Are keywords in the domain name still relevant?

[csdude55]

Still updating my potentially outdated knowledge... is there still SEO value in buying keyword-rich domain names, parking them on your main domain, and then supplying links to those keyword-rich domains?

I see that a domain name is for sale for $400 that really would be considered keyword-rich for my demographic, but I don't know if that still has any relevance.

[JesterMagic]

Yes keyword domains are usefully for SEO but not nearly as much as it use to be. You only want a domain with 2-3 keywords max (with no hyphens). Do a few searches in your niche and see what comes up. dot com domains still rule the SERPS but not nearly as much as they use to either. I only ever use one domain per website (except if we changed the website to a new domain then I would just setup a 301 redirect)

parking them on your main domain, and then supplying links to those keyword-rich domains

Never did this myself and I think Google is now wise to these type of setups.

If you are buying a domain you also want to check the history of the domain to make sure it hasn't been blacklisted, doesn't currently have a Google manual penalty, etc..

The domain could also still have some backlinks you may want, or not if they are spam links.

[aristotle]

I registered the domain names of my first four sites during the 2004-2008 time period. All of them are .net and it was the first time any of them had ever been registered. All of them have a basic descriptive keyword as part of the domain name. The MAIN reason I put those keywords into the domain name was because I thought it would help get more clicks from the search results. I didn't know as much about SEO then, but thought it might help a little with that too, so that was a second (but minor) reason.

Anyway all four of those sites are still doing well in google. Obviously I don't know how big an effect the keywords in their domain names have, but at least they don't appear to be hurting.

[csdude55]

I kinda followed a similar path, buying a bunch of domains in the mid-2000s with good keywords. I set up my site to show different content based on the domain, though, so they're all similar-but-different.

It worked OK back then, but that was a good 10-15 years ago! LOL I'd still do it for a regular $10 domain, but $400 is a lot for me to spend these days! I'd have to feel pretty confident that I'd get a return on that.

[tangor]

There's another whole commentary on the fading use of keyword (particularly noun and "action" keywords) in domain names. G has long ago caught upon that trick and reduced such value in their MANY values in finding a slot in their serps.

Unless it is a natural and REAL solid for the site itself, and the content presented, I tend to avoid domain names that seek some "related" interest by having a keyword in the name.

YMMV.

One can always test with setting up two sites is domain name variations and see which gets the most serp love.

[robzilla]

buying keyword-rich domain names, parking them on your main domain, and then supplying links to those keyword-rich domains

Sounds kind of pointless. The keyword-rich domains won't rank if they redirect to the main domain, so you'd only be diluting the value of those incoming links.

There's no inherent (SEO) value to a keyword-rich domain, but the side-effects of having a keyword domain can work to your advantage (e.g. relevant anchor text).