Here’s what experts in the field of domain search have to say about the importance of exact search terms:
Exact match domains slay the search engines and have improved performance over 2011. So it’s a natural fit to get a geo-domain to target local customers, as it can be an exact match for a lucrative term that may bring a steady stream of highly-targeted customers. Exact match domain names seem to be ranking better and appearing more often.
There are certainly many other uses for geo-domains, and in general the cat’s been out of the bag for some time on the values of them in the domain world. That said, the offline business world is starting to wake up to the benefits of geo-domains, so it appears they’re destined to continue their rise in value and popularity.
Google and Bing emphasize exact match domains.
Key words in domain names offer benefits to search rankings. Expect more of your long tail content to rank for relevant queries.
~Google’s Matt Cutts.
It is common practice for search engines to use the domain as a feature in ranking. Indeed, past work has recognized the importance of domains in web search.
~Domain Bias in Web Search
Academic paper by Microsoft and Stanford University, 2011
Microsoft found out that domain names do in fact matter greatly because users are more likely to believe the content is related to their search if the company has a relevant domain name.
Exact match [search term] domains have always had an intrinsic value that non-matching domains lacked, which is that people often link to websites using only the domain names as anchor text. It should have been obvious to everyone that the link anchor text was helping the exact match domains.
~Inside Search: The official Google Search blog
Google adwords has determined that exact search term or keyword domains perform better in click-thrus.
You want to use search engine optimization on a local level and use keywords that represent your local demographic area. For example if you’re a dentist located in Brooklyn, New York, then you want to research and think about using keywords within your website that your local customers would be typing into Google. For example “dentists in Brooklyn,” Brooklyn, NY dentist, etc. This will allow you to capture buyers in your local area who need a dentist because most of the time when people search locally for a product or service, they are looking to purchase.
What you don’t know about online marketing, about getting listed in directories, about the demise of the printed Yellow Pages, and the rise of online local searches, can hurt you.
~GetListed.org Local University
A series of Search Engine Optimization seminars for small business owners
Clearly, investing in exact match domains is one of the best decisions someone can make. The potential to attract and convert highly targeted traffic is very high; you cannot possibly go wrong.
A crucial factor to business success is their domain name’s effectiveness in allowing users to find and remember them, and there’s no reason for a business to settle for anything other than an “ideal domain name.”
~Craig Snyder
General Manager, Moniker.com
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