An exact match domain (EMD) is just what it sounds like: a domain name that is the same as, or very close to, a phrase people type into Google. An EMD is not bad for SEO on its own. For years, though, site builders bought them to rank high in Google without putting real work into content or the site itself. That stopped working when the Exact Match Domain update rolled out. After it, every site was judged on what it actually published, and sites with an EMD got no special pass.
Launch Date: September 27, 2012
Which sites the EMD update hit
EMDs used to rule the SERPs. This update filtered out the ones Google considered low quality. A downranked EMD has nothing special about it; it simply does not follow Google’s guidelines for site owners. Here are a few reasons a site with an EMD might rank lower than it did before:
Weak SEO
What does your SEO strategy look like? Do you have one at all? Sites change all the time to fit their target audiences better. If your SEO is poor, or you have none, you will lose rankings fast.
Thin content
EMD sites were known for thin content. Google wants to show its users the best pages it can, so your content has to prove you know your field.
Keyword stuffing
Google dislikes keyword stuffing on any site, and EMDs have a bad name for it. You could argue that the domain name is a form of keyword stuffing in itself. Google rewards a few keywords placed with care over a pile of them crammed onto a page, so write for the reader first.
How the EMD update works
For a long time, EMDs ranked well in Google’s SERPs because the domain matched what people searched for. Site and content quality made little difference; the name alone gave them a boost.
The Exact Match Domain update closed that gap. What used to be a cheap, easy shortcut to organic traffic is now just a domain name that says what you sell. The free ride is over. Google looks at far more than the domain when it ranks a site. Its crawlers check a site against the Quality Guidelines (now part of Google Search Essentials) no matter what the domain name is, and no matter whether it matches the phrases people type into Google.
How to adjust your SEO for an EMD
An EMD will not lower your rankings by itself. If your site has strong content and sound SEO, you have nothing to worry about. Ranking well with an EMD takes the same work as ranking well with any other domain: good SEO, done consistently.
Improve your content
The best-known mistake of older EMD sites was thin, poor content. Builders assumed they didn’t need to try very hard on content, because the domain name would carry the site to the top anyway. That is no longer true. You have to publish content that answers your visitors’ questions well, the kind Google can recognize and reward with higher rankings.
Build links
Links are one of the most effective ways to show that your site has authority, so build both internal and external ones. Keep them relevant. External links should come from respected, legitimate sites.
Read Google’s Quality Guidelines
Google doesn’t publish a step-by-step ranking list, but its guidelines spell out what you should and shouldn’t do to satisfy its crawlers.
Take the time to read what Google is looking for. If you build your site with those points in mind from the start, you will save yourself a lot of time and heartache. And if your EMD site is already live and you are reworking it to win back rankings, don’t worry. Google wants searchers to have a great experience, and there are many ways to give them one, even if you haven’t focused on it before. Climbing back after a drop can feel impossible at first. Google’s own documentation tells you most of what you need to do it.
You don’t need to change your domain name
If you have an EMD, you don’t need to go through the hassle of rebranding or moving to a new domain. The EMD is not what is pulling your rankings down, and it won’t be. Google wants every site it indexes to be good. The best ones rank high, and the rest (well, you know how that goes) slide down the results. Do your SEO well, or hire professionals to do it for you, and your site can rank well whether or not it has an exact match domain.