The Impact of Domain Names on SEO

[CASINO GOD]

Apologies for such a basic question.
Regarding domains, do any of you have unique domain names that evoke thoughts of casinos, like "casino-xx" or "online-casino-yy"?

I'm especially interested in hearing from those who have had success with SEO. Does the domain name genuinely aid in SEO? Alternatively, for those of you achieving good results without unique domain names, could you share what has been beneficial in your experience, within what you're comfortable revealing?

[universal4]

Read more about EMD (Exact Match Domains).

While it does have some affect to a degree, the boost is not as strong as it was years ago.

Rick
Universal4

[chaumi]

I saw a test (carried out by a highly respected source) a couple of years back that showed/proved that an exact match domain (or a domain with keywords in it) performed better that one without (on the same subject, and with equally strong on-point content and structure, links etc). Indeed, that test also showed that a hyphenated keyword domain also performed better than (the same) one without hyphens.

Whether that's still the case, only someone that's done it recently will know. And then, whether it's the same tomorrow or the day after is anyone's guess (because the algorithms can change daily, or in one hit in a major update).

There's some obvious logic to this. Keywords in a URL tell (in addition to the on page content and other markers) a search engine what the page is about. So, theoretically, if you have onlinecasino.com, there is a boost (of some sort, impossible to quantify) that tells the SE it's about online casino. You then build a page onlinecasino.com/bonuses, now that's a marker it's about 'online casino bonuses'.

What real value that boost has is questionable (and certainly that would only have any real value as an addition to on page content that talked with authority about 'online casino bonuses'), but it's very likely still an added positive in the eyes of an algorithm (as well, potentially, as a user's/searchers eyes).

Would it then have an advantage of any sort over xyzxyzxyz.com/ online-casino-bonuses if the content/SE signals were equally strong on both?

Very likely not, I'd suggest. When the algorithm has enough info to know what the page is about, it knows what the page is about.

You will hear from EMD supporters and those that have a totally different view. I think there have been other threads in the past debating the same question. Very difficult to prove either way, too many other factors can influence performance. The EMD lovers (personally, I am one) will always believe they have extra value, the naysayers will always argue against it. Both will have examples that support their belief, but (I think) it would be daft for either one to stand up and say (with any degree of certitude) that the opposing view to theirs is wrong.

[universal4]

Good research chaumi,

I agree doing such tests are very difficult based in some of the following. Were they the same keyword, were the domains/sites created the same day, did they have backlinks from the exact same sources and pages, even if both sites had good and strong content, if the content was not 100% duplicate (obviously you would not want that) one of them might have had a little better content.

Agree that having keywords in the domain can and likely does help a small amount, as long as many other factors are covered. I do think that when it comes to getting a start, online-casino.fake is on a little better footing then xyzxyzxyz.fake.

Interesting about the hyphens, since some folks will jump up and down and say that is the worst thing you can do in a name.

And you are correct we have discussed this quite a number of times over the years.

Rick
Universal4

[robyroy]

Is kind of risky to have an emd domain if you have no strong experience in SEO, because is really easy to over optimize your main kw.
In my experience, is more like to succeed with a strong optimized landing page then an emd. So, forget emd's, find a brandable name and go for it!

[PaulEchere]

Just one thing to add about EMDs (in addition to the things already mentioned) - important to keep in mind that you can really have just one KW in your main domain name. While ranking well for 1 KW may be beneficial, you definitely aren't creating your website for sake of 1 KW (unless you are, that might also be an appropriate approach depending on your goals). Betting everything on being successful with an EMD's main KW might not be worth it, unless it comes at a low cost.

[xecutable]

You will hear from EMD supporters and those that have a totally different view. I think there have been other threads in the past debating the same question. Very difficult to prove either way, too many other factors can influence performance. The EMD lovers (personally, I am one) will always believe they have extra value, the naysayers will always argue against it. Both will have examples that support their belief, but (I think) it would be daft for either one to stand up and say (with any degree of certitude) that the opposing view to theirs is wrong.

Usually those who against them are Google believers that never tested it. Sure a crappy 1 page site wont rank for its EMD, and the whole update was more about that. In the eyes of Google, it still shows relevancy, still has weight in terms of keywords with the supported content, quality and backlinks.

I've never talked to anyone who had a generic non-keyword domain that did well, and then migrated to an EMD or partial MD and did not see positive results, myself included (done it 3 times already). Strictly talking about impressions, clicks, positions.

This is actually the only scenario that can give you an idea for several reasons: you already had traffic, you know to a certain extent where your pages were in the serps. Most of those that argue against those, took brand new sites, that weren't going to perform well regardless of the domain, or go slapped with an algo penalty of some sort and thought and EMD will do its magic like a decade ago and "fix" that.

