undefined
Skip to content
Moz logo Menu open Menu close
  • Products
    • Moz Pro
    • Moz Pro Home
    • Moz Local
    • Moz Local Home
    • STAT
    • Moz API
    • Moz API Home
    • Compare SEO Products
    • Moz Data
  • Free SEO Tools
    • Domain Analysis
    • Keyword Explorer
    • Link Explorer
    • Competitive Research
    • MozBar
    • More Free SEO Tools
  • Learn SEO
    • Beginner's Guide to SEO
    • SEO Learning Center
    • Moz Academy
    • SEO Q&A
    • Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides
  • Blog
  • Why Moz
    • Digital Marketers
    • Agency Solutions
    • Enterprise Solutions
    • Small Business Solutions
    • The Moz Story
    • New Releases
  • Log in
  • Log out
  • Products
    • Moz Pro

      Your all-in-one suite of SEO essentials.

    • Moz Local

      Raise your local SEO visibility with complete local SEO management.

    • STAT

      SERP tracking and analytics for enterprise SEO experts.

    • Moz API

      Power your SEO with our index of over 44 trillion links.

    • Compare SEO Products

      See which Moz SEO solution best meets your business needs.

    • Moz Data

      Power your SEO strategy & AI models with custom data solutions.

    NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
    Moz Pro

    NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

    Learn more
  • Free SEO Tools
    • Domain Analysis

      Get top competitive SEO metrics like DA, top pages and more.

    • Keyword Explorer

      Find traffic-driving keywords with our 1.25 billion+ keyword index.

    • Link Explorer

      Explore over 40 trillion links for powerful backlink data.

    • Competitive Research

      Uncover valuable insights on your organic search competitors.

    • MozBar

      See top SEO metrics for free as you browse the web.

    • More Free SEO Tools

      Explore all the free SEO tools Moz has to offer.

    NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
    Moz Pro

    NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

    Learn more
  • Learn SEO
    • Beginner's Guide to SEO

      The #1 most popular introduction to SEO, trusted by millions.

    • SEO Learning Center

      Broaden your knowledge with SEO resources for all skill levels.

    • On-Demand Webinars

      Learn modern SEO best practices from industry experts.

    • How-To Guides

      Step-by-step guides to search success from the authority on SEO.

    • Moz Academy

      Upskill and get certified with on-demand courses & certifications.

    • MozCon

      Save on Early Bird tickets and join us in London or New York City

    Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints
    Moz API

    Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints

    Find your plan
  • Blog
  • Why Moz
    • Digital Marketers

      Simplify SEO tasks to save time and grow your traffic.

    • Small Business Solutions

      Uncover insights to make smarter marketing decisions in less time.

    • Agency Solutions

      Earn & keep valuable clients with unparalleled data & insights.

    • Enterprise Solutions

      Gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of search.

    • The Moz Story

      Moz was the first & remains the most trusted SEO company.

    • New Releases

      Get the scoop on the latest and greatest from Moz.

    Surface actionable competitive intel
    New Feature

    Surface actionable competitive intel

    Learn More
  • Log in
    • Moz Pro
    • Moz Local
    • Moz Local Dashboard
    • Moz API
    • Moz API Dashboard
    • Moz Academy
  • Avatar
    • Moz Home
    • Notifications
    • Account & Billing
    • Manage Users
    • Community Profile
    • My Q&A
    • My Videos
    • Log Out

The Moz Q&A Forum

  • Forum
  • Questions
  • Users
  • Ask the Community

Welcome to the Q&A Forum

Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

  1. Home
  2. SEO Tactics
  3. On-Page Optimization
  4. Generic domain for SEO versus Brand name

Moz Q&A is closed.

After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.

Generic domain for SEO versus Brand name

On-Page Optimization
4
9
3.4k
Loading More Posts
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as question
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with question management privileges can see it.
  • cestor
    cestor last edited by Aug 26, 2011, 7:08 AM

    I am currently building a retail e-commerce site in a highly competitive area. We have a generic brand name; e.g. kitchen-knives.com and we also have another brand name, e.g. 'slycers.com'

    We have 3 options that I can see and I would like to know which is better for SEO.

    1. Build generic.com as a blog site. Link to brand.com
    2. 301 redirect from generic.com to brand.com. Use generic.com as anchor text in all links
    3. 301 redirect from brand.com to generic.com  . Use generic.com as anchor text in all links

    Also, if there are other better options, then I would appreciate the input!

    thanks

    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
    • AnthonyMangia
      AnthonyMangia @cestor last edited by Aug 30, 2011, 4:13 AM Aug 29, 2011, 8:39 PM

      Most SEOs have the opinion that exact match domains are a bit too powerful in Google's current algorithm, and I think most of us would bet our money on this tactic falling out of favor in the future.  Although admittedly, it has stuck around for longer than I think most of us would have expected.

