahoo which are all branded domains, which type of domain is best to develop?

Before we go into the best types of domains it is important that we clearly identify each type of domain.

What is an Exact Match Domain?
An exact match keyword domain name is a domain that has the name of a specific keyword that the owner wants to target. So for example if you wanted to target the keyword “Grinder Tool” then the domain would be www.grindertool.com.
Domainers historically purchased these domains for the following reasons:

• People browsing the web type in the specific keyword and add a .com at the end and they will automatically come straight to the owners website or parked page.
• The keyword that is being searched through the search engines is in the domain url which historically has ranked higher in the search engines.
• Generally people will click on a domain found in the search engines that has the exact url that they are searching. This increases the CTR (Click Through Rate) of the advertisement or listing in the search engines which is a signal to the search engines that the site is a relevant resource for that keyword and in turn increases the ranking position of the site.

What is a Brand Domain?
A brand domain is a domain name of a business name or brand of a product or service that is provided. A good example of a brand is Zumba. The keyword for Zumba would be fitness exercise, dance exercise, latin dance etc. The owner of the brand conducts various marketing strategies to meet their business plan which would invariably mean owning the off and online branding rights. These domains generally are hand registered as a domainer owning a domain of another business brand will certainly lead to certain legal action being taken.

Businesses generally purchase these domain names for:

• Brand awareness
• As an online sales strategy
• Providing product and consumer information and promotion

So which type of domain is right for you?

If you are looking for speed to market and gaining maximum impact on a low budget then the exact match domain is the winner hands down. Generally these domains can be picked up in the aftermarket with historical aging, backlinks and page rank attached. The time it takes you to secure quality content is the time it would take you to become ranked well in the search engines.

If you are taking a medium to long term view, with a decent marketing budget with the gaol being customer loyalty for your products and/or services then investing in a brand and building up the search for that brand is probably the right decision. Making sure that your brand is reflective or corresponding with a high traffic keyword is key to your initial success. If not then a lot of time and effort will be required to become successful.
Below is a video by Matt Cutts (Google) discussing that owning an exact match domain or a brand domain is generally up to your own specific requirements.

Domainers have to be right about their point of view. If the search algorithms are changed in relation to their exact match domain inventory then they could potentially be sitting on inventory that in the short term may not be sellable. However from the above video this is an unlikely scenario. From a brand domain perspective, if your business has the luxury of time (which is a rarity these days) then a brand domain is definitely for you. Maybe the solution is for businesses to acquire a portfolio combining both brand and exact match domains that would be meet the short to long term goals and provide the best solution for all parties.

If you want find out how to buy a domain name easily and quickly check out Protrada – The Domain Exchange

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