Last few years, Google released many algorithmic changes. EMD is one. Panda, Penguin are others which have re-defined SEO strategy.
Search results can rank well for sometime. But low quality domains will fail. Optimize the content instead of anchor text and exact keyword domain.
In its quest for quality it has released a minor weather update in late September.
This change is going to penalize the low-quality exact match domains which is nothing but EMD in short.
The major effect of this update will be on micro niche blogs which are having their domain name URLs matching keywords without enough content.
What is Exact Match Domain Name (EMD) ?
Examples of EMD are “windows8releasedate.com”, ”askgoogle.com”, ”topblogsites.com” . They have the exact match keywords. But, no/less related content.
Partial match domains include “techeblog.com”, “techblog.org” etc.
These websites are made-up examples. They can be a target if they don’t qualify for high-quality content.

As of 9/29, “SeoMoz.org” reports that sites like “www.charterschools.org”, ”www.purses.org” lost some rankings to this update.
The exact reason cannot be attributed to this alteration. It is observed they lost traffic on this day.
Earlier, these domains used to rank higher in the search engines.
Probably the loss in ranking can be ascribed to low-quality content. Considering the exact match keyword present in the URL.
However, websites like these have been penalized. Dropped down in the Google search index.
Using an Exact Match Domain and Google exact match.
Using an exact match domain (EMD) is a great SEO strategy. For businesses looking to improve their visibility. In search engine results.
EMDs are domains that exactly match the keyword phrase. That you want to rank for.
Such as “buy-shoes.com”. This allows search engines to quickly and easily identify the purpose of the website. Aiding them in assigning the correct page ranking.
Furthermore, Google Exact Match searches allow users to find specific pages on a website. They contain certain keywords or phrases. Meaning they are more likely to find what they are looking for faster.
Keyword match and EMD – Benefits
Keyword match and EMD penalty. They are two important aspects of search engine optimization (SEO).
Keyword match involves the use of specific keywords or phrases in a website’s content. To help increase its ranking on search engine results pages.
This is done by placing the keywords strategically throughout the site. Such as in titles, headings, subheadings, meta descriptions and URLs. Additionally, keyword match helps to ensure that certain relevant terms are included in each page.
EMD penalty is a type of algorithm. It is used by search engines to determine how closely related a website’s content is to specific keywords or phrases.
The higher the EMD score, the better chance a website has at appearing high in the rankings for those queries. It works by analyzing a webpage for its relevance to specific keywords or phrases and penalizing websites that contain irrelevant content.
Ultimately, both keyword match and EMD penalty are essential for successful SEO efforts.
For example, if someone searched “how to buy running shoes” on Google, it would return websites with EMDs such as “buyrunning-shoes.com” and also display webpages from those sites that contain the exact phrase “how to buy running shoes”.
Utilizing an EMD and Google Exact Match is a great way for businesses to reach their target audience more quickly and effectively.

How to Recover the EMD (Exact Match Domain) Penalty ?
According to “webpronews.com”, the noted SEO specialist Danny Sullivan says that the advice for recovery is very much like that for Panda recovery.
“After you’ve removed the poor quality content, it’s waiting time. You’ll only see a change the next time the EMD filter is run,” he says. “When will that be? Google’s not saying, but based on the history of Panda, it’s likely to be within the next three months, and eventually it might move to a monthly basis.”
The confusion with this update is that Google launched a new Panda update to roll out alongside the update.
So webmasters and blog owners have to deal with both the updates at the same time, researching which update they are being affected by.
But like a god-sent-armor the cure for both the updates is same. Quality.
According to Matt Cutts, the Google Engineer, this update will affect 0.6% of English-US traffic.
But the key point is that he didn’t mention how this change will affect other demographic regions.
But from “techulator.com” words, many bloggers are affected by this change.
Steps to defeat Exact-Match Domain Update?
- Update your content often.
- Make a Single Site, the Authority Site
- Don’t Depend on Domain Name to Bring Traffic
- Avoid over-optimization
- Analyze your content and Check Quality
- Strong BackLink Profile and Domain Age Matters
- Compare with your competitors and Research
Exact match keyword and Partial match domain
Previously sites with used to update very rarely.
So if you are affected, try to check your content.
When did you last update your content?
Are you providing the latest topics on the niche you are covering on your website?
Small sites can sometimes bring big revenue.
But if you have lost traffic on these sites, then try to merge all these sites into an authority site.
The over-kill can be a disaster like irrelevant link building, abuse of keywords, trying to take advantage of domain name etc.
So such over-optimization techniques when used less may improve your ranking.
The following guidelines are an SEO expert view on how to recover from Google update.

[Source : tiptechblog.com]
The other day I was suggested that I may be a target of EMD in Google Product forums.
Spam exact-match (EMDs)
The first thing I observed on my site was that I was heavily targeting on “Windows 8” articles which may come under over-optimization.
If you are also doing the same, I’d suggest a small change.
Try to write articles which are on the other side of your niche. For example, if your niche is “Tech” then try to compose objects on “Science”.
Trying to rank quality websites and search rankings
Ranking quality websites and search rankings can be a tricky task.
It involves looking at several different criteria to determine what website is more relevant and trustworthy than another.
Factors such as content, design, SEO optimization, user experience, and security are all important when ranking websites.
Additionally, the relevance of the website to the particular query being searched is also important in determining its search engine ranking.
By analyzing these factors carefully and taking into account other elements such as link structure and keyword density, it is possible to determine which websites provide users with the best overall experience and should be ranked higher in search engine results.
google rolled partial match anchor text search query “exact match analytics analytics get penalized google algorithm keyword rich brand name
Don’t use Exact match – Google Penalties
Another life-saving tip (if everything fails) to survive the EMD update is to switch to a new domain and do a 301 redirect to the new site.
So all the above tips can efficiently help you survive the EMD affect and bounce back your lost traffic.
The things which really help after an EMD are removing low-quality content and bringing in fresh content.
Let me know in the comments which parameter helped you discover the strategy to overcome EMD and put you on the same scale with other blogs.
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