      Branded traffic, on the other hand, isn't going to be affected nearly as much by any sort of algorithm change in the future - and it converts insanely well.  This should be the primary goal of anybody with a business.

      Of course generic traffic is important, but in my opinion, it's not important enough to put building my brand in the backseat, or to affect the way I choose a domain for my company.

      Now if this was an affiliate website or some kind of blog that I was launching in order to gain traffic from advertising, my opinion might be different.  But because this is a company, and presumably one that you intend to be around for a long time to come, I think branding is the most important consideration.

      If I had a sweet generic domain name in addition to my company domain, I might consider making a small microsite expressly for linkbuilding purposes, although I have to emphasize here that the vast, vast, vast majority of your effort should go into working on your primary domain.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
      • cestor
        cestor @cestor last edited by Aug 29, 2011, 10:10 AM Aug 29, 2011, 4:40 AM

        Maybe I should have added - we already have both the brand and the generic domain names and this is an industry with many well-established brands already competing.

        if we focus on building the brand; the question that I then have is what is the best use to make of the generic domain when link-building?

        The reality is on a real google search today for 'kitchen knives', kitchenknives.com is the #1 result, and it's the same for many other products where the generic term for SEO ranks higher than brand names. Surely this is because of the anchor text/ domain name match rather than because 'kitchenknives.com' is such an amazing brand?

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • AnthonyMangia
          AnthonyMangia @cestor last edited by Aug 28, 2011, 3:05 PM Aug 28, 2011, 3:05 PM

          You know what's cooler than selling a million knives?  Selling a BILLION knives.

          Micah and EGOL are giving specific advice relating to choosing your domain name, but behind their advice is a much broader mindset: think big picture.

          Why do you expect to get most of your traffic from generic search terms?  Why not make it your goal to get most of your traffic from branded keywords?

          Make Slycers a household name.

          When you get into the link building phase, don't think about the link.  Think about the brand.  Think about the community you are reaching in building a link.  Think about the exposure you are getting for your product.

          When you're writing a press release, don't consider the links it might bring in.  Consider whether or not this is really newsworthy content.  Whether or not this could get picked up by national media.  Whether or not your story is interesting enough to get the kind of exposure you're hoping for.

          When you're creating content, don't think about optimizing it for Google or Bing.  Write for your customers, for people looking for a better kitchen knife.  Don't think about "keyword density" or "PR sculpting", think about engaging your audience and developing a website that visitors will find useful and entertaining.

          When you're running your social media campaign, don't think about the traffic it could bring in.  Think about engaging your audience and building a following.  Think about turning influencers in your niche into brand advocates that are in love with Slycers and are telling everyone they know - not because you asked, but because they want to.

          Do these things, have this mindset, and this whole SEO thing becomes dramatically simpler.

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • cestor
            cestor @EGOL last edited by Aug 28, 2011, 6:12 AM Aug 27, 2011, 5:34 PM

            So are you guys saying, assuming slycers.com is going to be my brand name, to focus on that entirely and not worry about keyword-rich backlink building to the generic kitchen-knives.com domain name, even though I would expect most traffic to come through a google search for 'kitchen knives'? I would also add that the generic search term (kitchen knives in this example) is incredibly competitive.

            AnthonyMangia cestor 3 Replies Last reply Aug 29, 2011, 8:39 PM Reply Quote 0
            • EGOL
              EGOL @cestor last edited by Aug 26, 2011, 1:51 PM Aug 26, 2011, 1:50 PM

              You were asking the wrong question.... but PeterM22 gave a great answer.

              I'd do what he says and forget about Options 1 2 and 3.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • EGOL
                EGOL last edited by Aug 26, 2011, 1:50 PM Aug 26, 2011, 1:50 PM

                I would not do any of 1, 2 or 3.

                I would pick one of those domains and put all of my efforts into it.  Which one to pick?  I would avoid hyphens and go with something easy to remember.

                cestor 1 Reply Last reply Aug 27, 2011, 5:34 PM Reply Quote 0
                • cestor
                  cestor @PeterM22 last edited by Aug 26, 2011, 10:19 AM Aug 26, 2011, 10:19 AM

                  sorry, but that doesn't actually answer my question!

                  EGOL 1 Reply Last reply Aug 26, 2011, 1:50 PM Reply Quote 0
                  • PeterM22
                    PeterM22 last edited by Aug 26, 2011, 7:49 AM Aug 26, 2011, 7:49 AM

                    If you've got a great brandable domain, i'd go with that personally. A keyword domain definately does help with seo, but if long and cumbersome, it will be harder to remember, which could lead to less people remembering it and returning, especially if it has hyphens. Also, many people suspect the seo keyword domains will lower in importance over time, myself included.

                    cestor 1 Reply Last reply Aug 26, 2011, 10:19 AM Reply Quote 0
                    • 1 / 1
                    1 out of 9
                    • First post
                      1/9
                      Last post

                    Got a burning SEO question?

                    Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.


