SEARCHENGINES

Google Says Your Domain Will Never Make Or Break Your SEO

Published

1 year ago

August 15, 2023

Google’s John Mueller said on Mastodon a few tips on domain names, but one line was pretty strong. He said, “your domain name is never going to make or break your SEO.”

Here are the points he made on domains on the topic of dashes in domain names. He wrote, “In the domain name, is the use of dash ( – ) recommended or not?”

It’s fine

Pick a domain name for your brand for the long run, don’t just collect keywords (the common reason for dashes). Build out a domain.

For SEO, dashes are very minimally better in URLs than underscores. Don’t change your URLs for them tho. Don’t use spaces, commas, colons, etc in URLs.

Your domain name is never going to make or break your SEO.

So as you’d imagine, this caused a bit of back and forth on that social network.

Nick replied to John saying, “Domain will never make or break your SEO……however it will help if you get one which will match the main searches. No dash better than dash but dash with the right keywords is better than no dash without good keyword.”

John responded to that saying, “I don’t think either of those are the case. From a branding or marketing POV, *maybe* (eg, if you have the URL in an offline ad, it can be easier to remember). I would venture a guess that the SEO effect is less than the mention of the word on the page, and at that point, is that still worth focusing on? And yes, I know, I know, SEOs sometimes focus on the smallest things, but TBH that’s super-inefficient and gives a bad reputation.”

Another SEO said, “as long as keyword domains work, people will use them. Maybe Google can delete this bonus finally?”

John replied to that, “Do they really work though? I think it’s a lot of “keyword in the domain” plus “there’s a lot of other SEO things we do” — and I don’t think you can separate out the effect of a word in a domain. They can be cool for branding, they can be memorable, but I don’t think you get any measurable SEO bonus out of it. (It would be totally weird to do that, anyone can buy a domain name; it’s not a sign of relevance.)”

So go with or without dashes, but don’t do it for keywords.

Oh, Google has always downplayed the role of domains in ranking and SEO.

Forum discussion at Mastodon.

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Related Topics:Break Domain Google searchengine seo

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SEARCHENGINES

Daily Search Forum Recap: September 6, 2024

Published

7 hours ago

September 6, 2024

Entireweb News Bot

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.

I know the Google August core update is done, but we are still seeing significant volatility days later. I posted a large interview with Google’s Danny Sullivan on the core update and more – it is worth a read. Google also had an interview on Google Shopping and Merchant Center. Google Ads has a bug with audience insights. Google clarified its indexing API quota details. Google has these new try on icons in search ads. And I posted my weekly SEO video recap.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

Google Search Volatility Still Heated After August Core Update Rollout Completed

It is like the Google August 2024 core update didn’t finish rolling out, or maybe something else is going on, because I am still seeing a lot of signals of intense search ranking volatility in the Google Search results. The tools are all still heated and the chatter within the SEO community is still pretty lively.

My Interview Of Google’s Search Liaison On The August 2024 Core Update

This week I interviewed Danny Sullivan, Google’s Search Liaison, with the goal of better understanding where Google Search quality is at right now, where it is going in the future and what we as content creators and search marketers need to know.

Google Ads Audience Insights Missing For Some

There is another Google Ads bug, this time with the Audience insights going missing for some advertisers. Ginny Marvin, Google’s Ads Liaison, said on X, “Audience Insights is not being removed” but rather there is a bug.

Google Shopping & Merchant Center Interview With Irina Tuduce

Google published an internal interview on its Search Off the Record podcast with John Mueller and Lizzi Sassman (who you know) and Irina Tuduce from the Google Shopping team. Irina Tuduce has been with Google for 18 or so years and she provided a super technical overview of Google Shopping and Merchant Center.

Google Clarifies Indexing API Quota & Pricing Information

Google has made several changes to its indexing API quota and pricing information document for clarification purposes. Google said this was to clarify “the default quota is for setting up the Indexing API, and how to request approval and quota. Also corrected a documentation error for DefaultRequestsPerMinutePerProject quota (it’s always been a 380 quota).”

