{"id":5592,"date":"2018-02-21T08:52:28","date_gmt":"2018-02-21T07:52:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/?p=5592"},"modified":"2019-11-18T09:16:58","modified_gmt":"2019-11-18T08:16:58","slug":"does-google-limit-serps-to-one-exact-match-domain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/does-google-limit-serps-to-one-exact-match-domain","title":{"rendered":"Does Google Limit SERPs to One Exact Match Domain?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the past two years I have published the results of over 150 SEO tests run by my team.<\/strong> We aim to test the viability of different ranking factors in the Google algorithm<\/strong>. The tests themselves are run using basic principles from the scientific method. This allows for accountability and for the experiment to be reproduced.<\/p>\n

Searching the internet for tips is a terrible way to learn SEO<\/strong>. On any given topic three different experts will tell you that something is a ranking factor, three other experts will tell you that it isn\u2019t, and yet another 3 will tell you \u201cmaybe.\u201d Additionally, Google itself will often release unclear statements about what affects their algorithm.<\/strong> I have made it my quest to determine whether something really is or is not a ranking factor by actually testing it in a methodical, scientific manner. Instead of relying on what someone tells me, including Google, I do the legwork to find out the truth. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Beyond just learning more about SEO, there are real world implications to these test results. Clients constantly ask whether they should implement this or tweak that. Relying on something that was read in an SEO blog is not a long term success strategy. \u00a0Additionally, no project has unlimited time or an unlimited budget. \u00a0As a professional, you need to know what really works so that you are not wasting time and money.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is why I do SEO tests.\u00a0<\/strong>Concerning statements that Google makes about the algorithm, below I detail an interesting test that I published in December 2017.<\/p>\n

Hypothesis<\/h2>\n

Google limits SERPs to one exact match domain (EMD).<\/p>\n

Background Info<\/h2>\n

In a recent Google Webmaster Hangout<\/strong>, as reported by Josh Bachynski, John Mueller<\/strong> stated that Google has a filter for Exact Match Domains (EMDs).<\/strong>\u00a0That filter will only allow one EMD per Search Engine Results Page (SERP). If it is true that Google will filter EMDs there could be many ramifications on not only affiliate marketers but businesses that use or are considering using an EMD for their company website.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Test Setup<\/h2>\n

Three EMDs were purchased for a random three word phrase. I looked at my desk and picked out three words that produced some but not many results in Google when searched together. In this case, the combination microphone, cup, and mouse<\/strong>, produced the best results. I then purchased:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Microphonecupmouse.com<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • Microphonecupmouse.co<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • Microphonecupmouse.info<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    If you\u2019ve done any testing you know the difficulties with using duplicate content on homepages and getting the domains to index. To avoid indexing issues, I optimized all three homepages similarly but used unique content and unique h tags.<\/strong> \u00a0For example, my H1s on the domains were:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • The Microphone Cup Mouse You Need – Microphonecupmouse.com<\/li>\n
    • Number 1 Microphone Cup Mouse – Microphonecupmouse.co<\/li>\n
    • Best Microphone Cup Mouse – Microphonecupmouse.info<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Each of those H1s contains the target keyword phrase used one time but are unique \/ not duplicate.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      I set up Search Console for all three sites and submitted them to Google\u2019s index using the Fetch as Google tool.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/h1>\n

      Test Timeline<\/h2>\n

      After the domains were launched and cached by Google, the .com briefly landed in the top 100 results for the EMD phrase<\/strong> while the other two domains were nowhere to be found. \u00a0I then checked the long tail h tags and found that those were starting to rank. \u00a0For example, the .co ranked for its H1: Number 1 Microphone Cup Mouse even though it wasn\u2019t ranking for the EMD phrase.<\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      \u00a0<\/p>\n

      \u00a0<\/p>\n

      After 3 days, all three domains hit page one for the target EMD term:<\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      \u00a0<\/p>\n

      Results<\/h2>\n

      All three EMDs are on page one.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Analysis\/implications\/application<\/h2>\n

