Plural vs non-plural domain name

[ydop]

I'm sure this question has been answered and asked a 1,000 different ways but what would be the best domain name to use in the long term (2 years +)? The plural versions (examples.com) which has a decent domain authority and is ranking 1st in Google search results yet has less search volume or the singular version (example.com) that has no current SEO value for the search term that we'd like to target however the singular version of the keyword has a much higher search volume? so basically will it be better to have the exact match that has more volume or the plural form that has better rankings after 2 years of doing SEO for each domain?

My guess is that using (examples.com) with the better domain authority and tightening the grip on its dominance in Google will still be more effective than having the exact match domain with more search volume for that keyword while performing the same amount of SEO even after two years.

Any suggestions?

[ydop]

Thanks. This has been my side on the internal discussions I've been having with co-workers and I haven't used the defense of the long-tail keywords.

[ydop]

Thanks. In my case it would be more like car or cars with both being retail items but when you look to purchase a vehicle you like for a car but for instance cars.com is much better suited for the long term since it has been optimized.

[cgman]

Plural is always better than singular. When it comes to singular term search your plural domain will still show for that keyword. IE if you search for "item" a domain with "items.com" will rank just as well as "item.com" because it already contains the singular version of that keyword.

You can confirm the above by performing a few searches and observing the results.

[NakulGoyal]

In my opinion and a test I conducted last year, the plural worked out to be better. Again, the test was not a 100% apples to apples comparison.

I registered 2 domains one singular and the other plural on different registrars. Hosted them on different servers. Got 5 articles written for each site (and that is where it starts getting different), since I am not using the exact same articles on both domains, I am sure this also factored in. In my test, the plural ranked much better in the SERPS not just for the head keyword, but a lot of variations/long tail keywords. The singular one also ranked, but for a lot less keywords.

I would do the plural any-day unless it's a niche where plural sounds weird. I hope that makes sense and helps. SEO History in your example makes it a much better and easier decision.

[EGOL]

The singular and the plural are often used with different intent.  Here is an example... Microscope - microscopes

People searching for the singluar are typically students looking to learn about the parts of the microscope, its history, or how it is used.

People searching for the plural are typically shoppers.

Which one should you purchase or use?...  If possible I would try to purchase BOTH of them because some people will not be able to remember if you are microscope.com or microscopes.com.

However I would prefer building on the plural - even if I was building an information site - because I believe that the value of the domain would be higher as a retail site rather than an info site.