Page 3 - How important is a domain name in SEO?

MadisonSEO:


Okay, I will say it, owning engagementrings.net does not give you a SEO ranking advantage.

Where do you rank on your keywords "engagement rings?" I don't see you anywhere in Google, Live or even Yahoo.

I partnered with the owner a month or two ago, I am finishing up other projects first. But when I am up there I'll be sure to PM you. I have not started any optimization.

Take another look at Live.com, I have two rankings in the top 10 engagementrings dot nu and engagement - rings dot com.

PS to really prove my point, with engagement - rings dot com I have done nothing but maybe a few crappy back links. Granted it is Live.com though...lol.

You said that a KID was a big advantage. You also said you could get it to show up in 30 days. You are the one making claims here that you cannot even substantiate.

I don't care if you can prove that you can rank for the terms "engagement rings." As you are admitting, it will have basically nothing to do with the keywords in your domain name and everything to do with links.

If I wanted to, I could outrank your site for "engagement rings" with www.madisonseodoesntgetit.com.

The problem isn't that you found success... the problem is that you base that success on the domain name...

...and in that the domain name isn't worth much - it will "help" but to say an "advantage" well so will 1 more link and a southly released fart.

Take your 3 million dollar successful website and do it on 437dmkfg9843wtrft5.com and have the same genuine attitude about nonsense domains as you have about keyword domains and you make the exact same returns of 3 million dollars.

If you believe in something you can usually make it work... and no one can shake your convictions... but it doesn't make that "the correct way" to do something and it certainly can't be reproduce by others unless they share your genuine convictions.

The domain name doesn't make or prevent people from clicking and it doesn't make or prevent people from buying - so your only argument is that is makes getting links easier...

Actually all you're saying is it can help make getting 1 specific phrase or word easier (rank-wise).

...and no success strategy is built on a single phrase.

...and as every other brand-based website build an empire with SEO merits in mind they will all beat you because - better strategies are not based solely on the company name...

If you decide to post a rebuttal of "I didn't say don't have great content or I didn't say don't use other best practices..." actually you did...

You said the domain name is a "BIG ADVANTAGE" not great content, not links in general, etc. and getting links isn't as easy as HAVE DOMAIN NAME - WE'LL LINK!

Yes it CAN HELP - but it doesn't all the time "JUST OPEN UP KEYWORD" box and 3 million dollars or half the time or even a quarter of a time... for everything 3 million dollar successful keyword domain there is... how many keyword domain names are unsuccessful?

I've bought a few hundred expired (keyword domain) ones... surely these aren't your success stories...

Show me even a 20% success rate... then come back and play with the big boys.

You're LYING to youself and to the membership if you think the domain name had any bearing on gaining links, getting better link anchors, or better ranks... and that's why you caught my -25 disagreement...

I also hand out +50s like penny candy when you say something that actually makes sense.

properly formatted URL's -- what do you mean by that?? (im brand new to SEO)

MadisonSEO... I advise that unless you have empirical data to back up what you claim to be true that you use the ever famous... IMHO... before making claims that are only opinion based.

Also, you are developing a habit of giving me negative rep (twice in this thread alone)... I have never given you negative rep when I disagree with you... Would you like me to start returning the negative rep to you at 20-25 points a pop?

I have listened to everyone’s views and my view and experience is key words in your domain will help when ranking slightly and you probably can make some good money from keywords in the domain. Taking everything into account if you have a good idea I don’t think it maters what domain name you have because people will link to you no mater what and you may make mega money e.g youtube

I never took any points.

True... Truce!!

...and he never made 3 million dollars on affiliate programs... suppose you can make a greasing deal and be even.

Why not hand Jon say $100K and ask for your rep to be hand tweaked to 500 and then slam everyone you don't like with -250 rep...

Honestly "IF" you made 3 million don't you think that 3 million had something more to do with your MSN/Yahoo but no where in Google successes.

It's baffles me why you don't invest in better SEO for Google -- if you made 3 million from Yahoo and MSN surely you can see your lame *** strategy doesn't work for Google and that would put 6-8 additional million in your pocket.

...and you dribble about a few rep points... you don't sound like a millionaire? You sound like you're lying.

Fathom, I actually see your point -- to a point. Yes by my own admission I do use good linking strategies, content, and other on page optimization on all my sites I try to rank.

However, I mentioned engagement - rings .com popped up into the top ten of MSN.com just after I threw a template up. It has 69 very mediocre to "not great" links. How does this happen? "Engagement Rings" is quite a competitive keyword in a field of players with big budgets.

However, to be honest, I have always noticed much more immediate success with KIDs in easier SE's like MSN and Yahoo, not so much with Google, at least at first, which could just mean Google's only concentrating on my on and off page optimization once it decides to rank me.

Also Fathom - What does this mean exactly? --- "
Show me even a 20% success rate... then come back and play with the big boys."

More detail and I'll see what I can do about proving things.

And evmikna,

"If I wanted to, I could outrank your site for "engagement rings" with www.madisonseodoesntgetit.com."

I would LOVE to take you on your offer. Let me know when to get started. Heck, lets put some money on it too


As I mentioned before, this thread is beat to death simply because now I'm ganged up on, and those that are in agreement with me probably don't want to get involved with the rep power and minor abuse I'm facing...lol

Again, Fathom, you made some good points and took the time to explain them, thank you for that, instead of just taking 25 points from me again (then again maybe you would have had this been on another thread so you were able).

Your point here ---

"Actually all you're saying is it can help make getting 1 specific phrase or word easier (rank-wise).

...and no success strategy is built on a single phrase."

--- I agree with the first part, I disagree with the second. Maybe its my former "black hat" roots but, many times I use a domain with a goal to only achieve ranking for one Major KW, anything above and beyond is just a perk. I have had great success doing things this way. I also truly believe that I could get more SE traffic with five "Keyword.com" domains in the jewelry business, than one domain with five times the links of each of those like JewelryDepot dot com or something.

I do have a few domains I plan to try to get ranking for all of the keywords I'm after. Domains that will and can be branded and do not contain keywords in them. Maybe I will prove my self wrong, who knows, but at this point in my SEO career, I have done better with KIDs than without. I should also maybe change my term KIDs to OKIDs (Only Keyword In Domain). Generally this was what I was talking about aside from when I mentioned adding one general word like "shop" or "online" as second choice if the OKID was not available.

And please, Note my Avatar, because it's now going to be a disclaimer.