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Hyphenated Domain Names

Discussion in 'Domain Names' started by dcristo, Jul 10, 2015.

  1. #1
    Out of curiosity, when is the last time you've seen a hyphenated domain name on Google? i.e. a domain like fiction-books.com.
     
    dcristo, Jul 10, 2015 IP
  2. Benpick

    Benpick Greenhorn

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    #2
    Personally, I would say last week. I don't see hyphenated domains on google search to often but I see a few. But if you could do without a hyphen on your domain name that would be ideal. But it would still depend on how you market your website to get loads of traffic.
     
    Benpick, Jul 10, 2015 IP
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  3. Andy-Jones

    Andy-Jones Member

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    #3
    I come across quite a few hyphenated domains in search results every now and then however as is the case with most users, the focus is more on the title of the search results than the domain itself. Are you planning to get a hyphenated domain for yourself?
     
    Andy-Jones, Jul 10, 2015 IP
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  4. jokestyle123

    jokestyle123 Greenhorn

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    #4
    I actually own one myself beer-games.com. it's definitely not as easy to remember but I've found that you can still earn money with any domain doesn't matter if it's abcdefghijklmnop.com
     
    jokestyle123, Jul 10, 2015 IP
  5. BranTheMan

    BranTheMan Greenhorn

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    #5
    I see them all of the time. Usually best for very targeted niche sites as the keywords in the domain name can help it rank better...Which is why I tend to see them so much when I'm searching for something very specific. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the hyphen in the domain name, but I do own a few since some of the keywords I've wanted to rank for were already taken without it.
     
    BranTheMan, Jul 10, 2015 IP
  6. moneyroad

    moneyroad Member

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    #6
    I own one as well. It is not so bad as it looks like. Lot of good easy memorable domains are taken by resellers, waiting to be sold for unreal price's.
     
    moneyroad, Jul 10, 2015 IP
  7. Simply Compelling

    Simply Compelling Peon

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    #7
    You know what, now that you mention it, it has been awhile since I've seen any. I don't own any and I guess maybe my searches are too dominated by the big sites that avoid those hyphens?
     
    Simply Compelling, Jul 10, 2015 IP
  8. dcristo

    dcristo Illustrious Member

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    #8
    Just out of curiosity, do your 2 hyphen domain names rank well? Personally, I wouldn't consider a longer hyphen domain name, as it looks too spammy.
     
    dcristo, Jul 10, 2015 IP
  9. Matthew Sayle

    Matthew Sayle Prominent Member

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    #9
    I see them all the time actually.

    However, I personally have never registered a hyphenated domain name.

    Not really sure how they are from an SEO standpoint, but I just don't care for them.
     
    Matthew Sayle, Jul 10, 2015 IP
  10. dcristo

    dcristo Illustrious Member

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    #10
    Sometimes you don't have much of a choice, especially in competitive niches when all the good names are already taken.
     
    dcristo, Jul 10, 2015 IP
  11. Matthew Sayle

    Matthew Sayle Prominent Member

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    #11
    I have always been able to find a viable substitute, unless we're talking EMDs.

    In that case I move on, I hate hyphenated domains that much.

    Just checked my Godaddy account, 629 domains and nothing hyphenated :D
     
    Matthew Sayle, Jul 10, 2015 IP
  12. dcristo

    dcristo Illustrious Member

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    #12
    I don't have a negative bias against hyphenated domains, as I have done very well with them in the past.

    If you don't intend to advertise the website offline, then I think hyphenated domains still serve a purpose.
     
    dcristo, Jul 10, 2015 IP
  13. sweetpea69

    sweetpea69 Active Member

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    #13
    Because the majority of us have development knowledge, don't you ever look at a keyword dense name, with/without hyphens (even multiple), maybe even on a less desired extension...and just think to yourself, wow this guy is realllllyyy trying? This certainly depends case to case, site to site, but I'd rather visit a site with a "clean", generic, brandable, etc., domain that doesn't seem like it was purely constructed to "game" the serps as much as possible. Of course you can argue that the developed domain is possibly a relic (equally authoritative) of a site created years ago, when emd's were more of the way to go. All depends.