Btw we are talking about pleasant to the eye domains that are emds, sort of brandable and specify exactly what the site is about like for example idk.. casinocanada or onlineslots you get the idea. Best-casinos-and-slots-online-free-bet .co.uk or something like this obviously is absurd and it's what used to work and if anything those type of domains were what Google was trying to get rid of.

[dannyx]

EMD does not exclude the branded side.
EMD is also a brand, nothing prevents you from running branding such as space theme or hundreds of others, or your own unique branded UX

Any domain will be for nothing if the site is weak.

If the site is unique and great it will do well in many different EMD or branded domains. Although to me this distinction is strange.

It is known immediately someone will say google, microsoft.... but look in smaller businesses, you go for a walk and see an ice cream stall, often the signboard is simply ice cream and not Tropical Delights, at least you immediately know what is there.
With a website even more so, because you can only see the address.

Nowadays there are so many super domain extensions that you can choose a super domain other than com, net and many other already obsolete extensions.

[wonderpunter]

doesnt really matter, it used to but not anymore.. you can be called outlook india and eat every affiliate site for breakfast even if your content is AI sub par

[CASINO GOD]

Hello everyone,

Thank you for the precise advice and answers regarding domain names. Not only did I gain insights about domains, but I also received beneficial advice on SEO. I will definitely take all your input into consideration. Your kindness and expertise are truly appreciated!

[nivlac10]

EMD works tho it might not be as strong as it used to be.

I suggest you can start by selecting a GEO of your liking, start researching the user behaviour in SERPs. Like Thai market is mostly using PromptPay, you may do an EMD like promptpay-casino.com

Prepare a good content and start working your way up within weeks!

People say that SEO is a long-term game but my recent projects have been getting a good amount of clicks within the first month.

Good luck!

[universal4]

Strongly suggest against using registered trademark names of others without written permission, as they can take the domain away from you at any time.

Rick
Universal4

[onlinebetdotcom]

Having a great domain maybe will do more for branding and trust but that still has to be earned.

You will always need great content and a solid means to be different and have a niche

[Instalinko]

EMDs are thought to still have value in SEO.

As rightly stated, a few years ago, it was really easy to pick up an EMD and rank for top keywords with a rubbish site, then Google suppressed this strong signal.

Now, although that has been suppressed as a signal, remember that most people will treat their EMD as a "brand" rather than as a keyword, so they will market it like a brand.

And even though Google can understand keywords in a domain, if you treat your EMD like a brand, Google will reward the keyword in searches treating it almost like a brand.

Of course, this doesn't mean you can get away with crappy sites, you still need to do most of the hard work. And like some of the people above said, it's very easy to overoptimize the site from an SEO perspective and end up with a spammy signal rather than an SEO boost.

Things like:

1. Anchors for backlinks - need to be mostly naked urls
2. URLs / slugs - you need to avoid multiple keywords in the whole URL, e.g. casino.xyz/live-casino

and literal keyword ratios in the source code of the site are all things that could come back to bite you.

[mybestcasino]

A domain name doesn't help much with SEO.

[Eugene Rodionov]

In my experience, having an EMD isn't as essential as it once was. But if you have a very specific domain like "casino-xx" or "online-casino-yy", it lets users and Google's search algorithms recognize what your website is about right away.

[carl2603GL]

I have found Google is giving far less importance to keyword rich domains . I think the reason for this is that they are unfairly competitive - basically if u get a domain name first or u monopolize the keyword rich domains in your industry then u get boosted in rankings when really your rankings should depend on E-A-T principles and real efforts like proper link building with industry leaders on thematically related sites etc not on a domain name

[Eugene Rodionov]

However, keyword-rich domains still remain user-friendly in terms of UX. And this fact can boost the CTR, which affects the ranking.

[BenjiMon]

Helps, always did and always will. New tld's right of the dot like .bet and .casino also get a small boost in the SERPS as well.

Another factor is that if the keyword is short tail and generic (valuable), then the CTR from SERPS will be higher which will help. If I google a keyword like "country casino" and see countrycasino.com or casino.cctld I'm at least going to check it out and likely it's been there a long time and someone was early or made a decent investment in that name. Even more so as you move up the food chain to slots, casino, etc. Obviously .com developed a little different, but for most other locations around the world outside the US this is especially true.

Also some will have type in traffic, which is just an extra bonus.

[Eugene Rodionov]

Thank you for the detailed information. What are your thoughts on Country Code Top-Level Domains?