Recently at Branded3 we have been experimenting with exact match domains and exploring opportunities to increase relevant and hopefully profitable traffic.

I don’t know how much experience you have had in trying to register these types of domains or attempting to rank them but it is really really easy and you will be surprised how many keyword rich domains there are still left to register.

Now don’t get me wrong you are going to be hard pressed to land high traffic exact match domains, as most have been snapped up on all extensions, however with some good keyword research you should be able to register some longer tail “relevant” keywords that can help bring instant traffic to your site.

So here is a quick image to demonstrate a little:-

Ok let’s map this out a little better then.

How do I find the keywords?

I would do this using the google keyword tool, switching the results to exact match. You only really want to be registering a keyword as a domain if it has 300 searches per month or more.

Do I redirect the domain?

No….

You need this domain to rank in its own right, only 301 a domain if you want to pass on its link juice or if it has a lot of brand search. This method is for quick rankings and quick traffic.

Use a similar template to your site and fill it with some unique content optimised and linking back to your main site.

How long will this take to rank? Is it really worth it?

First of all if you didn’t know already, exact domains are so easy to rank for the keyword they are targeted to;

Let me share with you a classic example:-

ppcagencies.org is a domain Branded3 registered about 2 weeks ago, where do you think the domain is ranked now with 2 links??

Take a look:-

That is 3rd position by the way :p

Now don’t get me wrong this keyword is not a huge traffic keyword but if we get it to No.1 we will see 500-750 visits per month for $10 and 2 links!!

Will it not take too long to set up multiple domains??

Again, No…

I personally would head over to hostgator, open up an account to host multiple domains and point my new registered domains there.

Then all you need to do is add wordpress (or whatever CMS you use) upload the template and create one page of content.

Then repeat..!

If you have a brand new site this is one of the easiest ways to generate very quick traffic and so easy to do. One word of warning is not to do too many of these if your site is a new born, you don’t want to make it look like you’re developing a link network, however still register some of your main keyword domains to add over time. 3 domains should be ok to start with and then build it up over time.

One question I am always asked is “does the domain extension matter? ie .co.uk , .com , .org , .net????

Absolutely not, if you have the exact domain and know how to build a handful of quality links then a top 3 ranking is almost guaranteed.

One aspect of SEO that is frequently ignored is analytics and it has many useful aspects. Not only does it help you keep track of your progress but it also highlights new linking partners and search trends.

What I want to focus on today is using your search analytics to grab low hanging fruit and immediately increase the search traffic that finds your site.

We all target certain keywords on certain pages, however we always get found on longtail variations relating to the topic we are targeting.

Here is a sample of the keywords seowizz was found on last week, as you would expect google seo and seo techniques sit near the top, however I had 1911 visits from 347 different keywords. A quick flick down these keywords can highlight some hidden opportunities. For example:

I was getting a little traffic for the keyword “google ranking factors” I checked my rank on Google and found I was on top of the second page. A little tweaking was performed which moved my page on to the first page of Google. It was a post I was ranking with therefore I could completely optimise the page for the new found keyword.

So if we find some of our deeper pages are bringing traffic on certain long tail keywords, the first thing we should do is check where we rank. If your on the second or third page, a little optimisation maybe all you need to put you on the first page and in line for more traffic.

So what are some of the things we need to do to increase our pages relevance and move it up the rankings.

Title tag

First of all make sure the keyword is in your title tag. If it is in your title tag consider moving it to the front of your title tag and making it the exact keyword phrase. Remember the closer your keywords are to the beginning of your title tag the greater importance Google gives them.

ALT Attribute

Add your targeted keyword to the alt attribute of any images on the page, this will again increase your relevancy and move the page up the SERPS.

Internal Links

Create a link back to the page from an authority page of your site. Obviously the home page is preferred, however you will have deep pages on your site with some authority, link from them if the home page is not accessable. Remember to anchor your text, internal links still pass relevance.

Create a Few Backlinks

It maybe worth your while creating a few easy backlinks to the page from external sites. Fire out a few articles or submit to a blog carnival. This will give you a handful of backlinks and you will have the freedom to anchor the links with the target text.

This is so easy to implement that you really should not ignore it. Go through your search engine traffic, check your rank, if your on the second page or even third, consider further optimisation and watch your rankings rise (and hopefully your traffic).

Hope you find this helpful.