Forum

[bigarsenalbear]

Hi everyone,

I hope this question hasn't been done to death, but I was just wondering about
the effectiveness of putting hyphens in your domain name.

Compare:

(1) www.productnamescam.com

and

(2) www.productname-scam.com

Does the non-hyphenated (1) get a bigger boost than (2) in Google?
And does the hyphen in (2) cause any problems for SEO for the site?

Thanks so much! (I'm relatively new to all this and appreciate any help)

Best

Adam

 

[jethro.aragon]

Hi bigarsenalbear,

Considering how most of the internet users think and browse the web, a domain name without any hyphen can be easily remembered and looks more professional for some. But there are situations when it's necessary to put a hyphen. For Example, www.productshopping.com could be read as "product shopping dot com" or "products hopping dot com". A hyphen might be needed ("www.product-shopping.com") to make sure the users are not confused. Purchasing both hyphenated and non-hyphenated domain names is also a good idea to make sure there are no traffic problems in the future.

Jethro

 

[Bluezen1014]

I agree with Jethro.

However, I would avoid getting a domain name referencing a particular product since you can get in some trouble for that down the road.

I think it was in 2009 that Apple confiscated some domains that mentioned ipods and macbooks in them.

Hope this helps.

 

[bigarsenalbear]

Hi again,

Thanks for your replies Jethro and Bluezen - I appreciate it a great deal!

So, a non-hyphenated domain (possibly) looks more professional and may
be easier to remembered.

But do you know if the hyphens actually affect the SEO?

I mean, does the hyphenated version get less of a boost because of the presence
of hyphens?

Thanks again

Adam

 

[esolutions]

Hi Adam,

The hyphen will not affect the SEO in any way. It still just doesn't look good, so keep your domains user-friendly.

 

[bigarsenalbear]

Hi esolutions

Thanks for your response - I appreciate it!

Best

Adam

 

[thel.online.ph]

Hi,

Just remember that if you are going to register a hyphenated domain name, make sure you register the other version as well if you can. Not only will you grab any errant traffic from those who typed your domain name incorrectly, but you'll be protecting your brand from cybersquatters.

 

[easyrider]

On a related subject, do you really want to brand yourself in terms of a scam?