Hyphenated .com over .net ?

Whats your preference when choosing a new domain to register?

It's been said alot that hyphenated domains lose ALOT of value, but I tend to disagree. Im not saying a hyphenated .com domain is anywhere near as valuable as its normal .com counterpart, but when comparing it to a non-hyphenated .net or other TLD I see it as just as valuable. Afterall, you lose any type-in traffic with a .net anyway so in that regard theres no benefit to getting a .net

Personally, if the non-hyphenated .com is taken, I'd most likely go for the hyphenated .com over a .net or other TLD.

What's everyone else's take?

 

Unfortunately it depends...

let's say you want to register
roaringgoat: better roaring-goat .com
claireedwards: better claire-edwards .com
orinocoornithologists: better hyphenated (actually better a shorter one!)

hyphens are also good for offline marketing and advertising, such as a sign on your van or on a sports outfit, as it's often more readable.

but if you have to read out the domain to people, especially over the phone, avoid dashes.

Just to give you a broader idea of what to consider choosing your domain...

 

Exactly. If you intend to advertise on billboards, etc, then if the url is your target keyword like the examples given above, then I would agree a hyphenated url is the way to go. If you are strictly internet advertising, go with the .net or even .info.

 

Keyword-keyword.com is my favourite, SEO matters...

 

Domians are case-insensitive. I'd rather see www.myCoolDomainName.com on the side of the van than www.my-cool-domain-name.com

 

it might be confusing for readers who need to remember.

It's a good idea maybe for a signboard above a shop where people have the time to observe rather than just to see, but not on moving vehicles IMO.

 

Yes, but that's not good for branding

 

SEO-wise, I'd say the hyphenated .com is better.

For creating a brand or for helping real people remember the domain, I would go for the non-hyphenated .net.

 

The opposite is actually true as the average person removes the dashes in their mind and types it in without them. You would just be giving the competition the advertising benefit if you went down this route.

 

That's an interesting point. What makes you think this is true?

T

 

I have 110 domains, and I don't want another .net domain, and neither one with hifens.

I agree. I have one website, not yet developed, kind of zzzyyy.com, and there is one of my competitors that has zzz-yyy.com
Guess what? Many of his visitors come to my not developed website. In the end he is promoting my website. Nice
He tried to buy my domain, that is much older than his, but I won't sell...

.net has the same problem... I have one old big .net site, and I think I'm loosing a lot of visitors to my .com counterpart... fortunately, the business isn't the same.

 

I got hypernated domain and believe there is no harm in having one 2 .net of the same name...

 

From everything I've learned, keyword-keyword is best for content sites geared at high search engine rankings, but non hypenated would be better for community driven sites. Reason is listed above already. Users may go to your competitor with the same name as you but without the hyphens - because they don't associate the hyphens in their heads.

 

All of this is true. But for the sake of marketing, between an hyphenated .com and a .net, today I would choose the hyphenated.

Want to know what I do with .net domains? I put the domain name in the logo, and give a good relevance to the .net part. Sometimes I give it a different color, so that people, in their mind, remember that it's a .net

 

...being picky but... Domain names are not case sensitive. This is why GreenApples.com works. (I realize you know this. Excuse me while I go line up my spices on the shelf again)

Ooh! Good idea! I''ll do that with my one .net I've been capitalizing it...best to make it a big visual for memory!

 

Domain names *are* case-insensitive. The directory/path structures that come afterward may or may not be case-sensitive depending on the servers OS.

 

Also you can brand yourself as a network.

 

duh! Hey I was running back and forth between fixing a diesel loader and selling trees. You can't expect me to read every single letter?

 

I realize that most people would say "not case sensitive" as opposed to "case insensitive" but hey, it gave me a laugh anyway Sorry for playin' with ya.

 

Hi.
Just to remind anoyne if it doesn't know.
The furst author means to be case-insensitive (= NOT case sensitive).
So both authors actually agree with each other.