                    Start my free trial


                    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.

                    • See all categories

                    Related Questions

                    • jasparcj

                      Is page speed important to improve SEO ranking?

                      seo page rank google seo tactic search visibility

                      I saw on a SEO Agency's site (https://burstdgtl.com/search-engine-optimization/) that page speed apparently affects Google ranking. Is this true? And if it is, how do I improve it, do I need an agency?

                      On-Page Optimization | Feb 13, 2024, 7:57 AM | jasparcj
                      0
                    • RaoulWB

                      Brand name in title?

                      Hi all, I have noticed that a lot of companies put there brand/company name at the end of their page title. To me, that seems like a huge sacrifice of your limited 60 characters. Wouldn't it be better to use characters for words that people might actually be searching for?

                      On-Page Optimization | Jun 11, 2024, 6:50 PM | RaoulWB
                      0
                    • maghanlinchpinsales

                      City Name in URL structure

                      I have a client whose site was built when they only served one market, and they now have that city in the majority of their URLs. I'm suggesting we redo the URL structure to remove this location from the main URLs (think homepage, about, etc.) since they have now expanded to three markets. They are seeing a lot of great organic traffic in that original market but are struggling in the new ones they've added so I'm helping to optimize their site. How critical do you think that removing that location from the URL is? I know we would need to implement 301 redirects, but wanted to get thoughts on this.

                      On-Page Optimization | Mar 23, 2017, 1:35 PM | maghanlinchpinsales
                      0
                    • CosiCrawley

                      SEO audit on a beta site

                      HI there, Is there much point conducting an SEO site audit on a site that has not yet launched and is protected behind a login? Presumably none of the usual SEO tools (Moz, Screaming Frog etc) can crawl this site becuase it is all locked behind a login. Would it be better to launch it and then do a site audit? Thanks

                      On-Page Optimization | May 16, 2016, 8:51 AM | CosiCrawley
                      0
                    • bonganig

                      Will ReDesigning my website negatively affect SEO?

                      I currently have a one page website which lists all the company information on one page [domain name is www. bwd . co . za]. It uses javascript for navigation. My challenge is that the layout is outdated and I would like to update it with a high quality WordPress theme which will not be a one-pager. Currently on Open Site Explorer the website has a domain authority of 30/100 and page authority of 41/100. I've worked hard to push the numbers to get to where they are hence I'm a bit concerned. Will re-designing my website negatively affect SEO?

                      On-Page Optimization | Oct 13, 2013, 12:34 PM | bonganig
                      0
                    • JohnHuynh

                      Does the link title attribute benefit seo?

                      Hello, Anyone could tell me the benefit SEO of link title attribute. Is **Link Title **ranking factor? Thanks

                      On-Page Optimization | Jun 18, 2013, 4:44 AM | JohnHuynh
                      0
                    • kicksetc

                      What is the most SEO friendly Shopping Cart?

                      What is the most SEO friendly shopping cart?  I have been using zen-cart for 6 years.  Seems Google doesn't like it as much as other carts.  I started a new site about 6 months ago using Magento.  When I build links to this site the terms move.  The terms are very similar.  So I would imagine the competition is the same.  I am curious if anybody has tried with different carts and found anyone to be better than the others.  Also the new site has about one tenth the amount of products but has a lot more pages indexed.

                      On-Page Optimization | Mar 15, 2012, 12:30 AM | kicksetc
                      0
                    • BigBlaze205

                      Image file name, is it important

                      If I use the same image all over my site, do I need to change the file name to avoid duplicate? Different alt text will be use on those images

                      On-Page Optimization | Apr 15, 2011, 5:47 PM | BigBlaze205
                      0

                    Get started with Moz Pro!

                    Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

                    Start my free trial
                    Products
                    • Moz Pro
                    • Moz Local
                    • Moz API
                    • Moz Data
                    • STAT
                    • Product Updates
                    Moz Solutions
                    • SMB Solutions
                    • Agency Solutions
                    • Enterprise Solutions
                    Free SEO Tools
                    • Domain Authority Checker
                    • Link Explorer
                    • Keyword Explorer
                    • Competitive Research
                    • Brand Authority Checker
                    • Local Citation Checker
                    • MozBar Extension
                    • MozCast
                    Resources
                    • Blog
                    • SEO Learning Center
                    • Help Hub
                    • Beginner's Guide to SEO
                    • How-to Guides
                    • Moz Academy
                    • API Docs
                    About Moz
                    • About
                    • Team
                    • Careers
                    • Contact
                    Why Moz
                    • Case Studies
                    • Testimonials
                    Get Involved
                    • Become an Affiliate
                    • MozCon
                    • Webinars
                    • Practical Marketer Series
                    • MozPod
                    Connect with us

                    Contact the Help team

                    Join our newsletter
                    Moz logo
                    © 2021 - 2025 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
                    • Accessibility
                    • Terms of Use
                    • Privacy

                    Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.