keywords in url for google not so important?

[Callme]

Ive read somewhere, maybe here that keywords in the url are not so important for google ranking but are for yahoo?
Is this true?
IM so new to this! Id love to know in a few words ( if anyone one would be so kind) whats the most important thing to have sorted for good SEO? keyword density? inbound links?

[thindenim]

I'm of the opinion that it does help, but it's only a small percentage of the overall algorithm.

One advantage of having your target keyphrase as your domain name is it makes it easier to build links with the anchor text you want.

[incrediblehelp]

Doesnt really matter at all from my perspective. You can just browse the SERPs and see this.

[janeth]

As stated above, about the only help would be in building links to your site.

Although I think MSN likes them. But myself, I'd rather go with a name I could live with. Never know when the search engines will change or become less relevant.

[crankydave]

Anything that a SE considers is important IMO. How important is another matter.

Most important thing for SEO?

I personally can't pick a single thing as "most important". Everything is important. But if I were to lean in a single direction as far as both SE's and visitors were concerned I'd say structure/navigation.

Dave

[DrTandem1]

Domain names are for people. There are plenty of sites at the top of the SERPs for their chosen keyword(s) that don't have them in their domain name. Make the name easy to remember and spell because it's for people.

[flyingspider]

Some people like to sleep on a bed without a pillow. If sleeping on a pillow allows you to sleep better, than use it. In our case, I have seen nothing but great results from URL with the keyword in it.

You have two choices:

1. buy a domain with the keyword in it
2. buy a generic domain and name the webpage using the keyword that you're trying to optimize for

Here's an excellent example of a webpage with strong IBL (in bound links) and it's using a keyword rich webpage: diet pills - Google Search

The #1 listing has been dominating that keyword for about 5 years now. Still think its not worth it? Follow their strategy and succeed in Google and other search engines.

[hyperdog]

We've seen good results with keywords in the URL, if no reason other than to entice searchers to click your search listing. Human visitors are becoming better at ignoring spam in search engine results, and are looking to important clues in your listing. Keywords in metadescriptions, titles and URLs get clicks. Along those lines, we just blogged this morning:
9 Tips: Treat your SEO like a PPC Campaign

As for the actual questions, I think inbound link anchor text and titles are the most important SEO elements to worry about - as long as you don't have any barriers to the googlebot accessing your site (like javascript only navigation, etc.)

[StevenRB]

The original poster simply mentioned keywords in the "URL."

In my mind, that's not just the domain name.

The "Diet Pills" example given above is, in fact, a case of a top result with the keywords in the URL (as well as all the other good things mentioned in that post and others).

[dburdon]

Callme,

your basic thesis is correct. URLs are not so important for Google but do play a more important role with Yahoo. However, in more competitive categories so many other things come into play - branding particularly - that I wouldn't be driven by the tld.

[Jon-WebsiteCM]

In my google results dietpills.com ranks #3

[rdynek]

Originally Posted by flyingspider

Some people like to sleep on a bed without a pillow. If sleeping on a pillow allows you to sleep better, than use it. In our case, I have seen nothing but great results from URL with the keyword in it.

You have two choices:

1. buy a domain with the keyword in it
2. buy a generic domain and name the webpage using the keyword that you're trying to optimize for

Here's an excellent example of a webpage with strong IBL (in bound links) and it's using a keyword rich webpage: diet pills - Google Search

The #1 listing has been dominating that keyword for about 5 years now. Still think its not worth it? Follow their strategy and succeed in Google and other search engines.

My question is how would someone acquire that many IBL without Reciprocating links? I was under the impression that any inbound that were not exchanged with reciprocating links was just frowned upon as purchased traffic or such.

[morestar]

Originally Posted by crankydave

Anything that a SE considers is important IMO. How important is another matter.

Most important thing for SEO?

I personally can't pick a single thing as "most important". Everything is important. But if I were to lean in a single direction as far as both SE's and visitors were concerned I'd say structure/navigation.

Dave

Yes...everything is important and having keywords in your domain name is surely to help and give you some advantage...you won't ALWAYS get an advantage but if you play your cards right you can use it to your advantage...

SO USE IT

[sudhani]

In my opinion, the Keywords in URL will help as some people will use your URL as anchor text. that will translate your URL anchor into a keyword rich link

[janeth]

Originally Posted by flyingspider

Some people like to sleep on a bed without a pillow. If sleeping on a pillow allows you to sleep better, than use it. In our case, I have seen nothing but great results from URL with the keyword in it.

You have two choices:

1. buy a domain with the keyword in it
2. buy a generic domain and name the webpage using the keyword that you're trying to optimize for

Here's an excellent example of a webpage with strong IBL (in bound links) and it's using a keyword rich webpage: diet pills - Google Search

The #1 listing has been dominating that keyword for about 5 years now. Still think its not worth it? Follow their strategy and succeed in Google and other search engines.

And do you really believe that name is the only reason they rank #1?

[janeth]

Originally Posted by StevenRB

The original poster simply mentioned keywords in the "URL."

In my mind, that's not just the domain name.

The "Diet Pills" example given above is, in fact, a case of a top result with the keywords in the URL (as well as all the other good things mentioned in that post and others).

#1 is "www.weight-loss-institute.com"

#2 is "www.trustedonlinedrugs.com"

#3 is "www.redbookmag.com"

If it is all about the name of the site then why do those sites out rank them?

[activeco]

Originally Posted by StevenRB

The original poster simply mentioned keywords in the "URL."

In my mind, that's not just the domain name.

Exactly. Surprisingly how people tend to grasp specific questions in a shallow way.

Yes, keyword in a subdomain, domain, directory or file name is surely helpful (for all major search engines) unless overused.

[bj]

To answer your other question, in my opinion there are three things that will help raise your site in the SERPs. Good Canonical Structure (which may include keyphrases in urls!), One Way Inbound Links from relevant and high ranking sites along with the link text they use to link to you, and lots and lots and lots of CONTENT added regularly. There are other factors which may help, but I think for anyone starting out those are the ones to concentrate on first. And all three are easier when you either run your site using properly configured blog software, or add a well configured blog to your site as part of it.

[Orion]

Honestly I don't believe that any ONE item is the key..

It's a series of small things that add up to success... imho the top ones would be targeted well written content, clean code and structure, effectively written title/description for each page, and IBLs...

There is also a definite difference if your business is strictly online. If you have a brick and mortar business then your URL would ideally be your business name, because those in your local community (or if you brand your company / product well) will search for you directly. Every website should come up in the top 3 for their business name, at the very least in a local search.