      According to John Mueller, three EMD\u2019s shouldn\u2019t all be on page one of SERPs.<\/strong>\u00a0Two of those domains should have been filtered. \u00a0Clearly, there is no filter being applied in this situation. \u00a0Let\u2019s look at the possibilities of why the test produced these results:<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. It\u2019s a time thing, the algorithm will catch it sometime in the future<\/li>\n
      2. John intentionally lied<\/li>\n
      3. John was lied to by someone else<\/li>\n
      4. John just makes stuff up<\/li>\n
      5. There is a filter but it\u2019s manual not algorithmic. Your niche\/keyword needs to be important enough to have manual curation. \u00a0Google will filter out extra EMDs manually, where appropriate<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        I think your preference for which answer is correct depends on your level of cynicism. This test was run in December 2017 and as of January 28, 2018 all the domains are still on page one (current screenshot below).\u00a0<\/strong>I think it\u2019s safe to conclude that in the correct situation, EMDs are still a viable technique, even if a well ranking EMD currently exists in your niche.<\/strong>\u00a0Additionally, anything that comes from Google should be taken with a Dead Sea level grain of salt and tested.<\/p>\n

        Updated screenshot. \u00a0All three domains still on page one.<\/p>\n

        \"\"<\/p>\n

        \u00a0<\/p>\n

        \u00a0<\/p>\n

        \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Over the past two years I have published the results of over 150 SEO tests run by my team. We aim to test the viability of different ranking factors in the Google algorithm. The tests themselves are run using basic principles from the scientific method. This allows for accountability and for the experiment to be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":5623,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[98,36,28],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDoes Google Limit SERPs to One Exact Match Domain? | Red Orbit Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We put the hypothesis that Google limits SERPs to one exact match domain (EMD) to a test. Here are the results and what we learned.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/does-google-limit-serps-to-one-exact-match-domain\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kyle Roof\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/does-google-limit-serps-to-one-exact-match-domain\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/does-google-limit-serps-to-one-exact-match-domain\",\"name\":\"Does Google Limit SERPs to One Exact Match Domain? | Red Orbit Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-02-21T07:52:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-11-18T08:16:58+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7029c5cc5de6feca8e788a604833dfe7\"},\"description\":\"We put the hypothesis that Google limits SERPs to one exact match domain (EMD) to a test. Here are the results and what we learned.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/does-google-limit-serps-to-one-exact-match-domain#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/does-google-limit-serps-to-one-exact-match-domain\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/does-google-limit-serps-to-one-exact-match-domain#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Does Google Limit SERPs to One Exact Match Domain?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Red Orbit Blog\",\"description\":\"We are pushing the boundaries of digital marketing.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7029c5cc5de6feca8e788a604833dfe7\",\"name\":\"Kyle Roof\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f5aad8405e322b7fa37bf3f1001b0564?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f5aad8405e322b7fa37bf3f1001b0564?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kyle Roof\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/author\/kyleroof\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Does Google Limit SERPs to One Exact Match Domain? | Red Orbit Blog","description":"We put the hypothesis that Google limits SERPs to one exact match domain (EMD) to a test. Here are the results and what we learned.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/does-google-limit-serps-to-one-exact-match-domain","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kyle Roof","Estimated reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/does-google-limit-serps-to-one-exact-match-domain","url":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/does-google-limit-serps-to-one-exact-match-domain","name":"Does Google Limit SERPs to One Exact Match Domain? | Red Orbit Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-02-21T07:52:28+00:00","dateModified":"2019-11-18T08:16:58+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7029c5cc5de6feca8e788a604833dfe7"},"description":"We put the hypothesis that Google limits SERPs to one exact match domain (EMD) to a test. Here are the results and what we learned.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/does-google-limit-serps-to-one-exact-match-domain#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/does-google-limit-serps-to-one-exact-match-domain"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/does-google-limit-serps-to-one-exact-match-domain#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Does Google Limit SERPs to One Exact Match Domain?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/","name":"Red Orbit Blog","description":"We are pushing the boundaries of digital marketing.