Does "-" in domain name makes any difference in SEO for that domain?

[HarryPothead]

Hi,

I'm trying to create an affiliate website and I've chosen a good niche, a keyword phrase with decent traffic & moderate competition BUT the .com domain name is not available.
Viz: if my keyword phrase is ABC then ABC.com is not available. Neither is .net or .info but I'm not bothered about other domains.

Although A-BC.com and AB-C.com and A-B-C.com are available.

What I want to know is : Does it make any difference SEO wise (Ranking, Indexing and Backlinks) to have hyphen "-" in the domain name? If yes then should I go with a domain with hyphen in it?
If not then which of the available domains name should I go with - my personal choice in that case would be A-B-C.com...Comments and suggestions invited.

[Suzanne Morrison]

Hi,

I don't think it makes a significant difference. My site HomeBiz-Direct.com has a hyphen and is on page one of Google for some pretty competitive terms such as home business, home business ideas, online business ideas.

I've never had a domain with more than one hyphen in it, so can't really say for sure, but I have seen lots of sites with two hyphens high up in the results.

Cheers,
Suzanne

[RayW]

I think hyphens are just treated as spaces by Google so no, it doesn't effect SEO.

[HarryPothead]

Thanks Suzanne and Raxr...phew..out of big dilemma

[Mikeys]

I think you will be fine. Its the sites that have a lot that are bad.

this-is-a-domain-that-looks-spammy.com

[paulgl]

Mikeys: You're singing my tune!

Note: Has nothing to do with hyphens being bad. Hyphens are
needed in a lot of cases.

Paul

[Bizboy949]

Down with the hyphens!

[RevSEO]

No, it should be fine. The only difference is that people naturally will link to the .COM without a hyphen (depending on the niche).

I was recently featured in a national magazine because I owned the .COM. While I had a content and was a useful resource, there were alternatives that ranked WELL ahead of me in the search engines and also had months more content than I did.

I've done ZERO off-site optimization and now rank first, all because people would go to the .com first and never directly type in the .NET/.ORG

[jacobhowardmakesmoney]

Hyphens act as spaces. Creating links with your targeted keyword will be ideal.

[JamesGw]

My only concern would be direct traffic. If it's only two words, you're better off without the hyphen. Three words or more and you might be better with it (or choosing a shorter domain name.)

[HarryPothead]

Originally Posted by wallalbert

Hello,

Yes domain names matter. However, it does not matter whether you use hyphen (-) or not and it doesn't matter if it ends in .us, .info, .net, .org. So if your first choice is taken, don't be afraid to through hyphens in there or use .info or .us if you're going for search engine rankings. It does make a difference if you are trying to market the domain offline.

Thanks wallalbert..actually your advice is v good. I intend to find a decent .com if possible. If not able to find..I'll take ur advice and go for it.

[HarryPothead]

Originally Posted by JamesGw

My only concern would be direct traffic. If it's only two words, you're better off without the hyphen. Three words or more and you might be better with it (or choosing a shorter domain name.)

James shorter domain are usually more difficult to optimize. well most of the time i've observed this. that's why i intend to choose a 3 words keyword phrase for a domain name and then go ahead with it. and since it's 3 words, i think even if i find a domain name with a "-", it should be fine. dont you think?

[HarryPothead]

Originally Posted by RevSEO

No, it should be fine. The only difference is that people naturally will link to the .COM without a hyphen (depending on the niche).

I was recently featured in a national magazine because I owned the .COM. While I had a content and was a useful resource, there were alternatives that ranked WELL ahead of me in the search engines and also had months more content than I did.

I've done ZERO off-site optimization and now rank first, all because people would go to the .com first and never directly type in the .NET/.ORG

BRAVO!! glad to hear about your success. since .com is most preferred domain name, that's why I intend to go ahead with this domain, even if I've to go with couple of "-" in it.

[HarryPothead]

Thanks for your kind replies Mikeys & Paulgl