Does An Exact Match Domain Still Help with SEO?

Nov 02, 2020

Choosing a domain for your website or business has always been important and crucial. You may also get confused about the exact match domain and partial match domain. In this article, we will discuss the exact match domain and its impacts on the search engine ranking and SEO. So, let's get started:

What is an exact match domain?

The exact match domain is the domain that consists of the exact keyword in the URL. For example, golfballs.com, golfsticks.com, etc if the keyword is golf balls or golf sticks respectively.

Does an exact match domain impact SEO?

Exacts match domain when chosen properly can surely help to boost the traffic and rankings in the search engines. You can also achieve better engagement and conversion rates.

Tips to Choose an Exact Match Domain 

To get an SEO advantage, it is important to choose the website domain name wisely. Here are some tips that will help you to choose an appropriate exact match domain.

Domain Length

Domain length is a ranking factor. When it comes to the exact match domain, the same SEO rule is applicable, which is to not stuff the domain. Try to use one keyword at max in the domain name. Domains names with more than 15 characters are not suitable for ranking in Google and the other search engines.

Adding symbols

It is not recommended to add hyphens, dashes, etc. to the exact match domain. Such characters are not helpful in ranking on search pages. For example, golf-balls.com is not a good domain name. All such mistakes should be avoided as it is considered spam.

Easy to pronounce

Choose the names that are easy to pronounce. You can ask your friends to listen and then choose the one name that is easily understood by the audience. 

Double Letters

Avoid using double letters in the domain. For example, golfballss.com, etc. is not appropriate. Moreover, misspelling and double letters is not a good practice to rank the domain in search engines.

Generic Names

Generic keywords should be used in domains. This will make the website and domain brandable. Avoid using the names having copyright and other company names etc. Moreover, such names are easy to remember, eye-catchy, and friendly to type in.

Use Domain Generators

Domain name generators are also available. You can use domain generators to find the exact match domain for your website. Most of these tools are free, easy to use, and give good and unique domain name ideas.

It is Not All About the Exact Match Domain

Exact match domain ranks 11% more than the branded domain names. Many other things also matter a lot in SEO as Google algorithm is becoming smarter with each passing day. Google also ranks pages by searching latent semantic indexing. Websites other than the exact match domain can also rank on Google.

Other SEO Factors
 
Other things that you should consider while choosing a domain are given below. With the help of these, you can rank a website more precisely in Google.

1. Avoid keyword stuffing as it is considered spam.
2. Add social signals and it is a ranking factor.
3. Use optimized images.
4. The website and page speed should be good.
5. Quality backlinks for ranking a website.
6. Domain age is also a ranking factor.
7. Content Quality and Length should be appropriate
8. Use latent semantic indexing keywords to improve the content quality
9. Use custom themes.

Conclusion

An exact match domain is helpful for ranking websites in search engines. But this is not as simple as it seems. Because the algorithm of Google is becoming smart with each passing day and it also uses different other factors to find out the quality of a website. Therefore, choosing an exact match domain will enhance your website’s chance to rank against a particular keyword in Google but it would still require all the other SEO factors to be put in place in order to grow its presence online. Choose Serversea Hosting to buy a domain that is an exact match for your website.