HN Explorer

Ask HN: monkeyswithrings.com or monkeysrings.com?

1 points by garply ↗ HN
I need some SEO help. I'm considering buying a domain name. Let's say in the English language "monkeys with rings" is a common phrase. Let's say I want to make a website about monkeys with rings. But the Google keyword tool tells me "monkeys rings" has far, far more queries. Should I use "monkeyswithrings.com" or "monkeysrings.com"?

6 comments

[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 21.9 ms ] thread
vital101
I'm not sure from an SEO standpoint, but from an end-user standpoint I wouldn't click on a site with the domain "monkeyshats.com". It looks too much like "monkey sh*ts".
garply
OK, fair point, let me change the second noun. That wasn't the point of the question.
byoung2
That reminds me of something funny a guy from Yahoo told me. He worked on an algorithm that would try to identify what a domain like www.salesexchange.com was really about - "sales exchange" or "sale sex change"
hotmind
Choose a domain name that is exactly as some one might query it. Google gives a bonus for exact matches. You'll jump up a few positions in the SERPs.

P.S. Avoid hyphens :)

gfhfghf
If monkeysrings.com has "far, far more queries", then choosing that domain is a clear optimisation.
patrickk
Monkeysrings.com. Treat most casual web surfers as having ADD and that they are only itching to click the back button; so the easier and more memorable the name the better.

You might consider having a clear, camel notation heading at the top of your landing page to make the website name clear.