Do Dashes (-) Make a Difference?

Discussion in 'Domain Names' started by tpicompany, Apr 30, 2008.

  1. #1
    I usually try to buy domain names without having to put dashes (-) in them. By this I mean for example I prefer:

    mydomainexample.com
    than
    my-domain-example.com

    But does it really make a difference? Does it effect traffic, seo, rankings at all?
     
    tpicompany, Apr 30, 2008 IP
  2. internetmarketingiq

    internetmarketingiq Well-Known Member

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    #2
    Yes they kill your credibility with your visitors. Don't use more than one hypen in a domain name.
     
    internetmarketingiq, Apr 30, 2008 IP
  3. Kayz

    Kayz Active Member

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    #3
    You know something i wont use a single dash. "-"

    I feel that they dont rank so well unless its a niche.

    Secondly when it comes to telling somebody about your domain name you will be like... "its www. bla bla bla dash bla bla bla .com" now people will get confused as to what you mean by dash... does it mean / \ ' _ -? It wont be so easily for a person who is not a computer literate.

    The Dash is not appealing at all.
     
    Kayz, Apr 30, 2008 IP
  4. webpage-creation

    webpage-creation Peon

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    #4
    I agree with that.
     
    webpage-creation, Apr 30, 2008 IP
  5. World_Peace

    World_Peace Well-Known Member

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    #5
    Do not use dash. I'll say to add another word to the name you are looking like

    If you want to register Love.com and if it is registered then you can choose for TheLove.com
     
    World_Peace, Apr 30, 2008 IP
  6. Ascendancy

    Ascendancy Active Member

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    #6
    If you do get the domain name with the dash, it would be wise to try and get the matching domain without dashes as well.
     
    Ascendancy, Apr 30, 2008 IP
  7. mooseweb

    mooseweb Banned

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    #7
    Dashes are a last resort policy, they lower your credibility because people think you are a scam of the real site and such
     
    mooseweb, Apr 30, 2008 IP
  8. Kayz

    Kayz Active Member

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    #8
    exactly, thats what a guy did to a very popular niche site i have obtained. He was interested in advertising, after i showed him my statistics he went round and bought the same domain name but with a dash.
     
    Kayz, May 1, 2008 IP
  9. newzone

    newzone Well-Known Member

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    #9
    without but when the domain is not availabe you can buy it , but not for business ! to sell something or other things ...
     
    newzone, May 1, 2008 IP
  10. 2ct7

    2ct7 Peon

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    #10
    Lots of people hate the dash. I use them. If you are building your site to get traffic via SERPs then the dash is no problem and even a slight advantage. Google views the dash as a soft word break. For example neighborhood.com is seen the same as neighbor-hood.com. So you could rank for three keywords neighbor, hood, and neighborhood instead of one.

    As far as selling a domain a dash is a disadvantage. And as described above if your traffic comes from non-search engine or off line sources, no one is going to find it.
     
    2ct7, May 1, 2008 IP
  11. tpicompany

    tpicompany Peon

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    #11
    thank you friends :D

    I agree with you all, dashes are better to be avoided. I have never bought a domain with dashes but I was curious if it made a difference. Thank you once again for all your comments!
     
    tpicompany, May 1, 2008 IP
  12. internetmarketingiq

    internetmarketingiq Well-Known Member

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    #12
    I own several single hyphenated domains and while it is best to try and avoid them; in a world where all the "Good Names" seem to be registered there are times when solid quality keywords can be grouped with a hypen and yield a more professional looking name. I do very well in the Search Engine rankings for my keywords campaigns with these domains. And the bottom line is they make me money.

    I use these names primarily for Search Campaigns. And you need to consider this fact -if you choose a name with solid keywords people tend to use those keywords in a link back to your site.

    Example: CottonCandy.com would be great

    But Cotton-Candy.com would also be good for search engine ranking. Because people who link back to your site will use the keywords in the link.

    So again avoid hyphens whenever you can, but if you find some really choice keyword combinations that make more sense than anything else you can come up with; they could still work for you.

    FYI: Both the above Cotton Candy domains are registered and being used as "junk" sites.
     
    internetmarketingiq, May 1, 2008 IP
  13. GreenGambler

    GreenGambler Notable Member

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    #13
    More and more each day consumers, SE's and site owners are warming up to hyphenated domain names.

    In some situations they are better than a non-hyphenated name. I feel like the search engines see a dash/hyphens as nothing more than a space. Therefore a hyphen can actually have a positive impact on your domain name, helping the SE's and your site visitors better determine your names meaning.

    For Example.

    pen-island.com is better than penisland.com
    who-represents.com is better than whorepresents.com
    therapist-finder.com is better than therapistfinder.com
    mole-station-nursery.com is better than molestationnursery.com

    etc.. etc..etc..

    See what I mean? lol

    I own alot of hyphenated domain names one of my fahv's is I-Sew.com, IMO it's better than Isew.com (but i might be biased as I own it.. lol)
     
    GreenGambler, May 1, 2008 IP
  14. hiteshb

    hiteshb Well-Known Member

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    #14
    i was thinking to take domain with - but later on i cancel and changed the name
     
    hiteshb, May 2, 2008 IP