Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
Avoid Keyword in New Domain Name?
-
We are looking to rebrand our domain name. Our existing domain is www.nyc-officespace-leader.com.
We own www.metro-manhattan.com and were hoping to use this domain. The company name is Metro Manhattan Office Space, Inc.
Is the fact that the new domain contains "Manhattan" a negative? I know that the fact that it has a hyphen is weak.
Manhattan is part of such keywords as "Manhattan office space". Regarding the company name, is the fact that it contains the target phrase "Manhattan office space" bad? Our company name may sound like exact match anchor text and I am not sure what to do about this if anything. I would really prefer to keep our name but it is necessary to change it to improve SEO we will do so. Would it be better to change to a new name like "Integrity Real Estate" which does not contain target phrases or keywords ("real estate" is not a major target phrase as it is to generic) ? Or how something like www.mmos.com for the domain and leave the company name alone?
How would I go about finding a company that would assist is in creating an SEO friendly domain name and perhaps a new corporate name if necessary?
Thanks, Alan
-
I _really _doubt that you'd see any negative effects from having one hyphen in the domain name. Google is trying to discourage domains like www.best-office-space-in-nyc-new-york.com—that is, spammy, keyword-stuffed domains. Of course, I can't make any guarantees on that, but I'd be pretty surprised if that one hyphen caused any noticeable trouble.
That said, you may want to just check on the domain sans-hyphen, if only so you can sleep a little better.
-
Hi Matt:
That makes sense. Regarding competition from domains such as mta.info we are targeting a completely different set of keywords relating to office space and commercial real estate in Manhattan, so I would think that we would not have to worry about competing with them.
On another note, do you think that having one hyphen in the domain harms us from an SEO perspective? I understand that visitors might have more difficulty in remembering the domain and returning, however I wonder if there is a direct effect on ranking.
Not sure if the domain without hyphens is available and we already own metro-manhattan.
Thanks, Alan
-
I wouldn't worry too much about the TLD.
Honestly, having an exact-match domain is really only an issue when it's part of an over-optimization or spam issue—if the brand name is "Metro Manhattan Office Space, Inc." then metro-manhattan.com seems like a perfectly reasonable domain name. I sincerely doubt that you'd see any negative effect.
Of course, you'll need to keep in mind that you'll have a lot of competition on the SERPs, including from sites like mta.info (DA 88).
Make sense?
-
Hi there
King - if you're looking for a company to assist you in the domain name of your website, check out the Recommended List from Moz. There are a ton of great companies in that list.
While I will say that I still do not agree in making your domain keyword heavy (preferably sticking to brand and business name), I must say that you are asking a pretty loaded question for the Q+A section, as naming or renaming a business is something that is conversation for you and your team outside of Moz; it's not a question for strangers that have nothing to do with your business and how it functions - be careful!
To me, www.mmos.com seems totally fine - as long as your market the website name as such and are consistent in your business listings and citations. Again, as far as renaming, that's a question I do not want to touch, personally.
Hope this all helps! Good luck!
-
Hi Sandi:
Thanks for your response!!
Our niche (commercial real estate) is competitive and the most obvious/best domain names are taken. Whether it is best to use a keyword phrase in the domain seems unclear. Not sure if one desirable word (like "Manhattan" in our case) would be a plus. Not certain the effect of an actual phrase like "Manhattan office space". I have heard that now a days a competitive phrase in a domain is a ranking minus.
Many of our competitors (regus.com, 42floors.com) do not use any keyword in their domain. But they also have a massive advertising and SEO budget to build links and create brand recognition. As a small firm I don't have that budget.
There is also a question about how brand names will appear in anchor text and if that anchor text then appears more like a money term or a brand.
In terms of domains, choices would be greater if we use a non.com domain. But I don't know how Google would view this. We also have the option of getting a ".NYC" domain (we are in New York City) but not certain if this would be a ranking plus.
-
Having your targeted keyword in the domain is highly recommended but not the only deciding factor in SEO rankings. As long as you have a good Branding and relevant, fresh content on the website, build up your social media profiles - not having the keyword in domain name should not impact you too much.
Personally I would opt for something that is a bit shorter so its easy to remember, punchy in print media/business cards and reduces user error if they are trying to go to your site by typing in the URL after seeing it somewhere.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Why not just use an alias if the only change is a different domain Name?
