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DOMAIN NAME???

by salaka
35 replies
hello warriors

SHOULD YOU PUT - (DASH) on a domain name??
#domain
  • Profile picture of the author Robert Michael
    its up to you.

    i have a domain with 3 dashes in it, and i rank on first page of serps.. so ya.. lol
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  • Profile picture of the author Paleochora
    From all that I have read and been told, a hyphen (-) is better than an underscore (_) for search engine purposes.

    There is, somewhere, a Q&A video with Matt Cutts telling everybody that Google ignores hyphens in domains but there are still plenty of people who would say just go with nothing inbetween the words.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Paleochora View Post

      From all that I have read and been told, a hyphen (-) is better than an underscore (_) for search engine purposes.
      This is true in the sense that underscores aren't possible: you can't actually register a domain-name with an underscore in it.

      Originally Posted by Paleochora View Post

      There is, somewhere, a Q&A video with Matt Cutts telling everybody that Google ignores hyphens in domains but there are still plenty of people who would say just go with nothing inbetween the words.
      Yes - I know that video's in a few threads here, but I can't find it now. It's certainly true, though, that hyphens have no relevance at all to SEO. There may, of course, be other reasons for preferring unhyphenated domain-names, though (or indeed vice versa, especially in cases like the well-known "penisland", "molestationnursery" and all those other ones).
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      • Profile picture of the author Silent Warrior
        I just realized how ridiculously immature I am because I actually laughed out loud when I read those domain names. Thanks for the advice and a morning chuckle.
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        • Profile picture of the author selfmadetycoon
          Maybe it's best to use dashes if your domain is three words or longer that way you divide the words so your consumer can read it better. If it's one or two words you can use that as branding. In my own opinion I don't think dashes are necessary for two words unless they are long.
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          • Profile picture of the author Meharis
            Originally Posted by selfmadetycoon View Post

            Maybe it's best to use dashes if your domain is three words or longer that way you divide the words so your consumer can read it better. If it's one or two words you can use that as branding. In my own opinion I don't think dashes are necessary for two words unless they are long.

            I suggest next time before posting you read what other did say.
            Several of them answered accordingly. Yours looks like coming
            from a planet they have no idea about domain names.

            Meharis
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        • Profile picture of the author Paperchasing
          Originally Posted by Silent Warrior View Post

          I just realized how ridiculously immature I am because I actually laughed out loud when I read those domain names. Thanks for the advice and a morning chuckle.
          My personal favorite was powergenitalia, the Italian power company. Most of those URLS have long since changed, though. At least bendover.com still works!
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  • Profile picture of the author Robert Michael
    Like I just said, I have a domain with 3 hyphens in it. And I have no problems ranking that site. So I'd say its time to find a new mentor..

    This "Matt Cutts" guy doesnt have the slightest idea what's going on if he honestly believes search engines ignore domains with a hyphen.

    What a joke. lolllll
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    • Profile picture of the author TheRedPill
      So it sounds like the hyphen is there for human readability and if the EMD is already taken, but does not provide nor take away any SEO value. I that correct ?
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    • Profile picture of the author Richard Van
      Originally Posted by Whos That Guru View Post

      Like I just said, I have a domain with 3 hyphens in it. And I have no problems ranking that site. So I'd say its time to find a new mentor..

      This "Matt Cutts" guy doesnt have the slightest idea what's going on if he honestly believes search engines ignore domains with a hyphen.

      What a joke. lolllll
      He didn't say Google ignores domains with hyphens in them, he said Google ignores the hyphens in domains.

      Originally Posted by Paleochora View Post


      There is, somewhere, a Q&A video with Matt Cutts telling everybody that Google ignores hyphens in domains.
      Matt Cutts isn't his mentor either, he's Googles main spokesperson.

      I take it that last bit was a joke, right? :confused:
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      Wibble, bark, my old man's a mushroom etc...

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      • Profile picture of the author Robert Michael
        Originally Posted by Richard Van View Post

        He didn't say Google ignores domains with hyphens in them, he said Google ignores the hyphens in domains.



        Matt Cutts isn't his mentor either, he's Googles main spokesperson.

        I take it that last bit was a joke, right? :confused:
        LOL touche..

        I must have read it wrong or something, I could have sworn he meant google ignores domains with a hyphen and doesnt index them or something like that.

        And oh. I thought Matt Cutts was some WF member. haha
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        • Profile picture of the author Richard Van
          Originally Posted by Whos That Guru View Post

          LOL touche..

          I must have read it wrong or something, I could have sworn he meant google ignores domains with a hyphen and doesnt index them or something like that.

