This question is asked often when it comes to domain names. Is the plural or non plural version better for a domain?
No simple answer really, since each domain name term is different. Car.com or Cars.com? One would say Cars.com is the better of the two and I would strongly agree with this. If you are thinking "Brand" cars.com is much better, as cars is the more common term people use when looking for a car.
The plural version is also better because you wouldn’t only have One Car on your website if you are offering cars for sale, reviews and etc. It just makes Sense!
On the other hand, one could search "New car". In this case, Cars.com is simply the better "Brand" as it just makes sense and Car.com can/could be a better "Search Term" as car get’s an exact search match which can greatly help SERP’s.
Search terms will play a roll in both plural and nonplural versions as people search a term differently depending on what they are thinking at the moment. Best Car, New Cars, Old Cars, Fast Cars, Race Car…
Now if you are put in one of these situations as a site owner, it is Always Best to own Both versions if you can. It is very likely that both versions will get traffic once branded or if it’s a generic term, both domain versions will get natural traffic.
I also think that this is the one time that a single letter can make one of the Biggest differences in a domains value and search volume for a term! Example for daily searches for Car and Cars:
- Car = 8,396 per day
- Cars = 39,711 per day
Cars get’s nearly 5x’s the amount of daily searches then car gets. This would Heavily effect the sale price if compared or if the two domains ever sold. Would it be 5x’s the amount…. I don’t think so. Maybe .5-2 times but that’s the difference between 1 million or 3 million, 10 million or 30 million! All because of one darn little letter!!!
Cars.com ranks #1 at google for the search term Car with Car.org #2. Cars.com also ranks #1 on google for the search term cars.
To Note: If you do happen to own the "lower valued" of the two, do not get too down as I think the nearly perfect match of the keyword, plus or minus one letter, will Greatly help your domain in SERP (Search Engine Rank Placement) for the term which also raises your domain value. Many times I see the plural and nonplural versions rank very closely, so keep that in mind if you plan on selling.
Jason
I love snagging dropped names that *don’t* have a mate either in the plural or singular… then there’s no ambiguity and I can click that “buy” button with even greater reckless abandon
**Jamie Says**
I do as well Jason. It just makes things so much easier.
Damir
Nice post.
One word domain names are the way to go with the relevant website content = Top Search Engine Ranking
Job.hn
Dvd.hn
Car.gd
Gas.vc
Ads.gd
Eye.gd