Tubby - - Read what I said again. What I have been saying all along is that the name of a domain is the single most important factor in where a website is found in Google search results, REGARDLESS of all other factors, and that at least 75% of websites with a strong, generic domain name are displayed on the first one or two pages of search results. I pointed out that I myself have launched two websites (with strong domain names) that went straight to page 1 of Google search results WITHOUT any inbound links. I conceded from the outset that other factors would then come into play to determine precisely where a particular website turned up in search results - eg, on page 1, position 1, or at the bottom of page 2. I then we4nt on to say - in the post you quoted - that having a strong domain name AND having a reasonable well-optimized website practically guaranteed page 1 positioning. There is no contradiction or inconsistency in any of the statements I made. A strong domain name by itself almost invariably turns up near the top of Google search results EVEN IF IT HAS NOT BEEN OPTIMIZED AND DOES NOT HAVE INBOUND LINKS. I know this for a fact, because I've tried it, and it works. I did NOT at any point claim that inbound links, meta tags, content etc., were unimportant, or did not affect a website's search engine positioning. They do; but not as much as the domain name and the title of the site.
MJ - "And, really, there is no harm in her belief. Having a keyword rich domain is at least some help and as long as you don't have too many keywords or more than a couple of hyphens, it can't do any harm. Anyone reading her posts may get the erroneous impression that it will help them more than it will, but they have other more authoritative sources to refer to as well, and, again, at worst, it will give them a little less help than they expect. Pretty much the case with most panaceas, no?"
You're a condescending twit. You have no idea what you're talking about, and you're repeating, parrot-fashion, "facts" that you've picked up from other so-called authorities (who are equally clueless). Anyone reading my posts will get FACTUAL information based on eleven years of creating, launching and running commercial websites - SUCCESSFUL websites that have earned millions of dollars for me. I don't profess to know everything - that's why I continue to visit forums such this one - but what I DO know, I know from experience, not from listening to
SEO "experts" who, most of the time, talk rubbish.
Again, it is DEMONSTRABLY the case - ie, it can be readily proved - that the domain name and title of a website are the most important elements in where that site shows up in search results. Inbound links are nowhere near as important, and are NOT NECESSARY for a website to appear prominently in Google search results.