          And oh. I thought Matt Cutts was some WF member. haha
          I was only joking about, I figured you read it wrong, then I was looking and thinking "I'm sure Matt Cutts knows a little bit about Google!"

          I thought you had a very dry sense of humour, even more than I have.

          Enjoy Your Thanksgiving, blame it on the drink.
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          Wibble, bark, my old man's a mushroom etc...

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  • Profile picture of the author baokhau
    Originally Posted by salaka View Post

    hello warriors

    SHOULD YOU PUT - (DASH) on a domain name??
    It's up to you but remember the .com is highly recommended in internet marketing
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    It makes no difference if it has dashes if you do the SEO on the domain. It will rank the same as any other top level domain.
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  • Profile picture of the author xtrapunch
    Any domain name, with or without dahses, is good as long as you work on it the right way. Create content and backlinks, promote your site.
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  • Profile picture of the author rooze
    You can't use underscores in a domain name, only numbers, letters of the alphabet or hyphens. You can use underscores in file names.
    It makes no difference to SE's, but I rarely see real corporations using a hyphen in their domain name.
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  • Profile picture of the author samuelsss
    When I have no choice I add a dash in my domain names. I do not lose ranking for this. So there is no reason not to use it.
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  • Profile picture of the author hayesrobin
    Post panda I hardly saw double dashed domain.
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  • Profile picture of the author johnw18
    In my opinion it all comes down to the keyword.
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  • Profile picture of the author IamTJM
    If the EMD is available, then that is the best way to go. If it isn't available, then using hyphens should be fine.
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  • Profile picture of the author Val Wilson
    It makes no difference either way for SEO. You might lose some visitors who type the domain straight into the browser, and type in thisismykeyword.com instead of this-is-my-keyword.com, but IMO in most cases this will not be a big issue.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
    Urrgh, this old horse again.
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    BS free SEO services, training and advice - SEO Point

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  • Profile picture of the author colll999
    A little off topic but when i'm searching for domain names the ones I want are normally taken as i'm sure it's the same with most people but i came across this site that makes it a little easier as you can enter key words and it comes back with available domain suggestions.

    Domain Tool
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  • Profile picture of the author Don Luis
    Banned
    I personally avoid using hyphens/dashes in domain names, but if the domain name doesn't sound good without a hyphen, then I will put a hyphen between 2 or more words.

    The powergenitalia.com example is hilarious. Maybe the guy/gal registering that domain name doesn't realize the blunder (or maybe he/she doesn't speak English).
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  • Profile picture of the author Troy_Phillips
    dog-butt dot com or dogbutt dot com in the hands of a poor SEO smith will both be beaten by the SEO specialist that owns either dog-butt dot info or dogbutt dot info.
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  • Profile picture of the author realseowarrior
    There is not much significance of domain name in rankings all what matters is your updation, backlinks and unique content (better if keyword rich).
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    • Profile picture of the author condra
      I wouldn't worry too much about a dash when you want keyword heavy domain names, for sites that convert quickly and don't need returning visitors.

      However, I would try to avoid dashes in domain names for "branded" sites that need catchy names and rely heavily on returning visitors.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dexter Williams
    Because of the differences of opinions that I read about, I decided to test this out a while back for myself... Based on what I found, there didn't seem to be any difference if hyphens were used or not
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  • Profile picture of the author Meharis
    Originally Posted by salaka View Post

    hello warriors

    SHOULD YOU PUT - (DASH) on a domain name??


    There was 30 warriors responding to your call for help.
    At least you could say: Thank you.
    Just plain being educated.

    Meharis
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  • Profile picture of the author UMS
    Time to roll out some of the funny non-hypenated domain names

    Who Represents
    www.whorepresents.com

    Experts Exchange
    www.expertsexchange.com

    Pen Island
    www.penisland.net

    Therapists
    www.therapistfinder.com

    A plant nursery
    www.molestationnursery.com
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  • Profile picture of the author akirlew
    I am surprised that no one asked the question "what is your goal?"

    If you are looking to build a brand, then you don't want a hyphenated domain because ultimately people won't remember the hyphens and you will build a brand for the non-hyphenated version.

    If you are looking to get some keyword value for your domain for purposes of SEO and all of the other versions are taken, you will likely get some value out of having a keyword rich hyphenated domain.

    As a rule, I don't use them.

    Hope that makes sense.

    ~ Anthony
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  • Profile picture of the author seoglobalexperts004
    With hyphen(-) or without hyphen(-).... whatever you use ...... it needs SERP.... if your domain in top searches then there is no difference ... but if you are not in searches then may be hyphen plays some role there...........
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