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Question on choosing domain name

by coconutisa
13 replies
If my niche keyword phrase (both singular and plural) has good # of searches per month and low competition, which one should I choose, the "singular keyword phrase.com" or "plural keyword phrase.com?

Also, which is better with dash '-' in between or without '-'.

Thanks,
Isa.
#choosing #domain #question
  • Profile picture of the author esr
    Personally, I'd say buy them both, if you have the ability to host two domains.

    Plus, if the name(s) is available without the dash, get it. Just my opinion.
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  • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
    Depends. If your plural just has an S on the end, use that. If it's spelled completely differently, it's a toss-up. So if your phrase was "bookcase" it's best to get "bookcases.com" - but if it's "bookshelf" you aren't hitting it with "bookshelves.com" as your domain. See the point?

    And better with no '-' in between.

    EDIT: I am assuming you can't get them both for some reason, but if you can, esr is right.
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  • Profile picture of the author Matt.Lake
    On a side not about domains. If you're going to promote the site with adwords, don't make the URL too long. You see that sometimes when marketers try and fit a whole massive phrase into the domain name.

    The problem with this is, with Adwords, it's often a good idea to put the keyword in the display URL like this... www.Yourwebsite.com/Keyword.

    Well I found out the other day for one of my site's that I can't fit any keywords onto the end of my display URL because it's too long.

    And mine isn't a rediculously long URL.

    Anyway, just a side note.
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    • Profile picture of the author husker_chris
      If he were to get both domains, would you do seperate backlinking and bookmarking for each? For example, two seperate squidoo lenses for each site, or would you just make one for both sites?
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      • Profile picture of the author robinter
        I would use both, or in your case buy both.
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      • Profile picture of the author Mike Shain
        This thread is gonna open a whole can of worms...

        For me personally - I will buy both plural and singular if the plural just adds an "s". It would also have to fit the theme of the site.

        If the singular is taken and you can get the plural go for the plural as long as it fits your site.

        As for dashes, I only use them when the actual domain name is hard to read at first glance. If you can't figure out what the site is about in a couple seconds of looking at the domain then its time to get one with the dashes.

        Again this is just my 2 cents which in this economy is worth about 3/4 cents.

        Good luck in whatever you choose.
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  • Profile picture of the author Troy_Phillips
    If you can get the dot com... get them both.

    the - does not make a difference SEO wise . I would rather have the non - dot com.

    This is for the fact if your site gets popular , people typing in your site will probably not type in the - and send their traffic to your competition.
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  • Profile picture of the author RanD
    Definitely without the hyphen. If you ever have to tell someone the site name, it's easier for them to remember it without hyphens. For some marketing strategies that part is irrelevant. If it's available without th hyphens get it.

    Plural versus singular? I guess it depends. Which sounds better for your needs? Bookcases (from the previous example) is more likely what people would search for if they are looking for a variety of different ones to choose from, while bookcase, would be what they would search for if they were looking for something specific.....in a perfect world anyway. It's quite possible that bookcase would get searched more just because some people are too lazy to type the "s". The singular might work better if you are planning on targetting a bunch of individual items separately, while the plural might be better if you are targeting multiple types.

    In the grand scheme, it probably won't make a huge difference. The search engines pretty much take both the plural and singular into consideration when people are searching, anyway.
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    • Profile picture of the author coconutisa
      esr: Thank you, both are available, the singular/plural ends with 's'.

      Cdarklock: I see your point, thank you, both are available as I write.

      Matt.Lake: This is my first website, so, basically I want to learn the ropes, no adwords yet, just some content, adsense or affiliate. the domain name is short. Thank you.

      husker_chris: i am still learning, I don't know much about backlinking, bookmarking, squidoo etc., I have 10 pages of content for my keywords. That's all. Thank you. Going step by step, one step at a time.

      Troy_Phyliips: Thank you kindly, yes, both .com are available without dashes. So, I will go with that.

      robinter: thank you, will go with both.

      Mike_Shain: Thank you, both the domain names are easy to pronounce, remember and easy to tell to people without dashes. Since .com is available, I will choose both. I don't understand though why you said my post is going to open a whole can of worms...

      RanD: Thank you for your suggestions...please see my reply to others.

      Much obliged everyone. This is quick response here...wow, so fast I did not expect it...

      Isa.
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      • Profile picture of the author clickdirect
        I always tend to go for readability and memorability, I think it is also key that it is super intuitive as to what the Site is about to the user. Personally I am not a big fan of using the "-" if I can avoid it. I like to make it as simple as possible.

        At the end of the day when you have implemented your SEO and Adwords campaigns it will make less of a difference.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sparhawke
    For me it entirely makes a difference if it sounds better with a plural or not...just ask a load of random people who don't actually know what you are doing what sounds better, say you are writing some coursework or a novel. You will always come up with one sounding better than the other, so get that one or simply both.

    "chickens feed" or "chicken feed"

    Obviously they are both perfectly respectable and legitimate micro-phrases but the second one will always sound better and be used more.

    I would avoid hyphens like the plague, they split a domain up, make it harder to tell people in a hurry over the phone what it is and cause other problems...you don't really want to drive hard won customers to your competition do you?
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  • Profile picture of the author thumperhartley
    Buy both domains and setup a 301 redirect so the domain recieving the lesser amount of searches per month redirects to one with more, presumably the singular version of the domain. As for dashes, if available, buy both versions to save your competition setting up similar site (depending on your site purpose)
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    • Profile picture of the author coconutisa
      Again, thanks everyone for responding. I got the idea.
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