Quote:
Originally Posted by John Scott
The underlined part is incorrect. Google does NOT parse keywords in domains when they are run together.
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OK, I'm listening, and are certainly not wanting to pass on information that is not correct.
I based my conclusion on being able to get brand new word1word2.com domains ranking for their own name very very easily, and the fact the words in the result are bolded. I also find that greenwidgets.com is easier to rank for terms that include "widgets" or "green" than other domains. It's possible this is a product of incoming link text.
On top of that, I'm a believer in doing what seems logical at the user level - not just pandering to whatever Google thinks is cool at any particular time.
I think if search engines didn't exist, most people would agree that a domain without dashes is best. It's easier to say and remember - 2 very important components of a domain. In most cases it's still perfectly readable.
So to hear that Google does not reward "good practice" in this regard is a little surprising. Normally what is good for the user is good for Google - descriptive anchor text, descriptive titles, well formed code etc etc.
By rewarding dashed domains with good rankings, does this encourage britney-mortgage-casino-widgets.com type behaviour?
But if I'm wrong, I'm wrong, and I'll be updating that article accordingly.
Thanks John.