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Please do not take this as a negative comment, my pure purpose is that a lot of the time its very easy on a clients name, but absolute hell on a generic or product term.
trust me I am working on 1 with over 3.5 million results, and its very very hard work.
Shak
#2 in 3 months.
My best ever.
I must hasten to add though that Google has been placing far more importance on the domain name matching the keyword. This is something i noticed 5 mnths ago and mentioned it on this forum but most people thought i was wrong. Well if you have read what people are saying about this latest google update i think people are starting to believe.
Take these three ingredients
1) Keyword1-Keyword2.com
2) A bit of common sense
3) This forum
and you cant fail ;)
For instance, I did a search for the word "freeform" in Google.
The #1 spot is occupied by someone who has named a directory "freeform." The G cache says that it ranks for "freeform" because the word appears in links pointing to that page. (This web site ranks above position #6, which is freeform.org.)
#2 is the same site, different page. Ranks because the word appears in a link toward an inner page.
#3 is called freefArm.org, and ranks #3 because the word freefOrm appears in links pointing in to it.
And so on...
So, in regards to
Google placing far more importance on the domain name matching the keyword
We see it's not simply the keyword-in-domain-name IN ITSELF that is working the mojo. It's the links pointing TO the web site, facilitated by the happy circumstance of your keyword being in your domain name (hyphenated if it's a keyword phrase).
If domain name=keyword helps rankings, it's a function of the keyword being in the links pointing in, but not by virtue of them being in the domain name alone. The key is working the keyword into your links, by whatever means you can figure out, into the links pointing INTO your site.
Thus, a link worded like this: "Vodka by martinibuster.com" would be just as effective as "vodka-for-salenet.com" for the keyword "VODKA."
Arguably, martinibuster.com would be easier to remember, easier to type out and even easier to craft a mascot out of than "vodka-for-salenet.com." Which is the downside to the average keyword in the domain name url: They are generally hard to remember and awkward to type out, lacking that gracefulness found in names like amazon, theknot,google, etc.
So it's a balancing act.
:)
[edited by: martinibuster at 12:25 am (utc) on Aug. 23, 2002]
Sorry to rain on your parade...but check my profile...and do a search on my Website title on www2...domain names mean 'squat'.
i never believed they mattered except for the random domain name typist...
Maybe I am missing something here but the domain in your profile if you type in the domain name on www2 you are number 1 without even a mention of that word in the text that i can say. So obviously you are incorrect to state they dont mean squat.
I know you said search for the title, i done this also and yes well done ;) you are number one. I notice that the hypenated version of that title is available and if it where brought by someone then they would imo gain a top 5 listing without much effort.
Before you state well look at the tenth position ;) I noticed that the tenth listing is a keyword domain but they are missing that all important hypen in between north and dakota and a dmoz listing. Its like i said in my post there are 3 ingredients and it is the other two ingredients at least that is affecting the site in tenth place.
Anyhow for what it costs why didnt you get that keyword or more to the point why dont you get that hypenated domain name ;)
Jamsy
I quick afterthought, you may have seen a different www2 to the one i saw during this dance and we are totally going on different results LOL.
What it really means, though, is old hat: the work is never finished, and you can never rest on your laurels for very long! :)
