Should I use an Exact Match Domain or a Brand Domain for a new website that I'm about to build?

[homeriscool]

25 letters is too long for me, go for branded domain

Yes, it is a bit, isn't it.....

I remember reading that a domain shouldn't be any longer than 16 letters long... maybe that's true.

 

[Beklink]

Yes, it is a bit, isn't it.....

I remember reading that a domain shouldn't be any longer than 16 letters long... maybe that's true.

I mean, if you are targeting long-tail KWs for your blog posts, Google will hide your site title/domain if its too long. How many characters would your branded domain be?

 

[homeriscool]

I mean, if you are targeting long-tail KWs for your blog posts, Google will hide your site title/domain if its too long. How many characters would your branded domain be?

Branded domain would be 11 characters (2 words)

 

[SEO Sparton]

I would go with the branded domain for all long term projects.

Even though an exact match domain has relevance, this does not mean that it will be easy to rank.

 

[elysiariddle]

I’ve run both. EMDs can give you a nice head start when the keyword is very specific, but I’ve seen brand domains age much better once you start expanding into related topics, products, and building links beyond the original keyword.

 

[homeriscool]

I’ve run both. EMDs can give you a nice head start when the keyword is very specific, but I’ve seen brand domains age much better once you start expanding into related topics, products, and building links beyond the original keyword.

This is great feedback - thanks

 

[sisabov]

Hi all, I just want to know your thoughts about building a new niche website on an exact-match domain versus building on a branded domain?

The exact match domain has 3 keywords in it.

The brand domain has 2 words.

Do you think the exact-match domain will make SEO easier?

Or do you think people prefer branded domains?

imo for the longer run a branded website will do better than the exact match one. though an exact match site may look more relevant it does not mean that ranking becomes easy for them as well. a branded website can be easily exppanded in different fields as well.

 

[gregstereo]

I’d go with the branded domain. An exact-match domain can give some initial relevance, but it doesn’t make SEO automatically easier. A brandable domain gives you more flexibility to expand the site.

 

[homeriscool]

Brand. Three keywords is where it starts to hurt.

Two-word EMDs still read like normal businesses. Something like citycarpets.com is fine, nobody thinks twice. Three keywords in a row start sounding like a doorway page, and that's a problem with people before it's a problem with Google.

The ranking edge mostly went years ago anyway. Google ran an update aimed at low quality exact match domains and whatever survived is too small to decide anything.

What actually costs you is later. A brand lets you expand into whatever you add next year. An EMD locks you into the three words you picked at the start, and if you ever sell the site, the brand is worth more.

Links too. People link to names. Nobody's sending a mate a link to bestcheapemergencyplumbers.com without a small apology attached.

Keywords still work in titles and content. That's where to put them.

To quote your example of a good or bad exact match domain.....

How would this look to you - newyorkcitycarpets.com

or kentuckykitcheninstallations.com

 

[sharifawan]

To quote your example of a good or bad exact match domain.....

How would this look to you - newyorkcitycarpets.com

or kentuckykitcheninstallations.com

Both of those are fine, and honestly they're not the case I was warning about.

Place plus service is how actual businesses get named. Kentucky Kitchen Installations sounds like a company someone registered in 1998. Nobody reads that and thinks doorway page.

What trips is stacking modifiers instead of a place. bestcheapkitcheninstallers.com is the same length and lands completely differently, because best and cheap aren't part of a name, they're search terms someone bolted on.

So it's less about word count and more about whether those words would go on a van. Place, name and service all pass. Superlatives don't.

Two small things. Newyorkcitycarpets is a bit of an awkward read, since city is doing double duty and you have to work out if it's New York City Carpets or New York City-Carpets. Say it out loud before you commit to it.

And with a place in the domain, what bites is later. Kentucky Kitchen Installations is a great name right up until you're taking work in Ohio.

 

[SEOForger]

Hi all, I just want to know your thoughts about building a new niche website on an exact-match domain versus building on a branded domain?

The exact match domain has 3 keywords in it.

The brand domain has 2 words.

Do you think the exact-match domain will make SEO easier?

Or do you think people prefer branded domains?

I feel one should lean toward the branded domain. An exact-match domain can help with relevance and user expectations, but it doesn’t automatically make ranking easier. Google relies much more on content quality, topical authority, links, and overall site trust.

 

[homeriscool]

Both of those are fine, and honestly they're not the case I was warning about.

Place plus service is how actual businesses get named. Kentucky Kitchen Installations sounds like a company someone registered in 1998. Nobody reads that and thinks doorway page.

What trips is stacking modifiers instead of a place. bestcheapkitcheninstallers.com is the same length and lands completely differently, because best and cheap aren't part of a name, they're search terms someone bolted on.

So it's less about word count and more about whether those words would go on a van. Place, name and service all pass. Superlatives don't.

Two small things. Newyorkcitycarpets is a bit of an awkward read, since city is doing double duty and you have to work out if it's New York City Carpets or New York City-Carpets. Say it out loud before you commit to it.

And with a place in the domain, what bites is later. Kentucky Kitchen Installations is a great name right up until you're taking work in Ohio.

Ok, it seems you have the same perspective as me with the EMD domains then.....

Basically, they are ok if they look and sound like a brand name instead of a spammy EMD (which do look crap)

I have an EMD which has an easy keyword difficulty and decent search volume.

And sounds brandable.

Only negative is the length.... (25 characters )

Example: fridgefreezerrepairs.com

(Thats a bit shorter than mine) but its a good comparison to what I have.....

 

[BlackShield]

Hi all, I just want to know your thoughts about building a new niche website on an exact-match domain versus building on a branded domain?

The exact match domain has 3 keywords in it.

The brand domain has 2 words.

Do you think the exact-match domain will make SEO easier?

Or do you think people prefer branded domains?

I'd personally choose the brand domain unless the EMD is a perfect, natural fit for the business. Google does consider words in a domain, but specifically has a system to prevent EMDs from getting too much ranking credit.
For a long-term project, I'd rather build a memorable brand and let the content, relevance, links and authority do the SEO work