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Domain Name Question

by lingerieexposure
10 replies
I found a niche that I want to go after and the exact match (9,900 global monthly searches) .com, .net and .org are taken.

After researching the keyword phrase on Firefox SEOQuake, it looks like I can easily rank on Google page 1.

It has two words. Would you add a hyphen (-) to get the .com?

Jessica
#domain #question
  • Profile picture of the author art72
    I; myself have asked this question many times, and the answers can be mind boggling.

    However, after months of studying keywords and asking simliar questions, the consensus seems to boil down to SEO and content moreover that of the domain.

    Naturally, I believe an [exact match domain] helps, but if the .com and .net are taken, I would go-for-it with the hyphen and perform as much on-page and meta SEO as possible.

    I have seen hyphenated sites take the #1 slot, so it can be done with the right content and SEO.

    Hope that helps.

    All the Best,

    Art

    PS - The only downside to the hyphen is if you were trying to flip the domain on Sedo, as from what I have seen the hyphenated domains don't hold the same resale value, but for the SERP's I don't think it can stop you from becoming the authority!
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  • Profile picture of the author Rickie
    Don't worry so much about coming up with the perfect domain name. Focus on how you can had Tremendous Value to your Niche or Market through your website. I have seen many sites with a hyphen in the domain name get a ton of traffic because of the Value and Positioning of the Site.
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  • Profile picture of the author JulioMedina
    It really depends on the niche. I hate adding dashes to my domains. But thats just a preference it's not a rule.
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    • Profile picture of the author lingerieexposure
      If you don't like adding dashes, and the keyword phrase gets 9,900 exact monthly searches, would you add a letter or review at the end?

      I noticed when I do that and do another search the searches go down.
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      • Profile picture of the author valmillercorl
        Originally Posted by lingerieexposure View Post

        If you don't like adding dashes, and the keyword phrase gets 9,900 exact monthly searches, would you add a letter or review at the end?

        I noticed when I do that and do another search the searches go down.
        Not sure what you mean by adding a letter or review?

        I personally don't like doing dashes either.
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        Valarie Miller-Corl
        SEO & Internet Marketer, PLR Author
        Get Your WSO Sales Copy Written by Someone Who Has a JVZOO POTD & a WSOTD On Her Accomplished List

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        • Profile picture of the author DebbieD
          I think adding dashes or adding a letter or word is more of a personal choice. But if you're going to get traffic mainly via seo (where the person won't necessarily have to see or remember the website name), then I would go with the dashes.

          Truth is, you're not going to know until you try it. Try it one way now, and the next time you'll have this predicament again you'll try it a different way. Then you'll be able to compare your results.

          Good Luck
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  • Profile picture of the author art72
    A lot of people will buy domainnamex.com or domainnamereview.com as opposed to just domainname.com since the exact match will still trigger the search engines to see the main keywords first
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  • Profile picture of the author absolutelee
    I would go with the hyphenated niche, especially to get one of the big three, .com, etc. Your visitors won't care. Google has stated that it ignores the hyphens for ranking purposes. The only issue is if you want to sell the domain and/or site down the road. There's a prejudice about hyphenated domain names out there. But from an seo point of view, it's unfounded.
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  • Profile picture of the author Trent Brownrigg
    I've had plenty of success ranking hyphenated domains and some of the keywords are extremely competitive. If you can get the exact match with a hyphen then I say go for it.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Hyphens don't affect rankings at all.

      This is discussed in 100 other threads here.

      Some of those threads contain links to a Google video of Matt Cutts explaining openly and clearly (a) that hyphens don't affect SEO at all, and (b) why they wouldn't/couldn't/shouldn't.

      All the Warriors here who have previously worked for search engines, on algorithms, and so on, say the same.

      So do the authors of all the standard SEO textbooks.

      The idea that you might in any way be "disadvantaged for SEO purposes" by using domain-names with hyphens is simply one of those ever-prevalent "urban myths of internet marketing". Call me a skepchick, but personally, if someone tried to tell me that having hyphens in a domain-name puts you at a disadvantage for SEO purposes, I would be inclined to ignore both that and anything else that person also told me about SEO, as well, because I'd be concerned that they seem not to know even the basics but to rely on urban myths instead, to form their beliefs.

      Resale value is, indeed, a different matter altogether, and there may be some other relative disadvantages, such as the potential for future loss of type-in traffic to the owner of the non-hyphenated .com, but whatever the disadvantages, SEO isn't one of them.
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