Keyword vs Brand Domain Name
-
Hi guys,
I'm about to launch a new site for a friend who is an accountant in a specialist field. He's already bought 2 domains:
**www.[keyword]-accountants.net **
**www.[brand]accountants.com **
We have made the decision to use the brand domain to host the site but what can we do with the keyword domain as exact match domains still seem to be ranking well in the serps?
e.g. build keyword links to the keyword domain (heavily seo'd content) and build brand links to the brand domain (conversion-optimised content) then after while 301 the keyword domain?
Any new suggestions will be gratefully received!
-
I wouldn't spend too much time on the second (hyphenated keyword) domain, you'd be much better off focusing on building great links to your primary domain.
Also, domains with hyphens are signifcantly less effective than the exact match variation, I have conducted a number of experiments and the non-hyphenated versions of the website are much, much better! So I would just redirect it as it is and focus on the one main website URL.
Paul
-
If your keyword website ends up getting to an appreciable size, you will have to try and buy the unhyphenated version of www.keyword-accountants.net
Whoever owns that, assuming it's parked, may hold you to ransom for a very high price. My company is in just that situation now (the thread I recently started on this may be of use to you: http://www.seomoz.org/q/close-url-owned-by-competitors). So just keep in mind that if you want optimal SEO, the need to get the unhyphenated version will become more, not less, pressing over time.
Keep in mind that if you're sending a bunch of links to your keyword domain, those are going to be worth a lot less than if you send them all to your branded domain. Generally speaking, splitting your SEO efforts between two sites for the same company is a bad idea.
Daniel's suggestion would be the best, in my opinion, if you're dead set on using the keyword site to host content. Really, though, you'd be a lot better off putting that content in a subfolder of your the branded site and 301 the keyword domain (again as Daniel suggests).
-
Building up the keyword domain looks like the way to go as Google seems to favour these.
There's a good answer about a similar situation here: http://www.seomoz.org/q/how-to-use-good-keyword-url-to-help-main-site
-
You could 301 the keyword domain.
Another option is to build up the keyword domain as a popular informational site. Then send referrals and link to your brand site.
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
-
Old domain to new domain what happens to the old site?
Hello We rebranded 5 months ago, and set up a new domain for the new brand name which sits on different hosting to the old. We still have the old hosting running with the old site still on it. We have set up redirects to the new domain and wondered when/if we can turn off the old site hosting?
On-Page Optimization | | Scivisum0 -
Ideal number of keywords for a text
Hi there! I am trying to figure out what the ideal number of my queries per copy (400 words) would be. My queries are: lg dryer repair (volume search: 851-1k)
On-Page Optimization | | kirupa
lg washer repair (volume search: 851-1k)
lg appliance repair (volume search: 851-1k)
lg repair service (volume search: 501-850)
lg washing machine repair (volume search: 501-850)
lg dishwasher repair (volume search: 201-500)
lg appliance repair (volume search: 851-1k) How many times do you think I might use each of those quires? Is there any algorithm to figure that out? I would appreciate very much any thought you could share with me.0 -
Keyword stuffing as per the on-page grader
Hi Moz Community, I've recently become a Moz Pro user and I very impressed with the insights that it has to offer. However, I have been using the on-page grader to evaluate this page and it suggests that I am using the keyword "kiln dried logs" too many times and not to use more than 15 times. I have a slight dilemma because my product titles all contain this keyword and I wanted to get somebody's take on where the "15 repetitions" comes from and if it is better for me to strip this keyword out of my product titles to fall within the guidelines? Should I optimize just my main category page for this keyword at the expense of potentially losing traffic for my product pages? Any input would be much appreciated.
On-Page Optimization | | RicharCampbell0 -
In need of guidance on keyword targeting
Hello I'm in need of some guidance as my head has gotten into a spin. Here's the website - www.onsite-sm.co.uk
On-Page Optimization | | Hughescov
Here's the keywords - concrete repair, concrete repairs, concrete repair contractors
Here's the question - The homepage doesn't really rank for anything specific and the concrete repair page isn't really strong enough to rank for the above keywords. What should I do? Thanks for any help.0 -
Keyword canibalization
Hi, I'm ranking for 'bodybuilding schema' with two separate pages (see attachment). Is this a problem? I heard that's it's better to only have one page ranking per keyword. If so, how do I prevent this? Thanks! Jasper MhcOI
On-Page Optimization | | Japking0 -
Meta Keywords, Should I just remove them?
howdy guys, I am helping my father out with his SEO for his company. I am taking over the SEO helm so to speak and have to do a complete on site make over( offsite as well eventually soon) He has on every page meta keywords that are just stuffed with "money keywords" and they are the same on every page, Should i just delete them entirely and leave that attribute blank? Hope to hear back soon, thanks.
On-Page Optimization | | david3050 -
Multi-language domain strategy crossroad
I've come to a crossroads with a multilingual domain strategy. Most of you know, Canada has two official languages; English & French. I'm trying to decide on two domain structures to handle languages: 1. Create sub-directory folders for both languages: www.sitename.ca/en/ www.sitename.ca/fr/ Take into account that all page names will be in their respective language. or 2. Create a single sub-directory folder for French only: www.sitename.ca www.sitename.ca/fr/ I'm leaning towards Option #2 because English is our target and want to give those pages more "weight" rather than pushing them down another level (flatter site structure for primary pages). Yes, I could also have all French pages at the root but I think having them a) in one sub-directory is easier to manage and b) SE (specifically Google) likes the division better for languages. I'm just not sure if there's a point to doing it for English too. Note: There'll be several hundred pages for each language. What's best practice (of course) and is there a difference if any....or was this just long winded for nothing? Thanks for any insights.
On-Page Optimization | | Bragg0 -
Purchased domain
We purchased the existing domain www.LancasterPA.com two years ago to promote local businesses. While individual pages within the site are ranking well, we can't get the home page to rank at all in Google. Would there be anything in the history of the domain that could be standing in the way? Or, what else could we check? Our other regional websites are ranking really well. Thanks.
On-Page Optimization | | GordyH0