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Google’s On Domain Name Selection: Branding Over Keywords

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Summary

Google's Search Relations Team advises that domain name selection should prioritize long-term branding over keyword-centric SEO strategies. Keywords in domain names don't impact Google search engine rankings, but may influence user behavior. The team suggests that incorporating keywords in domain names should be a business decision, rather than an SEO strategy, and to focus on long-term branding.

Q&As

What does Google's Search Relations Team advise regarding domain name selection?
Google's Search Relations Team advises that domain name choices should prioritize long-term branding over keyword-centric SEO strategies.

Does the presence of keywords in a domain name impact Google search rankings?
No, keywords in domain names don't impact Google search rankings.

What role do dashes and exact match domains play in search engine rankings?
From a search engine perspective, whether a dash is present in the domain name doesn't matter.

What is the long-term implications of choosing domain names?
The long-term implications of choosing domain names is to focus more on the brand than the keywords.

What is Google's podcast recommendation for best practices regarding domain name selection?
Google's podcast recommendation for best practices regarding domain name selection is to check out the full episode of Google's podcast.

AI Comments

👍 This article provides great advice from Google's Search Relations Team on how to choose an effective domain name. It's great to see advice from experts on how best to brand your website and ensure long-term success.

👎 The article doesn't provide clear advice on how to incorporate keywords into domain names. It may be better to look elsewhere for advice on this topic if you're interested in incorporating keywords into your domain name.

AI Discussion

Me: It's about Google's advice on domain name selection. They say that it should prioritize long-term branding over keyword-centric SEO strategies, and that keywords in domain names don't impact Google search rankings.

Friend: Interesting. That's a big shift from the way website owners and SEO practitioners have traditionally thought about domain names.

Me: Yeah, it is. It means that website owners should be focusing more on branding than trying to game the search engine rankings. It also means that having relevant keywords in the domain name may influence user behavior, but won't help with ranking.

Friend: That's definitely something to consider for website owners. It also emphasizes the importance of choosing a domain name that is easy to remember and promotes a long-term brand identity.

Action items

Research the best practices for domain name selection and consider long-term branding when selecting a domain name.
Consider the user experience when selecting a domain name and consider if the presence of dashes or exact match domains would make a difference.
Monitor the evolution of your website and consider if the domain name you have chosen is still relevant to the products or services you are offering.

Technical terms

Domain Name: A domain name is a unique name that identifies a website or other online resource.
Keywords: Keywords are words or phrases that describe the content of a website or web page.
SEO: SEO stands for search engine optimization, which is the process of optimizing a website or web page to increase its visibility in search engine results.
User Behavior: User behavior is the way in which users interact with a website or web page.
Exact Match Domains: Exact match domains are domain names that contain the exact keyword phrase that a user is searching for.
Branding: Branding is the process of creating a unique identity for a product, service, or company.