We are rebranding our store with a new name. We have purchased a NewDomainName. Can I just make the "Old Domain Name" an alias for the "NewDomainName"? The site will not change in any other way than having a new logo. This is an e-commerce site with over 100 categories of artisan made products. So once we move the site, the old domain will be empty. Thank you Stephen
Branding | | stephenfishman1 -
When Company names confuse search
I am currently perplexed over a client's search results. They are an established company and well known in their field. (Unfortunately, I am not comfortable providing a link or their name.) The company is a consulting firm and let's assume it is an accounting firm, which it is not. When you search on BSC Accounting the results give them the first result but the next 18 results are around education - BSc Accounting. Consider the DA on the site is 34 and the PA for homepage is 39. Is there a chance that when someone is searching on accounting firms that having the BSC in the name skews what they are able to rank for? Forget about searches for their exact name, I am more interested in thoughts as to how the BSC effects general searches for their specialties.
Branding | | RobertFisher1 -
Negative Keywords for SEO
Hi Mozzers, I have a client that has a totally legit retail business and they are getting lots of traffic organically that is adult in nature and totally off subject. The reason for this is their domain name contains keywords which while work well for their brand, when reordered and couple with a another keyword (such as picture or image) they get traffic for searches that have nothing to do with them and are pretty awful in nature. If this was Adwords I'd add a negative in of course but how can I stop bad traffic coming to the site organically? Any ideas? Cheers B 🙂
Branding | | Bush_JSM0 -
Wikipedia and Domain Authority?
Hi there, my company is an online publisher of Theater news and reviews. We also sell theater tickets. We presently don't have a Wikipedia page. Would creating one generally help our search rankings?
Branding | | TheaterMania0 -
Should your homepage target your most important keyword?
I was looking at the title tags/keywords of the top ranking sites for my most important keyword phrase, and I noticed all the pages that were beating us were homepages. Our homepage is not optimized at all. It's very generic, because 1, my boss wanted it that way, (but she's not married to it) and 2, I built out landing pages for all our keywords. For the really, really competitive keywords, I can't get my landing pages high enough. My homepage however, according to OSE, is on par with the other sites, especially the page. I included the screenshots of it, just in case, my analysis was way off. But, those are the top 4 sites and I'm on page 3. Here's my questions: Should I optimize my homepage for the keyword phrase, if it's our most important one? If I do that, what should I do with the landing pages? Lastly, if you look at the screenshots, is my analysis correct that we aren't woefully behind all four of these people (we're kempruge.com)? I know I'm asking on a lot on this one, but it's a pretty big decision for us. I could really use the help making sure it's the right one. Your time is much appreciated, Ruben voVxURN fwoVUBE aKWJQ4E
Branding | | KempRugeLawGroup0 -
How to improve the quality score (QS) when bidding on competitor brand names in Google Adwords?
Hi, I have researched few sites on this topic and I could see that the competitor keyword should match with the add text relevance, landing page relevance and CTR. Any other factors more to be included to improve the quality score? Reference: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2285536/Google-Updates-How-AdWords-Quality-Score-is-Reported
Branding | | zco_seo0 -
Domain name with a hyphen
I am looking at starting a brand new website and purchasing a domain to see my hair product. My question is that domain i am wanting to purchase if a 2 word .com domain but it is not being currently used and it is up for auction for 10K. I am looking a purchasing a domain name that is the same 2 words but a has a hyphen between the 2 works. My assumption is that if I start building content, concentrating on seo (keywords, link building, etc) and brand building that I should not have any problems with my hyphen in the domain. I am looking for feedback and insight from the SEO professionals! Thank you guys in advance. UPDATED 1-29-13 Here is the scenario and I am looking on how you would handle it. **name = my brand name I am looking to purchase a domain within the year: namehair.com I currently am using: namehairbrand.com I have purchased: name-hair.com My concern is if I began my SEO efforts and the brand grows extensively then the person who owns "namehair.com" will raise the price even more than the current price of 10k. I plan on purchasing that domain name within the next 18 months or so and then direct the traffic to the domain "namehair.com". If I put all my efforts into "namehairbrand.com" and then submit to Google that I have changed domains - will I get my butt kicked by Google? Thank you guys - you are really helpful!
Branding | | dsmolinski0 -
Google Displays Domain / URL Above Description?
I am seeing a new SERP format from Google. (new for me at least) In the past the title tag would display as the first line of a listing, followed by description and domain / URL. Today I see the domain / URL as the second line. This is placing an emphasis on "Who". If you have a big brand or a great URL this might be helpful to your CTR. Are you seeing this? What do you think of it?
Branding | | EGOL0
