Must You Really Have Keywords In Domain Names?

A few years back, it was important to have a targeted keyword in your domain name. Now? Not so much.

I like the rationale Matt Cutts (from Google) gave (check out this video). Basically, he said that, in most cases, it is easier to brand a name which does not contain a keyword. Look at Facebook, Digg and Starbucks. Nothing in their names hint of the services they actually provide. However, they are easy to recall, easy to differentiate and easy to brand. Have you seen the number of Facebook statement t-shirts around? My favorite is the one that says – “You look better on Facebook.”

Now, I’m not saying you should totally do away with keywords in your domain name. I’m just saying you should look further than the SEO aspect of it. If it so happens that your domain name contains a targeted keyword, is easy to differentiate and brand – good for you.

Google does not give much weight to keywords in domain names anymore so you have the option of using a more brandable name, if you so choose to.

This practice of using more brandable names is not just exclusive to web sites. Starbucks’ original logo (see top of post) included the words Starbucks Coffee, Tea & Spices. The latest logo does not even contain the word Starbucks. If there was absolutely zero content on the net to explain what Starbucks was all about, search engines would probably relate Starbucks.com to astrology, finance or how much money celebrities make.

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