Do domain names play a role in the ranking?

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sarvan

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I'm seeing a site named, something like labradordogss.com ranking for articles about pugs
  1. Is this fine in google's eyes?
  2. Would users prefer clicking on this site for articles about pugs?
  3. Would I be able to rank articles about lions on a domain like 'elephantexplore'
Sorry for asking too many questions
1f605.png
but I feel pretty confused
 
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Try to choose a domain name that is short, easy to remember and type, and easy to pronounce. These are very useful in increasing the domain advertising potential,
In recent years, Google has made changes to its search algorithm, greatly reducing domain name priority. Having a good keyword in the domain is still important, but it can make Google more strict when reviewing your site. So use the domain keywords in a very sensible way.
 
sarvan said:
I'm seeing a site named, something like labradordogss.com ranking for articles about pugs
  1. Is this fine in google's eyes?
  2. Would users prefer clicking on this site for articles about pugs?
  3. Would I be able to rank articles about lions on a domain like 'elephantexplore'
Sorry for asking too many questions
1f605.png
but I feel pretty confused
Click to expand...
I'm glad you asked these questions. Because it intrigues the best in business.

What would Google think of a website that sort of misguides visitors with irrelevant domain names?

Let me try to answer them for you.

1. Google mostly doesn't care about your domain name anymore.
2. Of course not.
3. Yes, I think you can. I have been able to do something similar with my limited knowledge.

Your second question is particularly interesting.

With a misleading domain name, a website will have a below-par CTR on search results, which in turn will discourage Google from ranking it well.

That means, although the domain name may not have a direct influence on SEO, it can definitely have an indirect one.

Anybody is welcome to correct me if I'm wrong.
 
The only domains type to get an advantage in SERPs are the EMDs, basically confusing google over brand search rather than a keyword search,
Other than that, domain names don't have any kind of direct influence on the SERPs, so in your example, the only thing that does matter is the website itself (content & links),
On the other hand, such names can slightly influence the CTR which would affect your ranking, but it's not something that you should really worry about
 
nYXem said:
I'm glad you asked these questions. Because it intrigues the best in business.

What would Google think of a website that sort of misguides visitors with irrelevant domain names?

Let me try to answer them for you.

1. Google mostly doesn't care about your domain name anymore.
2. Of course not.
3. Yes, I think you can. I have been able to do something similar with my limited knowledge.

Your second question is particularly interesting.

With a misleading domain name, a website will have a below-par CTR on search results, which in turn will discourage Google from ranking it well.

That means, although the domain name may not have a direct influence on SEO, it can definitely have an indirect one.

Anybody is welcome to correct me if I'm wrong.
Click to expand...
Most users see the Title and then click on the website (on mobile) the website name is tiny enough to blind a non tech savvy person. People like you and me might notice the Domain name but think from POV of a non IM person, will helookat the domain name or the title (more precisely)?
 
For google ranking yes keyword for domain work. And for brand authority unique brand name
 
sarvan said:
I'm seeing a site named, something like labradordogss.com ranking for articles about pugs
  1. Is this fine in google's eyes?
  2. Would users prefer clicking on this site for articles about pugs?
  3. Would I be able to rank articles about lions on a domain like 'elephantexplore'
Sorry for asking too many questions
1f605.png
but I feel pretty confused
Click to expand...

Google's been ranking sites based on user behavior. They're tracking users all over. So you'd expect pugs and labs to attract the same kind of user behavior. The topic itself is compatible too far as LSI goes. So it all makes sense that this site would rank. Specifically tho can't really say why it's ranking, could be 100's of factors.
 
I have believed for the last decade that the top TLD's rank better.
Until recently, competition with strange domain endings outranked me.
 
dank_chocolate said:
Most users see the Title and then click on the website (on mobile) the website name is tiny enough to blind a non tech savvy person. People like you and me might notice the Domain name but think from POV of a non IM person, will helookat the domain name or the title (more precisely)?
Click to expand...
Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking. I believe most people look at the title and decide whether to click or not. The ones looking at the domain name to do so are far less
 
nYXem said:
I'm glad you asked these questions. Because it intrigues the best in business.

