Domain names impact SEO and SEM
Posted in Real Estate Marketing By Ray Peabody, Monday, November 3, 2008.The domain name RealEstateSearch.com is being sold. So, as a long time online real estate marketer, I looked into what impact a domain name like that would have on ranking in Google.
According to the Google Adwords traffic estimator, consumers type the keywords in this domain name "real estate search" 9 million times each month into the Google search.
If you bought these keywords, this would result in roughly 240,000 consumer visits each month to your website nationally. Based on the cost of keywords, this would be quite an investment.
So the question becomes how does Google "natural" or "organic" search handle the domain name "realestatesearch.com"?
Recently at a search marketing meeting the discussion was about SEO. Google engineers confirmed that Google does look at the domain name keywords as it factors the relevance of the match.
Google places the exact match site nearly always at the top or at least in the top 10 of search results. Type in the keywords from your own domain name and you will see this demonstrated.
For those who understand "subdomains", this would also work if the consumer typed in “Boise real estate search” and the domain was localized using subdomains; so the domain name would read: boise.realestatesearch.com.
There would be no argument that being at the top of the search result is one of the challenges of search engine optimization. Because, 89% of Google clicks occur on that first page.
So with the right search engine optimization you can feel good that you made it to page one. Let me close by telling you what research into actual search records showed could happen if you made it to the top spot. You could experience as much as a 1,400% in traffic by ranking #1.
My counsel is to pick your domain name carefully so to match the keywords your targeted audience would most likely be using. And use more than one domain name to target your potential clients more specifically.
Thanks for reading…. If you have any questions you can contact me at PeabodyInteractive@gmail.com.
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Submitted by Fred Light on November 3, 2008 - 12:57pm.
Hmmm.. that's interesting.
I asked that exact question when I met the crawl manager for Google (Dan Crow), and he said that domain names did NOT factor into rankings... it helps as far as being descriptive and highlighted in search results, but no factor in actual rankings. I have seen (and personally have) several websites that are personal names that are top ranking websites in Google and have been for a decade - consistently. I wonder what the truth really is!
Real Estate Video Tours
http://www.NashuaVideoTours.com
Submitted by G Dewald | Union Street Media on November 3, 2008 - 1:05pm.
In situations where your domain is linked as the raw URL having keywords in your URL will result in with a keyword rich backlink.
Personal names can be quite simple to dominate in a SERP depending on how common the name is, of course. I doubt you would need to get into domaining as a necessary tactic.
Different sites for different market segments is also excellent advice.
G. Dewald | Union Street Media | Real Estate Internet Marketing Blog
Submitted by Brett Young | Real Estate Keyword Tool on November 3, 2008 - 3:17pm.
An exact match domain absolutely has a big impact on 1st page Yahoo and MSN rankings. In my experience, I've noticed less of a boost in Google, but there does seem to be an effect nonetheless.
Brett Young
Real Estate Keyword Tool
Submitted by Stefan Swanepoel on November 3, 2008 - 4:24pm.
And the asking price for the domain is?
Submitted by Wayne Long on November 3, 2008 - 6:11pm.
Domain names seem to make a definite impact. What the actual impact is - will I am sure - remain a mystery and can be overcome by other factors.
Submitted by Riel Roussopoulos on November 4, 2008 - 12:20am.
We've found that the domain name has a huge impact on how easy it is to get traffic to your site. A large part of our very successful internet strategy is to secure neighborhood specific webdomain and develop them as micro communities.
See: http://YourFarmer.com |
Submitted by Ray Peabody on November 4, 2008 - 5:03am.
Appreciate all your comments. Regarding the price for the domain name, I checked and the asking price has been lowered to $99,000.
Some call domains the "real estate of the web" and like real estate the prices for domains have reflected the slowdown in the economy. Earlier this year RealEstateSearch.com was priced as high as $200,000.
Submitted by Carmen Multhauf on November 4, 2008 - 10:47am.
When I go to www.realestatesearch.com I just get to a list of sites that use those words. So only a domain name is being offered for $99K. Check it out.
Submitted by Ray Peabody on November 6, 2008 - 8:35am.
