Let’s start this post by knowing about a ‘domain name’ and later on, we can see how it will impact the SEO.
‘Domain name is an alias used to represent one or more IP addresses and helps in identifying different websites by being a part of URL.’
It’s easier for computers to identify IP addresses, but for a common man, domain names make it easier to access a particular website.
Parts of Domain Name
Let’s take an example and see what we have in a domain name,
Www –
It is a server that handles the internet requests.
Second-level Domain –
Situated to the left of the dot, second-level domain names represent the business name, their unique identification, similar to the IP addresses.
Top-level Domain –
TLD occupies the highest position in the domain hierarchy and is located to the extreme right of a domain name. It is sometimes referred as internet domain extension and includes .com, .org, .net, .gov, .biz and .edu.
Facts about Domain Name
- It is not synonyms with the word website.
- It is not a URL, but a part of it.
You may ask what’s in the name. But, yes everything starts from this name, which is the domain name.
Have you heard about EMD? I mean exact match domains?
Choosing Keywords for the Domain Name- How Credible is the Process?
What exactly is EMD?
There is a huge difference between choosing keywords and choosing the exact keywords.
EMD – As the name defines is a practice of using exact keywords corresponding to the specified business operations/services.
I didn’t have to give you that typical explanation; if you clearly observe the illustration, you will easily make out why EMD are despised (by search engines).
Wow, what is this?
You mean to say that the so-called compatibility quotient between SEO and EMD went under the hammer, but why?
Actually, the word ‘credibility’ was lost in the melee of EMD users, pushing Google to take a strong course of action.
Relationship between EMD & SEO
Eventually, we will get to know what went wrong. But let’s start with the basics.
What do you mean by search engine optimization? And what benefits do websites have from that?
SEO is a process of increasing traffic to a website organically (in terms of both quality & quantity), so it would have much better visibility in the search engine result page (SERP).
The main purpose of search engine optimization was to provide browsers with quality information, which is exactly where the EMD failed.
If a person types ‘Best Website Design Company’, and if the domain name of XYZ Company is ‘bestwebsitedesigncompany.com’ it will not be a wonder to find that website in the top search results.
Leave guidelines, the user will not find anything that would help him, giving him a bad user experience.
It was a long time when the domain name was considered one of the top SEO factors, but not now.
After the SEO fiasco, Google gave out the EMD update.
The Google EMD Update
Google closed the doors on people who gained traffic through cheap way.
- The target was to reduce or completely remove websites with spammy or low-quality exact-match domains.
- Low-quality websites were identified through the keywords used, low-link authority, and spammy links.
- And websites with low-quality content (keywords stuffed) or over-optimized web pages were a clear signal to Google to scrap such sites off the search engine result pages.
- EMD websites with high-link authority, brand recognition, and commanding link-authority were spared from the penalty.
Listed below are few websites that have been hit by the new Google EMD update.
- www.bmicalculatormale.com (#4)
- www.charterschools.org (#7)
- playscrabble.net (#3)
- www.purses.org (#3)
- www.teethwhitening.com (#4)
Source: searchenginejournal.com
What did we learn?
Whether your website ranks or not, Google doesn’t give a damn, it only feels responsible for the users.
