If I were to buy a domain name that would be similar to a search question and then forward that domain to my main website would this likely to be successful?

For instance, if I bought a domain called for example cycleshopsliverpool would it be likely to catch enquiries for said search?

or have I just taken a novice view of the interwebs and bypassed Google’s expensive SEO bandwagon in doing so? 😀

It will work to an extent (lots of people do it) but it isn’t a magic solution. You really need regularly updated content on a website hosted on that domain to make it particularly valuable in terms of Google Points.

or have I just taken a novice view of the interwebs and bypassed Google’s expensive SEO bandwagon in doing so?

Yes.

1) Google would pick up on the redirect and ignore the url
2) Without anyone linking to it, sharing it, it having any content, or anything else of any use, google would rank it very lowly indeed.

Yes it should work, but you should also make sure that the domain doesn’t have a bunch of spammy links pointing to it.

Also, this should go without saying, but you should also claim the domain with Google Webmaster Tools.

Generally, you would take the Exact Match Domain, set up an A Record, and 301 redirect the EMD to your existing brand page. It should help with search as long as it isn’t already marked as spam.

If you’re on about pointing it to an already existing site that already has a primary domain name then no it’s a pointless feat… there are some benefits setting up a site with keywords embedded as long as that domain is the primary domain…

The most obvious ones being a slight boost in the match for the raw search but there are visual differences too.. keywords / phrases are bolded in the results which helps them pop from the page a little more. I wouldn’t be scared to use hyphens to help the word clarity of that “popping” either.

The site needs good quality content with over 500 well written none copy and pasted words… good site structure, fast loading and ideally https.

You’ll want to try and get other high quality or relevant sites to link to it too.. backlinks is another story though but basically nothing quick and cheap.. dont buy them and don’t try to cheat the process.

If you make a useful site thats relevant and well built then the recommendation engine we know as google will reward you… there is also a reason why good web designers get paid well and it’s not because these things are easily learnt you’re first time round.

Edit.. just seen the post above.. if you do a 301 of the existing site… assuming the primary domain has value or time served then 301 is the right approach.. however you’ll be best being careful with your assessment of the current site and if it’s worth redirecting any links from that to the new domain