Google Publishes Guide To Current & Retired Ranking Systems

[TroyW]

article link: https://www.searchenginejournal.com...de-to-current-retired-ranking-systems/471940/

Morning all,

Just reading the above article on Search Engine Journal (SEJ) and this section stood out to me:

"Exact match domain system: A system that ensures Google doesn’t give too much credit to websites with domain names that exactly match a query."

Given the language used, my interpretation is:

1. There has been, a benefit to having an exact-match domain
2. The benefit was significant enough for Google to individually target it and turn it down
3. There continues to be a benefit , though not as much as before. ("... too much credit")

My thoughts are that one of the major benefits comes via backlinking, where the keyword URL is in the link text. As this is offsite, I expect it's harder for them to target than onsite and where the backlinks are from a high authority website, they'd potentially upset some core algorithm factors if they stick their finger in it.

What are your thoughts?

TW

 

[trellian]

What is "too much"?

There is always going to be more benefit to having a a short generic domain, over a long winded domain or one that does not match the term in any way. CTR plays a big part and end users are more likely to click on the result that better matches their search intent.