    Personally, for development, I'd rather have a name that relates to the topic in some respect (generic), than a keyword, hyphenated domain. There's certainly monetary value to be had in great 2 word, "category defining" domain, but I'd rather have more brandable site names that I'm happy to have at the top. I come by hyphenated names fairly regularly, certainly not as much as non. It's not as cut/dry to say hyphenated names in general, some naturally just receive more traffic than others, like any name, for multiple reasons. As I stated before, possibly a relic of a once developed site that has simply passed through the domain process because hyphenated names, generally speaking, receive less attention on the drops than the non, and has retained some useful analytics that can be built upon.

    Similarly, if you couldn't acquire the non, and consequently went w/ the hyphenated, that means someone else has it. And if they're an investor, and you inquire, a spike in traffic to their name will be noted (due to your hard work lol) and they can safely assume you are likely the inquirer. Translates into the name that is being held now has more value due to the traffic (especially converting), and with you as the inquirer, having a greater need for the name. Means you'll potentially be paying more. If the name is now paying renewals because of your hard work, an investor now isn't so hardpressed to let it go....

    Anyways, back to the development side, I've had long-tail keyword domains rank well (without hyphens, even on a shitty extension), but certainly not attributed to the domain, but the keywords "stuffed" on the site/pages ;) . I remember one case I had a very long tailed .info name getting great traffic, but it wasn't because of the name, it was the on-page seo that did it. Sorry, for the tangents ;)
     
    sweetpea69, Jul 11, 2015 IP
  14. BranTheMan

    BranTheMan Greenhorn

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    #14
    They do rank page 1, but for keywords that get less than 20k monthly searches that aren't really targeted at buyers. The AdSense money was the main motivation behind creating them... Unfortunately, I got banned from AdSense about 3 months ago so these sites are pretty pointless now. They still get plenty of daily hits and I make a small sale from an affiliate product every now and then. Other than that, they'll all probably just be making enough for their domain renewal when the time comes around.

    But yes all rank very well. Spent about a week building links and over time they all started to just rank themselves.

    *EDIT* Not saying I prefer or recommend hyphenated-domain-names. Just keep them user friendly without overdoing it. I posted a thread a few days ago explaining how most of my domain names are just one word that means nothing haha https://forums.digitalpoint.com/threads/i-heard-firefox-uses-bing.2758168/
     
    Last edited: Jul 11, 2015
    BranTheMan, Jul 11, 2015 IP
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  15. SalvadorWilliam

    SalvadorWilliam Peon

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    #15
    If your domain name name is having more than one word then it is good to use hyphens for better readablity, but there are a lot of disadvantages too. Such as it will add an extra character to your doamin name and increases possibility of missing it which accessing the site. It becomes harder to advertise on radio or orally and generally not have a good resale value.
     
    SalvadorWilliam, Jul 24, 2015 IP
  16. HostHonor

    HostHonor Member

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    #16
    I see them a lot, although I dislike hyphenated domain names.
     
    HostHonor, Aug 6, 2015 IP
  17. mascot

    mascot Active Member

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    #17
    1 hyphen could be ok, but google does not like more than that. I think there are very less hyphenated domains on Google search results.
     
    mascot, Aug 11, 2015 IP
  18. Leilani Sniffen

    Leilani Sniffen Greenhorn

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    #18
    I too have seen a few. Prefer non-hyphenated domains, definitely with a .com.
     
    Leilani Sniffen, Aug 22, 2015 IP
  19. showdown

    showdown Active Member

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    #19
    Right now, I have an opened tab with beauty related domains Google results and took a look on it - there is one hyphenated, .eu extension, just below digitalpoint.
     
    showdown, Aug 22, 2015 IP
  20. Salman Najeeb

    Salman Najeeb Member

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    #20
    domain with hyphenation are usually risky people hesitate to get them
     
    Salman Najeeb, Sep 9, 2015 IP