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7029c5cc5de6feca8e788a604833dfe7","name":"Kyle Roof","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f5aad8405e322b7fa37bf3f1001b0564?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f5aad8405e322b7fa37bf3f1001b0564?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kyle Roof"},"url":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/author\/kyleroof"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/blog-feautured-image-50.jpg?fit=1140%2C580&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8AeJs-1sc","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5460,"url":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/why-not-all-organic-traffic-is-seo-traffic","url_meta":{"origin":5592,"position":0},"title":"Why Not All Organic Traffic Is SEO Traffic","date":"01\/29\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Understanding Why SEO Traffic Is Not the Same as Organic Traffic in Analytics All of the traffic coming from search engines (excluding paid traffic) is considered organic. A widespread view considers organic traffic SEO traffic, implying that SEO performance can be evaluated by looking at the organic traffic figures. But\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Search Engine Optimization"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/blog-feautured-image-42.jpg?fit=1140%2C580&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6232,"url":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/using-algorithmic-content-analysis-high-impact-seo-upgrades","url_meta":{"origin":5592,"position":1},"title":"Using Algorithmic Content Analysis for High-Impact SEO Upgrades","date":"03\/11\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Data-driven content upgrades are an SEO's favorite. They are highly effective for both content sites and eCommerce sites. In this blog post, we will study keyword intent and what kind of pages Google prefers, depending on the intent of a query. This will allow for you to create better content\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Search Engine Optimization"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/blog-feautured-image-89.jpg?fit=1140%2C580&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5861,"url":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/4-actionable-tips-to-land-top-editorial-links-for-your-site","url_meta":{"origin":5592,"position":2},"title":"4 Actionable Tips to Land Top Editorial Links for Your Site","date":"09\/13\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Link building has been around and will continue to be around for a very long time as an important search engine optimization (SEO) strategy for online marketers. Think of it like a pair of denim pants. While you may go through dozens of different shorts, slacks, or boxers in a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Search Engine Optimization"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/blog-feautured-image-68.jpg?fit=1140%2C580&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5112,"url":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/answers-to-most-important-seo-questions","url_meta":{"origin":5592,"position":3},"title":"Answers to most important SEO questions","date":"05\/08\/2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Judith Lewis is the founder of the DeCabbit Consultancy, which specialises in integrated digital marketing consultancy and execution. Judith is a specialised integrated online marketer with extensive experience in SEO, PPC, and Social Media Marketing, as well as other digital marketing techniques. She was doing SEO before it even had\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Search Engine Optimization"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/blog-feautured-image-18.jpg?fit=1140%2C580&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5068,"url":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/tracking-results-in-not-provided-world","url_meta":{"origin":5592,"position":4},"title":"Tracking Results in (not provided) World","date":"04\/10\/2017","format":false,"excerpt":"On September 23, 2013, Google announced the use of secure sockets layer (SSL) encrypted search for all users. It was the beginning of the (not-provided) era. Where marketers used to be able to see which keywords led traffic to their sites, we started to see \u201c(not provided)\u201d instead. Keyword data\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Search Engine Optimization"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/blog-feautured-image-15.jpg?fit=1140%2C580&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5687,"url":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/5-top-features-from-ryte-that-will-improve-your-seo","url_meta":{"origin":5592,"position":5},"title":"5 Top Features from Ryte that will improve your SEO","date":"03\/07\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Ryte is a comprehensive software for monitoring, analyzing and optimizing digital assets. With the three tools RYTE Website Success, RYTE Search Success and RYTE Content Success, Ryte creates the basis for your digital marketing success. We\u2019ve been using Ryte for some time now and here are the features that boosted\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Search Engine Optimization"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/blog-feautured-image-62.jpg?fit=1140%2C580&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5592"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5592"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5628,"href":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5592\/revisions\/5628"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.red-orbit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}