Adding a hyphen, good or bad?

Is adding a hyphen in a domain name a good or bad thing? Or doesn't it matter?

Without: dalehay.com
With: dale-hay.com

Are there any problems, like SEO-wise with hyphens in domain names or is it just user preference?

 

I've got a hyphen in my domain name, and the sites only a few weeks old but its already ranking well for some good keywords. Be sure to do other on site SEO things as well, like using mod_rewrite for friendly, keyword rich URLs and meta tags.

 

It doesn't matter with Google at least.

 

I bet the people who originally had expertsexchange.com really wish they had put in a hyphen. Without the dash, Google thought it was a site for sex changes.

 

LoL, I've heard of it!
More examples:
Penisland
Whorepresents
Therapistfinder
Molestationnursery
Gasheating
Powergenitalia

They prove the value of one word domains.

 

Sorry but I don't like hyphens in domain names. I can't think of a single domain I goto regularly that contains a hyphen.

 

domains with hyphen are hard to get type-in traffic.

 

I sometimes prefer my names with hyphens, especially names with three or four words in them. In most cases, when searching for a domain, the name without the hyphen will be taken so you have to add the hyphen...and if the name without the hyphen is not taken you really should register both...the domain name with and without the hyphen...

Sincerely,
BGLefty

 

I love the Expersexchnge...hehe. Hyphens suck for branding, but are good for keyword targeting. BUT google could care less either way.

 

I believe descriptions are given more weight in terms of SEO. The name can be anything, but the content is what really matters.

 

Ahahah nice one!!

 

Hyphens does not effect the pottential but One words domains are better

 

i've seen many topics on this in several other forums lol, and i would say it doesnt matter because my gaming forum has a hyphen and its a .com gamers-forum -- makes no difference than gamersforum, of course it can be bad if someone tries to get back on ur site and they forgot the hyphen, which can lead to a loss of a member or traffic, but otherwise its nothing, my forum is a pr3 and im happy with the traffic, ranking well in search engines too

 

Most of the experts that I read claim the domains with hyphens don't do well in the search engines.

However I buy them, I sell them and I use them for sites that are doing well.

The nice thing about the experts recommending you not buy them is I can get them cheap now when I need one.

The same thing happened a few years back when all the experts advised against buying three letter domains that started with a 0. That's the number 0, not the letter o.

As a result many did not renew them and over a six month period I bought over a hundred of them for $7 each. I still own about 10; have sold the others for prices ranging from $50 for the cheapest to $1200 for the most expensive. I sold most of them in the $300-400 range.

So I love it when the experts advise against a category of domain names.

 

If available then I prefer the domain without the hyphen, if not available then I will buy the domain with the hyphen. If I think it is a good name then I will buy both.

Or I will buy both to prevent a potential competitor from getting the domain name.

gene

 

Well if you need that name, then its obviously worth it =]

But the longer a name is with any special characters, dashes, etc.. it usually means less appraisal value. But if you use it right, who can put a price on that?

 

hyphen is just considered a space really