Domain Name Suffixes (and Prefixes) 101 - Shop, Store, Direct, 101, 247, etc

Search through some Google and Bing results and you'll notice a few things right off the bat:

1. .COM represents a significant portion of the results
2. There are very few exact match domain names in your results (as a percentage of the results), but instead exact match Page Title and URL strings and partial match domain names make up the majority of the results.
3. A surprising number of exact match domain names are NOT ranked number 1, though they often rank on page 1.

You'll also find a growing trend: developed domains using suffixes and prefixes such as Shop, Store, Direct, Heaven, World, Blog, 101, 247 and a variety of others all rank fairly well.

Let's look at some examples. Do the following queries in Google and Bing.

Handbag - Google #1 spot is HandbagHeaven. Bing is Handbag.com
Entertainment Centers - Google and Bing #1 spot is BuyEntertainmentCenters
Purse - 3 of the top 5 spots at Google are Purse+Suffix
Rugs - Tons of suffix names (and even Rugs-Direct) in the top 10 results.
Mortgages - Mortgage101.com is in the top 3 at Google and #1 at Bing

Now, how many people shop for +Heaven, +World, Buy+, +Blog, +Shop, +Store, +101, +Pro? Very few is the answer. So does that make them worthless? Absolutely not!

Sure, things like "NFL Shop" or "Package Store" are obviously highly searched, but you can throw those outliers out for this research. Without having specific knowledge of the search engine algorithms, it's pretty clear that owning "premium" suffix and prefix versions of highly searched keywords can be quite successful if developed. But some things to watch out for:

1. Stick with .com
2. SEO and development are critical. Domain age also helps, so look for GoDaddy drop auctions and cheap aftermarket listings.
3. Resale value is going to be heavily based on traffic and revenue, not based strictly on exact match search volume.
4. There are a lot of regfee names out there if you look carefully, but these "premium" domain suffix and prefix combinations are often taken... which I think is part of the reason why Google and Bing weight them so heavily. They aren't exact match, but they appear to be given some significant weight.
5. Stick with premiums. That means don't go off and register several hundred Keyword + "246.com" domains or "Inexpensive" + Keyword.com. It's just not worth it. Numbers will likely get fewer click-throughs anyway due to lack of trust with the user, so stick with the best. Choose your prefixes carefully, too. The more irrelevant the words in front of your primary keyword are, the harder it will be to rank.

Now, I'm not going to tell you don't buy exact match domains. I love exact match domains. There are lots of advantages to having the exact match name, but if you do your research, do the necessary development and pick your prefixes and suffixes correctly, you can find some hidden gems available for registration (or for very cheap on the aftermarket). Just don't go out and buy hundreds of them in the hopes of flipping them. You'll just be flushing your money away.

Good luck!