Does Google prefer com/net/org domains?

[moshebar]

hey,
in the last few months i've came to a conclusion that google is really unfair when it comes to domains .

Google always prefers the com/org/net domains, and specifically when the websites that compete for a specific keyword have a keyword.com domain - they will instantly have a huge advantage over others.

so let's say that 10 years ago i was smart enough to buy x,y,z .com domains (when x,y and z are any competitive keywords on google), I will immediately have an advantage, even if i choose to do nothing with these domains, and then, 10 years later i open up a mediocre website x/y/z.com and wait for 2 years and then boom - i'm on the first page (and usually on the first position)

this means that those who where the first to buy the most popular domains when they were available are the ones who win the jackpot.

I've seen this too many times - keyword.com websites that are much worse than their competitors and they still hold on the first position in google !

what do you think about that?

[LifeinAsia]

So... you think that those who "snoozed" should be rewarded instead of those who had foresight and ponied up an investment many years ago?

[moshebar]

no, BUT:
the days where .com domains that belongs to competitive keywords where at a time where almost no one knew about what's going on with the internet, all the more so about domains, so the few people with the "inside info" were the ones who "stole" all those precious domains .

I know they should not be penalized or something like that :)
but i think google should start rethinking about how it's going to reward websites according to their domains .

don't you think ?

[BradleyT]

Can you prove to a search engine that any of these sites are "much worse than their competitors"?

[moshebar]

yes .
but i guess the TOS of this website don't allow me to give specific examples from real websites.
I know a lot of competitive keywords that the first position in google for that keyword is keyword.com, while the keyword.com itself doesn't look like the best SEOd website for that keyword, as well as its content quality, compared to the other websites ..

[LifeinAsia]

Well, keyword.com sounds pretty SEO'd to me. :)

On the other side of the argument, you're going to get the people who complain that they paid 5 figures for keyword.com, but they're behind other sites that have more inbound links or proper use of Title & META elements or better content or links from more authoritative sites or any number of other factors. I'm not saying that they have a right to complain (although I'm sure they do)- I'm just pointing out that each factor is just one component of the overall ranking algo Google uses.

Whether or not anyone feels it's "unfair" is irrelevant. That fact is that it is what it is.

[edited by: LifeinAsia at 7:41 pm (utc) on Mar. 4, 2009]

[moshebar]

yeah,
but as opposed to a keyword.com domain, all the other factors are feasible, even if to get them you have to invest more time,money and resources.

what i'm saying is that if person A has a website keyword.com and person b has a website keyword123bla.com, which compete on the same keyword - the keyword.com site will eventually "win" - even if it takes 2-3 years - he WILL win.

[simonuk]

I don't agree.

Let's say widget.com was bought at the same time as widget1234.com. So widget.com has just sat there with no content and no SEO while widget1234.com has spent all those years developing great content, a high PR and a ton of high quality backlinks. widget1234.com will have a massive advantage over the other. Age is very important but if it has just sat there doing nothing with no content it will have a hard time beating those domains of similar age with the content.

[Shaddows]

Fundamentally, we're talking about different TYPES of data. A keyword domain is discrete and eternal- it either is or it isn't. If it isn't one, it can never become one.

Compare and contrast to continuous variables (backlink count), or temporal variables (Title, description), which can be changed.

A keyword domain has the whole SEO toolkit available, plus the advantage of the keyword. The only question therefore becomes HOW MUCH advantage does it ACTUALLY give, and HOW MUCH advantage SHOULD it give.

I suspect the answer depends on if you own the domain or not :)

[BradleyT]

what i'm saying is that if person A has a website keyword.com and person b has a website keyword123bla.com, which compete on the same keyword - the keyword.com site will eventually "win" - even if it takes 2-3 years - he WILL win.

Negative. Do a search on two word phrases that are worth A LOT of money and you'll see that the link builders [buyers] prevail.