Google Ads Try On Icon

Google launched its try on feature a year or so ago and now Google may have just added a new icon to visualize the try on feature. Below is a screenshot of it on Google Ads for lipstick. When you click on the the face/emoji/icon at the top left of the ad, below you will see a way to visualize it on real models generated by Google AI.

Liquor at Google Event

I found these fancy photos of fancy liquor and alcohol on Instagram from a Google event. The post says there were delicious cocktails, and good fun, concerts, and great food.

Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google August Core Update Done, Google Interview, Google Ads & Merchant Center News & The YouTube Algorithm SEO

This week, the Google August 2024 core update finished rolling out, a bit earlier than expected. There is still search volatility, a lot of it…

Other Great Search Threads:

Search Engine Land Stories:

Feedback:

Have feedback on this daily recap; let me know on Twitter @rustybrick or @seroundtable, on Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky and you can follow us on Facebook and on Google News and make sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or just contact us the old fashion way.

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SEARCHENGINES

Google Ads To Require Gambling Advertisers With Games Certification To Recertify

Published

1 day ago

September 5, 2024

Entireweb News Bot

Google Ads said that by November 2024, advertisers with the gambling and games certification must recertify or stop relying on the certification to advertise products in scope of the Gambling and games policy.

Google wrote, “In November 2024, the Google Ads Circumventing Systems policy will be updated.”

“Advertisers with the Gambling and games certification must recertify or stop relying on the certification to advertise products in scope of the Gambling and games policy if a material change has occurred since the certification application was submitted,” Google added.

If you do not comply, Google said, they “will suspend your Google Ads accounts upon detection and without prior warning.” Google added “and you will not be allowed to advertise with us again.”

Google advertisers with the Gambling and games certification must recertify or stop relying on the certification to advertise products in scope of the Gambling and games policy if a material change has occurred since the certification application was submitted.

Failure to do so will be considered a violation of the Google Ads Circumventing Systems policy, Google said.

Material changes include, but are not limited to:

Changes to advertiser’s product offerings which are inconsistent with any license or approvals provided to Google

Changes to advertiser’s compliance with applicable regulations

Changes to advertiser’s licensure or other compliance with Google’s Gambling and games certification requirements

Google said that changes to an advertiser’s address or payment methods are not considered material for purposes of this Gambling and games recertification requirement.

Forum discussion at X.

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SEARCHENGINES

Daily Search Forum Recap: September 3, 2024

Published

2 days ago

September 4, 2024

Entireweb News Bot

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.

I posted a bunch of YouTube algorithm and SEO tips from Google. Google Trends email subscriptions service is going away next month. Bing Knowledge Panels has this table of contents. Google is testing new Google Maps pins. I also posted the big September 2024 Google Webmaster report.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

September 2024 Google Webmaster Report

It finally happened, we got a new core update, the Google August 2024 core update touched down on August 15th. It resulted in some movement with some sites hit by the September helpful content update and also many sad stories, including many sites that were hit.

YouTube SEO Questions Answered

A few months ago, we posted some answers about how YouTube ranking is affected by various variables and factors – YouTube SEO questions and answers, if you will. Well, the YouTube Liaison posted a number of short video answers around the YouTube algorithm and YouTube SEO over the past week that I wanted to share.

Google Trends Email Subscriptions Going Away Next Month

Google will discontinue the Google Trends email subscription service on October 29, 2024. Google sent emails to those who had subscribed to Google Trends over email saying, “Google Trends trend notifications will no longer be supported and existing alerts will no longer be sent.”

Bing Knowledge Panel & Featured Answers Table Of Contents Animation

Microsoft recently added an animation or highlight effect on its featured answers or knowledge panels at the top of its Bing Search results. When you hover your mouse over the table of content on the left side, the section it corresponds to in the answer, will expand.

Google Tests New Map Pin Shapes

Google is testing a new shape and maybe colors for the map pins they use in Google Search and Google Maps. The new shape is less of a pin/diamond shape and more of a circle shape.

Doctor Mike At YouTube Health Launch

I don’t watch much YouTube, and I subscribe to a select few channels, and Doctor Mike is one of those channels I subscribe to and watch some of the videos on. He was at the launch event of YouTube Health or something like it.