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Increasing search engine traffic by use of generic domain names

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MHUK

MHUK

Programmer
Nov 30, 2002
139
GB
Hi
I've been thinking about an idea to increase the traffic to my website. Does the URL of a domain play a big part in search engine results? Does a search engine index a website based partly on the URL?

My current website has information on parenting and babies, which I will refer to as 'mydomain.com'. I was thinking about setting up generic domain names such as
baby-information.com, where if a user types "baby information" on Google as a search query, then the latter website is displayed. However the URL alone is not enough to gain a high position - the URL needs to be linked to the content of the website. But is there some way to link an alternative 'generic' domain name to the content of my website - so the content is linked to the generic domain name and my standard domain name (mydomain.com)?

On the search engine results if the generic domain is clicked it would re-direct to mydomain.com.

Would the idea of many generic domain names that re-direct to mydomain.com help to increase my website's position in search engine results?

Thank you for any help on this.
MHUK
 
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Hi mate,

The URL does play a part in ranking.

You can link as many URL's to the same site as you want, this doesn't cause any problems. How many domains you link may depend on your host though and what they allow, most will configure the domains without a problem.

One thing I would advise, do not re-direct one domain to the other, a search engine will see the re-direct, simple point both domains to the same server and ask your host to configure your site with an alias domain.

For example, I have many domain names pointing to my site, but none are re-directed.


Both of those resolve to the same website without the use of any re-directs.

Hope this help Wullie


The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change.
The leader adjusts the sails. - John Maxwell
 
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While a relevant domain name (relevant to your content) is helpful, it is not a "big" part of the overall equation. Here is a link with more information.
My site is a good example of a domain name having little to do with ranking. My domain name is My main focus is Paint Shop Pro. If you go to any search engine and type in "Paint Shop Pro tutorials", Paint Shop Pro 8, Paint Shop Pro 7 tutorials, Paint Shop Pro, Paint Shop Pro selections, PSP 8, PSP 7 or any search related to Paint Shop Pro, you will find me in the top twenty, usually in the top ten and more often then not in the top five. The reason I have excellent ranking is because I've got lots of relevant sites linking back to me. I've got lots and lots of relevant content.

The most important factors in ranking are your content and how it is arranged, ie. using alt tags, header tags, proper keyword distribution throughout your content. The single most important factor is content. Relevant content will get you ranked faster than any other method. Relevant content will help you get links to your site from other sites with relevant content.

Meta tags are no longer as important as they used to be. Some search spider engines no longer even use them. Here is a link that will help
So, what you described doing might help if you have the rest of the bases covered, but I wouldn't count on it helping if you have weak content. You didn't post a link to your site so we can't actually take a look at your content and keyword spread.

mike
 
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Mike,

Good domain names play a bigger part than you seem to think, it actually is a big part of the equation.

If you go to a Google and search for a not so common single word, in 90% of cases the domains returned top and in some cases in the first 3 will be have etc etc.

As a little backup to this theory, check out the following links:








I am not saying to buy a domain and not to worry about optimising the content, that is a very bad idea but getting a decent domain name that contains keywords is a very good way to get you higher in some searches, although like any other technique, it doesn't always work.

Hope this helps Wullie


The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change.
The leader adjusts the sails. - John Maxwell
 
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Hi Wullie,

I wasn't suggesting that it was not an important part, but it is not a really "big" factor. It is and can be, but there are thousands of sites that have excellent ranking with a domain not relavant to their content. As I pointed out, mine is an example. I agree with what you posted 100%, but the original question, I think, was how relavent was a domain name in the search for better rankings. Again while it is important there are other things which are 1 million percent more important. So on the scale of things to do to get a better rank, I would place a domain name near the bottom of the top ten, but still in the top ten. A relavent domain name alone is almost worthless onless you have relavent content etc...

mike
 
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Hi Wullie,

I took a look at your links. I'm not sure what they are supposed to show. For instance the news bulletin links. All but one of the top results has a domain not in any way related to the keywords, so maybe I missundertood what you were trying to show. The cheap domain search also has few related domain name keyword relavance. So I still agree with your point, however a domain name is not a "big" factor, in my opinion, and I belive supported by your links, not a "big" factor but still can be a very important part of the overall equation.

I think we are both in aggreement, just not as to how important a domain name is to a relevant keyword search.

mike
 
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Hi mate,

Google uses a location technique to rank sites so we may see totally different results.

Cheap domain search:

Code: 
[URL unfurl="true"]www.123cheapdomains.com[/URL]                 #1
[URL unfurl="true"]www.cheap-domains-registration.com[/URL]      #2

News Bulletin search:

[URL unfurl="true"]www.news-bulletin.com[/URL]                   #2
These sites are in no way optimised better for these keywords than the ones that appear below them, they seem to appear higher because of their domain name.

Hope this helps Wullie


The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change.
The leader adjusts the sails. - John Maxwell
 
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Hi Wullie,

The news-bulletin site is also number two in my results. I think if you do a link search for all the domains listed, and the news-bulletin is the only one with the keywords in the domain name, you will find that the number of linking sites has as much if not more to do with the sites ranking than the domain name.

The site with the domain name of is listed third in my results. They have 8220 linking sites. The number one listing in my results are and it has over 1900 linking sites. The fourth, in my results has a domain name of it has 106 linking sites. The fifth, has 156 linking sites. The farther down the rankings you go the fewer linking sites they domains have. If you then go further to examine each sites cotent and structure you will see what I was trying to say, a site's domain name is less relevant to the linking sites, than content, than most every other factor. All of your other example searches produce similar results.

Please don't misuderstand me. I aggreee that a domain name with a relavent content is a very good thing, just not near as important as all the other factors invloved in ranking.

mike
 
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If I could only spell correctly. *g*

Please forgive my poor spelling. I'd like to chalk it up to typos
spin.gif


mike
 
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Ok, not only can I not spell, my grammer isn't all that great when writing on the fly.

...a site's domain name is less relevant than linking sites, than content, than...

... I agree that a domain name with relevant keywords is a very good thing...

mike
 
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Hi mate,

Take a look at the following:

www.123cheapdomains.com

Links 150
Domains 3
Cheap 3


www.cheap-domains-registration.com

Links 136
Domains 13
Cheap 6

www.ehost.com

Links 364
Domains 2
Cheap 1

www.pickaweb.co.uk

Links 3,220
Domains 1
Cheap 3


www.domaindiscount24.com

Links 134
Domains 11
Cheap 0

Hope this helps Wullie


The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change.
The leader adjusts the sails. - John Maxwell
 
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Hi Wullie,

I'm just curious, are you trying to disprove what I'm saying. All I've done is basically repeat what Danny Sullivan has said more than once. I also don't understand your last post. It is pretty common knowledge that a domain name with relevant keywords is desirable, but not always possible and in no way is it a "big" factor in ranking. *g* Wullie, I guess you and I can agree to disagree if that is what your are doing. I'm not sure you are disagreeing.

mike
 
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