I want to sell a directory but need to assign a proper domain to the site. The domain/directory name will consist of two words (the second being directory). Should i seperate the two words using a - as the last letter in the first word is a d or should i leave the - out? Eg should the domain name purchased be: ...d-directory.tld or ...ddirectory.tld? Once the PR has been reassigned ill obviously be looking at selling the general directory; is using a - in the domain going to potentially put people off from buying the directory? Personal i think the domain name is much easier to read with a - in because it seperates the two d's (the first being at the end of the first word, and the second being at the beginning of the word 'directory') What do you all think?
Question is would having a dash be a deciding factor in whether you would or wouldnt buy the directory?
There are 100 other factors that can be more off putting with directories these days. One dash is not a problem.
Dash aint a problem.. But just in case why not register two domains, with and without so then let the new owner decide what they prefer?
If you plan in just marketing SE traffic, the hyphen should be fine, else use without. That is my theory.
At the end of the day im not looking for along term solution, im adding a proper domain to a sub domain (where my general directory PR4 is), doing a forward so the new proper domain gets the assigned PR rank, upgrading to phpLD3.0.6, clearing all pending links and then selling either with a standard phpLD3.x template or with a totally unique phpLD3.0.6 template that i have designed (for an obviously higher price). Plan on doing that and getting in sold within about a month.
I agree with Ask. If you have multiple dashes it really looks bad and will even hinder acceptance from free directories.
A dash only really matters if you are wanting to rely on "Type in" traffic. Search engines don't seem to discredit hyphens, and any strong website/directory should be focusing on search engine traffic, rather than type ins. Other than webmasters, nobody really looks at the actual URL when they visit a site, so the visitors you receive from search engines will probably not even notice them. I would not have a problem at all buying a domain with hyphens, as long as the domain is decent.
I don't like dashes in domain names. First off, it's a nuisance to type, and second, people tend to forget about them, which may result in a loss of traffic.
Good examples. Actually nowadays even large companies are using a dash in their URL's... look at the movie industry as well. (lots of dashes) Well to answer the question... I'm not sure it matters a whole lot... profit is porfit. I know of one directory that makes a good six figure income each year with a dash.
Any further suggestions? i think based on the results im a bit torn... i think though ill try and go without a - although tbh i think it would look better, and i'd prefer a - in the domain name... at the end of the day though im planning on selling the domain and all within a couple of months so i need to think of sellabity.