1) In 2012, Google made changes to their algorithm to decrease the rankings of websites that relied solely on exact match domain names containing keywords rather than having quality content. 2) The update aimed to prevent websites from using keywords in their domain names without caring for content, design, or user experience in order to improperly gain high rankings. 3) Websites that used exact match domain names but also provided relevant, high-quality content were still able to achieve positive rankings if they met other engagement metrics, while many low-quality sites that only used keywords in their domain names were removed from search results.

1. Exact Match Domain
https://foursquare.com/user/563951593/list/googles-new-algorithm-leaves-an-opening-for-
compe
http://malonepadilla1.unblog.fr/2019/08/25/common-seo-mistakes-of-small-businesses/
https://penzu.com/p/065d1446
https://www.evernote.com/shard/s518/sh/283b08ae-e7ac-47a5-8a2f-
c6ce860cb2a9/84fa74b5412478de5111b1542828aa91
http://b3.zcubes.com/v.aspx?mid=1404042
https://seosem48.hatenablog.com/entry/2019/08/26/032941
https://www.evernote.com/shard/s662/sh/633da8fb-3b0e-4ae8-931f-
e3c4bc92e066/adc0a498a6c1c009ccfc4252d5cefe7f
https://zenwriting.net/dean94bekker/how-to-find-good-keywords
https://my.getjealous.com/greenwoodmeldgaard75
https://www.openlearning.com/u/bayhowe38/blog/HowToFindTheBestSeoCompanyEasyTips
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On September 27 2012, Google made a slight but significant change to their algorithm which
altered the code for website rankings. The aim of this was to increase or decrease the
websites rankings in relation to the quality of content and use of 'exact match domains'.
Essentially an exact match domain is using a 'keyword' as a company name or webaddress.
If say, 'emergency plumber London' was searched for 1000 times a month and you had
decided to name your company involving these keywords while uploading a small website to
target these searchers with no care for the content, look or design then Google would
penalise your results.
This exact match code update only impacted a small percentage of online businesses
however ensured that more care went into to the name and website layout and prevented
people taking advantage of keywords in the domain name. Beforehand those websites which
ranked well because of using keywords were being ranked better than those websites which
had original brand names and better designs.
This update did not mean that all websites that had used exact match as a domain name
were to be forever ranked poorly. Instead, those who had used a keyword in their name and
had built up a great website with relevant and quality content and marketing received a
positive ranking. As long as these businesses meet the same relative positive engagement
metrics which other websites had used they would continue to rank well.
The main impact of this was that a lot of the websites that had used exact match domains
were dropped from search results altogether. This greatly benefitted those well-made
websites and put the poorly thought-out websites to be where they legitimately belong, off the
searches.
However you should keep in mind that this does not necessarily mean that using keywords in
the domain name is a bad thing, it helps to establish at first glance what the subject of the
website is. The change has targeted the low quality sites who can only increase their
rankings by exact matches. Focussing on content will allow for a better ranking due to
increased relevance and quality.
Instead of piling in the keywords into your website, try to keep keywords relevant and to a
minimum. This eliminates the possibility of falling into the exact match algorithm and having
your webpage deleted. Your website will look far more professional with less forced
keywords and will have a much greater look to it. The main reason for this update was not to
penalise those websites who had used keywords in their dimain names but instead to stop

2. other 'businesses' from taking advantage of the system to promote their poorly thought out
site.