A decade back, exact match domains delivered impressive traffic and great rankings to website owners. This is a major reason behind the popularity of these domains in the world of domain hosting Australia.
But does Google still prefer them?
The answer is complicated. But as long as an exact match domain is not spammy, Google values it.
In this blog, we will also help you decide why or why not you should prefer an exact match domain Australia.
What Are Exact Match Domains?
Exact match domains are the domain names that contain the exact keyword or phrase for which a business ranked well in the past or is ranking currently.
For example, if someone wants to rank for the keyword “best car insurance,” he would buy a domain like bestcarinsurance.com.
Does Google Favour Exact Match Domains?
It is not a hidden fact that Google favours sites that have relevant keywords in the domain name. Sure, it brings attractive traffic and conversions to some businesses, but it can be frustrating at times. The reason is some spammy and low-quality sites rank above the legit sites despite the useless content they offer.
To deal with the situation, Google made fair changes in its search algorithms to reduce the number of low-quality EMDs.
As a result, search engine results pages of today are filled with high authority and trustworthy domains.
So, does Google still like exact-match domains or not?
The answer is yes. Google still likes exact match domains that are high-quality, legitimate, and non-spammy.
Initially, Google has updated its algorithms to regulate spam and clean its SERPs. But later realised that in this quest, many valuable domains had also been penalised just because they had an exact matching domain name.
Thereafter, they issued another update that improved the value of high-quality EMDs while cutting off the low-quality ones.
Reasons Behind the Popularity of Exact Match Domains
- Higher Relevance
Google views an exact match between the query and the domain as a superior degree of relevance. Therefore, it ranks the site at the top of the result pages.
- Low Competition
Exact name domains are rare, and hence, you don’t have to worry about the competition.
- Uniqueness
Exact name domains also enjoy early bird benefits of Google because they give value to domains that are unique and rare in a category.
To Conclude: Should You Buy an Exact Match Domain in 2023?
As you can see, exact match domains are still useful today for various reasons such as higher traffic, better conversions, easy to remember, and so on.
So, yes.
You can still opt for an EMD at the time of domain name registration. However, you need to make sure that your site is offering high-quality content and value for the users; otherwise, Google may punish you by pushing your site to the bottom of SERPs.
In addition, if you are planning to establish a brand in the long run, searching domains that reflect your brand or simply branded domains will be an intelligent choice.
