Having keywords in domain names plays the same role as a catalyst would do in a chemical reaction. In modern SEO, just the keywords in domain names is not all about the SEO, though. It merely means that if you have keywords in a domain name, the SEO process happens at much faster rate than under normal circumstances. You still need to strictly follow the other routine SEO practices in order to get the maximum out of the SEO process. If it were just the domain names that matter then having a successful SEO simply would have meant choosing the keyword rich domain name then spammers would have had a great time. It is very tricky to design a site that both search engines and customers will like. In addition to this, choosing the right domain name for the website name is no exception. Searchenginewatch.com, searchengineguide.com, seochat.com, seo-usa.org, seo-london.com, seo.com, are good search engine friendly domain name which all have keyword rich domain names with great branding value. These all are also ranked on the first page of Google for their very competitive keywords selection. Having said keywords in domain names work as a catalyst in the SEO process, their benefits are indirect. Here is a brief description of some of the major in-direct benefits: i. SEO friendly Inbound Links Links play an important role in SEO and having anchor text containing your keywords is what everyone wants. Domain names with keywords tend to create SEO friendly inbound links as many people link to your website through your domain name. ii. Better Click Through Rate (CTR) Keywords in your domain name gets you a better Click Through Rate (CTR) as when people conduct a search, Google tends to highlight the words found in the domain names which match the search query. So these domain names tend to build up the confidence of the searcher that they are on the right track, and thus give your site a better CTR. If you want to learn more about search engine optimization, read through the following articles: Your Search Engine Optimization Strategy: Make Love, Not War, SEO Guidelines, 7 Search Engine Optimization Strategies.