Is it important to have exact keyword in your URL

[TCWorkouts]

I have researched exact keywords and noted a four word phrase which has fairly good numbers for exact keyword local searches a month with low competition. If I was to make it as my web address it would mean having www. (18 letters).co.uk

Is it important to have the exact keyword in the URL for ranking purposes? Is an 18 letter web address either side of the www and .co.uk too long?

[john4math]

In the SEOMoz 2011 Search Engine Ranking Factors report, long domain names show a -0.07 correlation with rankings. Having exact match domain names has a 0.22 positive correlation, so there is a lot to be said for that.

18 letters is pretty long.  That's a lot of typing for someone to come to your site.  Does a subset of this phrase make sense, like 2 of the words?  That would be easier to type, and you'd still get a benefit from matching some of the search terms in the phrase. You'll also match less-specific phrases people will search for, so you'll do better in more searches.

[KeriMorgret]

That's a 28 character domain (including periods) which is a bit long. Also, a four word phrase is fairly long. I agree with John in trying to find a shorter name. Also, exact match domains won't always have a boost, so you want something that's brandable and easy to use after an update changes the boosting.