What would Google think of a website that sort of misguides visitors with irrelevant domain names?

Let me try to answer them for you.

1. Google mostly doesn't care about your domain name anymore.
2. Of course not.
3. Yes, I think you can. I have been able to do something similar with my limited knowledge.

Your second question is particularly interesting.

With a misleading domain name, a website will have a below-par CTR on search results, which in turn will discourage Google from ranking it well.

That means, although the domain name may not have a direct influence on SEO, it can definitely have an indirect one.

Anybody is welcome to correct me if I'm wrong.
Click to expand...
Thanks for answering! Don't you think most people look at the title and decide whether to click or not? The ones looking at the domain name to do so are far less, I believe
 
sarvan said:
Thanks for answering! Don't you think most people look at the title and decide whether to click or not? The ones looking at the domain name to do so are far less, I believe
Click to expand...

There is a difference about user perception and G rankings.
The user may click on the URL just for the name and it may help (the clicks) on Google rankings, but on its own, it doesn't matters for G rankings.
 
sarvan said:
I'm seeing a site named, something like labradordogss.com ranking for articles about pugs
  1. Is this fine in google's eyes?
  2. Would users prefer clicking on this site for articles about pugs?
  3. Would I be able to rank articles about lions on a domain like 'elephantexplore'
Sorry for asking too many questions
1f605.png
but I feel pretty confused
Click to expand...


i just did a search for : "where to buy golden retrievers in florida"
majority of the sites in the first 2 pages, have the word dog or retriever in the domain name. so that should tell you something.

I prefer to go with a site that has the primary purpose of the site in the domain name. it tells me that its core business is about that keyword.
 
dank_chocolate said:
Most users see the Title and then click on the website (on mobile) the website name is tiny enough to blind a non tech savvy person. People like you and me might notice the Domain name but think from POV of a non IM person, will helookat the domain name or the title (more precisely)?
Click to expand...
You have a point. But I precisely meant those people who did notice that the domain name is a little different from what they are looking for.

I agree that most normal users will tend to look just at the title and not the URL. But remember, search engines show the web page link in the search results (very prominently) for a reason. They want you to see it. You = tech savvy users + normal users.

Else, they could have just relied on the tech-savvy crowd to hover on a search result and check the URL from the browser's footer.

The point I'm trying to make here is, while the domain name may not be an SEO factor, it definitely a branding factor.

Hence,

Brandable / context-specific / relevant domain name = better click-through rate ~ somewhat better SEO results

However, this is just my opinion. There's a chance I may be wrong.
sarvan said:
Thanks for answering! Don't you think most people look at the title and decide whether to click or not? The ones looking at the domain name to do so are far less, I believe
Click to expand...
Not a problem. The answer to your question is the same as above.
 
Back in the day, it used to.

EMD (Exact match domains) used to be a thing, but not anymore.

I would suggest that if you looking to build a long-term website that you're gonna invest a lot of time, effort, and energy in, focus on something brandable.

It may not have a keyword that is related to your niche, but it wouldn't matter.

What's important is that it stands out, it's easy to remember, and it's hard to mispronounce.

If you promote on social media and you've developed enough of an organic community around your content, you can actually promote your site through citation marketing.

Put simply, you're not gonna post the actual, clickable domain name. Instead, you're just gonna say the name.

And if you play your cards right and share your content enough that people associate it with your citation name, you end up strengthening your brand.

At the end of the day, it's the experience people have when they read your content and take action on it that establishes your brand, and not necessarily the domain name itself.
 
Proof that google is not as smart as people think.
 
Yes, it plays a huge role in branding and thus in ranking. If you see 2 search results for the term "weight loss by walking" containing sites: "healthhub.com" and "howtoloseweightbywalking.club," your lazy brain will prefer the first. Google uses these stats to rank the first site.
 
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