What are Exact Match Domains (EMDs)?
Exact match domains refer to domain names that precisely match some of the main keywords you aim to rank for in Google or other search engines.
These kinds of domains include all types of keywords in all niches and website types. So if you are a kneeling chair store then kneelingchair(.)com is an example of exact match domains.
Or if your store is local you could use kneelingchaircalifornia(.)com or kneelingchairnewyork(.)com as your domain name.
And the same goes for different types of Ecommerce Stores, SaaS businesses, Local businesses, Service providers, Blogs, etc. One could does after emailwarmup(.)com bestplumber(.)com, etc
Types of Exact Match Domains (EMDs)
Exact match refers to any domain name that includes a keyword with high (preferably high) monthly organic search volume. And it can be classified into 3 main types of Exact match domains as follows:
- Keyword-rich Domains (e.g. bestscooters.com, hairshampoo.com, etc)
- Geo-Specific Domains (e.g. carpetrestorationmelbourne.com, plumberindallas.com, etc)
- Near Me Domains (e.g. pizzanearme.com, restaurantnearme.com, etc)
Does Top-level Domain Matter For EMDs in SEO?
The top-level-domain (or shortly tld) is the section that follows the “Dot” in the domain. Which would be .Com, .Net. .Org. Xyz, etc.
The question is does TLD matter?
Well for SEO it doesn’t matter anyway; whether you choose .com, .net. or org it doesn’t have any impact on your ranking or your SEO results but from the User Experience point of view does it matter? The answer is It depends!
Let me explain…
If you are a local business for example in which exact match domains are the norm for all your competitors and the .com tld of a keyword-rich exact match domain is taken then the .net/.org/.top won’t be any different.
Whether in if you are building a brand or going after emailmarketing.xyz, it would look a bit strange for your users as the .com TLD is the most famous one on the internet today but still, picking the .xyz, in this case, would be also a smart choice that would yield tremendous leads and excellent SEO results in a friction of time because it is not necessarily to have .com TLD to be a legit business.
To Help You Make the Decision Let’s Put Some Rules for This:
- If the exact match keyword in the domain name is a bargain for you which means it’s very valuable for your business in terms of the transactional intent it has and it has a high search volume that would be very hard for you to get without EMDs then go for it. Because even if it turned some potential customers off the closed leads and customers will be much higher.
- If you are in an SEO niche with aggressive competition and a high entrance barrier threshold like real estate for example then a good EMD is leverage for you that could accelerate your results and save your budget even if the TLD is not .com.
One important point to remember is that the internet today is different than before. Today a lot of different TLDs are booming and a lot of authentic businesses are using new TLDs that we didn’t see before. think about .io, .ai, .bot, .club, and the list goes on.
So if you want a definitive answer here, it would be “Who Cares About TLDs!”
Do Exact Match Domains (EDMs) Still Work Today?
The question that you have in mind is do EMDs still work today in 2024?!
Interestingly enough, the answer is YES!
Gone are the days when SEO was about Keyword stuffing and repeating the keywords to you want to rank for in your content. Now Google algorithms are much smarter thanks to the AI & ML revolution. But the theory or the reason why EDMs still work today is totally different for EMDs than for stuffing keywords.
How do EMDs Work? (from the perspective of a search engine)
To explain the logic behind EMDs lets look put ourselves in the shoes of a search engine in both cases: when there is no exact match domain & when there is one.
If some user typed a keyword like “professional lawyer NY” what the search engine will understand using its state of the art AI algorithms is that “this user is looking for a professional lawyer that exist or serve NewYork city”. And then the search engine will use its AI complex algorithms again to serve the best results for that user.
Now lets look at the prospective of the search engine when there is an EMD called for example “professionallawyerny.com”.
If their is a website called “professionallawyerny.com” that has a reasonable traffic and performance to be known to Google, then a user typed a search query like “professional lawyer NY”, then the search engine will think “well, I am a bit confused now! Either this user wants a professional lawyer that is located in New York City OR he is looking for a brand called Professional Lawyer NY. So to get over this problem, the search engine will serve the best results as it did before, but this time it will include this possible domain among the results on the first page as well. And thats how EMDs work.
If you want to get into the nitty-gritty of how EMDs work you can refer to this article written by Koray Tuğberk GÜBÜR.
Examples Of Ranking Exact Match Domains In Various Niches!
Below are some examples of exact-match domains holding first positions on Google SERPs on various industries and website types.
The first screenshot is for a UK-based e-commerce store that ranks for one of its most important keywords with a decent search volume using the power of exact match domains.
It is worth noting that the “Best Gym Equipment” store already generates not less than 60k visits/month so there is no bad effect on the brand value from the exact match domain.
The second example is for an affiliate website that is utilizing Exact Match Domains also and ranking in the 1st position for the keyword “Gaming Laptop Deals” which has a monthly search volume of 14,800!
The third example in the furniture niche the power of EMDs appears crystal clear.
The e-commerce store “Office Supply” is ranking 2 times in the same SERP. At position 1 just under the “Local Packs” and one more time 2 more positions down. But why 2 times in one SERP?!
Here comes the power of EMDs.
Also, it’s named “office supply”, the store is not only for supplies but sells all office equipment from furniture to devices and appliances and more. And that’s why it ranks 2 times. The first time it’s ranking with its “home page” thanks to the power of the Exact match domain and raking the second time with its “office supplies category”.
So, imagine if that store had a generic or a brandable domain name, it would have been ranking in position 4 (the position it holds with its “office supplies category”) but thanks to its EMD, now it’s ranking not only in position 1 but ranking 2 times in the same SERP!
Final Word
An EMD or an Exact Match Domain is an SEO Hack that would shortcut your SEO efforts and help you hit your business goals using organic traffic in a friction of time you would spend using a normal domain name.
Contact me now and let me help you get the right domain for your type of business and goals!