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Partial Match Domains | What do they stand for?

Time to read 5 Min

Brand, exact match or partial match domain? No matter which one you chose, acquiring the right domain is the beginning of every digital brand.

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Author

Annika Jehl

Date

2023/04/04
Two hands with globe icon in a circle to symbolise Partial Match Domains

Many entrepreneurs seal the fate of the entire domain strategy by securing the associated social media accounts. But you can do a lot more to ensure a successful online presence:

After purchasing the matching main and brand domain(s), it’s time to build and strengthen your own website and brand. In addition to the right content, the defensive registration of further domains should not be forgotten. Strategic domain registrations and acquisitions nowadays go far beyond the registration of just the brand domain. These domains can become stabilizing factors and generators of a successful business and revenues. Many brands use TMCH services for this purpose, but a strategy must still be created.

Your main domain: establishing brand names with brand domains

Once you have registered the matching brand domain, the next step is to establish the brand. Customers should already be aware of the associated product or service if a brand name is mentioned and have a clear picture in front of them. This is where additional domain names come into play: If you register domains that combine the brand name with adjectives, you give the site visitor a better idea of what your web presence and brand are about.

What are partial match domains?

In order to make the brand more relevant to search engines and users, keywords can be added to the brand name, turning a brand domain into a partial match domain (PMD).

No matter the kind of service or product you offer, success depends on the main domain – regardless of whether it is an exact match domain or a brand domain. As the definitive place-to-go on the World Wide Web, it will benefit from the identities associated with it.

Let’s say your brand is called Exceptional Things. You should plan to register additional domains containing matching keywords. First, make a list of action-related terms that can be positively associated with the brand: buy, find, get, etc.

Now you can start combining the strongest keywords into long-tail domain names that will target your products in combination with the brand: GetExceptionalThings.com, BuyExceptionalThings.com, FindExceptionalThings.com – and so on.

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What are the advantages of such a keyword extension?

First and foremost, you keep the primary structure of your brand, namely the word pair “Exceptional Things” in the domain name. Second, using words that trigger actions not only spice up your brand and give website visitors a direct indication of what to expect. If the word combination forms a phrase that is often entered in search engines, more direct search hits can be achieved as well.

  • You create a direct reference to the products available under your brand while also using it as defensive domain registrations to keep the competition from registering domains containing your brand name.

Let’s say the domain associated with your brand does not contain a descriptive keyword but is a pure brand domain, such as Tulifon.com. Your products are hats, pens and shirts. Then it makes sense to register TulifonHats.com, TulifonPens.com and TulifonShirts.com along with the brand domain.

  • This way you showcase your products alongside your brand directly in the domain name. This process allows you to further strengthen your brand through its connection to the products and services offered.

When it comes to presenting content to your customers, consider keeping your domains separate. Don’t just forward them to a subpage under your main domain, but set up a portal that presents the respective products or services and link back to the website of the brand domain.

  • In this way, you increase the visibility of your brand in search engines and gain link juice from the range of different content.

So why not directly go with an exact match domain?

When it comes to the Click Through Rate (CTR), Exact Match Domains (EMDs) are sometimes more effective than brand domains. If the keywords contained on the website match the domain name, EMDs can also achieve a good search ranking. Due to the EMD update in the Google search algorithm, the focus nowadays is more on the actual content of the page.

For a few products that all belong to the same group, an EMD can make sense, but the content should definitely match the chosen keyword. For niche products, an EMD often is recommended.

Establishing the brand name can therefore be more important than a keyword domain. Brand domains have the great advantage of covering much more than just SEO.

Conclusion: Your brand domain is the primary gateway to your brand. You can improve your presence by supporting them with strategically registered or acquired domains such as partial match domains. Use AutoDNS to find suitable branded domains PMDs and EMDs.

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