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Google: keywords in domains or domain extensions do not benefit your rankings
Peter Cady • September 16, 2020
However, country-code TLDs do play a role.
Is there a ranking benefit associated with having keywords in a domain name?
According to one Google employee, the answer is no.
In the most recent Ask Google Webmasters video, Google Webmaster Trends Analyst John Mueller was asked if having the keywords-based domain extension (also known as a top-level domain) .jobs would improve a site’s ranking for jobs in Google.
Here is what Mueller had to say about this:
“In short, no. You don’t get a special bonus like that from having a keyword in your top-level domain."
Mueller then went on to say that there is no benefit attributed to having a keyword in your domain name.
“Just because a website has a keyword in its domain name doesn’t mean that it’s more relevant than others for that keyword.
"In short, you don’t need to put keywords in the domain name.”
As Search Engine Land
notes, one exception to this rule is for sites that use country-code TLDs such as .jp (Japan), as Google considers it “to be a strong signal that a site is intended for users in a certain country.”
Of course, this could also hurt you if you are trying to sell your product or service internationally.
While keywords in a domain or domain extension may not have any benefit for your rankings, Search Engine Land notes that they may still be valuable for one’s brand.
Do you currently use keywords in your domain or domain extension? Feel free to comment on it to my Twitter feed.
Honesty and communication are key
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