Carmen, You are correct it is only the domain name that is being sold.
The domain owner has decided to keep the domain unused so it does not have any "prior use" issues.
The page that you see is being displayed by the domain name host as a placeholder and is not indexed by the search engines.
Submitted by Brad Golik on November 6, 2008 - 6:22pm.
If all else (SEO) is equal, then the keyword rich domain name does carry some weight. Although less now then in earlier times. The overlooked advantage though is they can be much more appealing (eye cathing) to buyers looking for a home. www.SeattleLuxuryHome.com will be much more eye catching than www.JohnAgent.com
Brad Golik
John L. Scott
http://www.GolikGroup.com
Submitted by Riel Roussopoulos on November 6, 2008 - 6:42pm.
More than some weight Brad, Huge weight.
While that's a pretty cherry generic domain name, I agree with you that a name like SeattleLuxuryHome.com will have a powerful marketing advantage at pinpointing those buyers interested in that type of property.
I coach all my clients to buy neighborhood related (or as you're suggesting Market specific) domains that are geo specific.
People search generally in the areas that they want to buy and for the most part they already know where that is going to be.
So good geo specific names, not just the city, but right down to the local neighborhood community will become more and more valuable to agents as time goes on.
I've got a good post with some videos here about the value of a good name you might enjoy.
http://yourfarmer.com/blogs/leads/2008/11/05/whats-in-a-name/989
Submitted by Brad Golik on November 7, 2008 - 10:14am.
OK Riel,
I may have understated the value of a good domain name. I believe a good domain is one that is "Search Specific". Searches are beginning to narrow as people find that doing a search for "Anywhere Real Estate" doesn't do much in the way of helping them. Sure that search may result in 125,000 views a month, but so what.
Suberb/city domains are the most valuable in my opinion. Neighborhoods are far less with the exception of Golf Club and gated communities which tend to get searched more than other neighborhood searches. I own over 1200 search specif domains and have much time in reaserching this topic. See www.LuxuryEstateOnline.com
Thanks,
Brad Golik
John L. Scott
http://www.GolikGroup.com
Submitted by Ray Peabody on November 7, 2008 - 10:45am.
Good comments about the value of localization.
The domain RealEstateSearch.com can be easily localized without having to acquire more domains by using subdomains.
The example I gave in the original post was Boise.realestatesearch.com which is a subdomain. And is indexed by Google as a separate geo-focused website from realestatesearch.com or any of the other subdomains created from it.
To Brad's point this can be even more localized to BoiseCountryClub.realestatesearch.com. A bit cumbersome for direct type-in traffic. But it will be indexed as relevant to Boise, Country Club and real estate.
I have used this SEO technique very effectively for multi-market websites like ApartmentFinder.com. See the local market links at the bottom of the page.
Submitted by Brad Golik on November 7, 2008 - 12:08pm.
Very good points in your video Riel. If you don't mind :) I will add a link to it from my www.LuxuryEstateOnline.com site. Great info for agents to hear!
I have been working on this program for some time and going about it in a different fashion than most. I optimize my sites from narrow to broad. In a search for "Bellevue luxury homes" I now have about seven of my websites, including www.BellevueWaterfrontEstate.com come up. Sure, there are only about 300 searches a month compared to 60,000 for Bellevue Real Estate, but I don't care about the 60k as much as I do the 300 or so who are looking for something very specific.
Brad Golik
John L. Scott
http://www.GolikGroup.com
Submitted by Jerome Wilkerson on November 17, 2008 - 9:37am.
WOW, now thats a whole not of money just for a domain name! To bad I didn't purchase it :)
Site Austin Real Estate Blog Austin Real Estate Blog
Submitted by Ray Peabody on November 17, 2008 - 12:09pm.
Jerome
There are many similarities between domain names and commercial real estate.
This domain is like a great piece of commercial land that someone bought early and held waiting for the market to create additional value. And like real estate, a piece of land with the right attributes will hold up better under adverse economic conditions.
So basing the value like commercial real estate the amount of "natural" traffic this domain will receive will offset a great deal of the marketing cost and have long-term value to the owner.