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Domain Name Style .com vs. hyphen

by Roey Pimentel
16 replies
When choosing a domain name (for blogging) - are there any rules about which type to choose? For example, if you are going to use, "MyDomainName.com" but it is taken, what is the order of preferences for next best choice? Is the .net then next best, or if you could get the .com but with hyphens, is that better? And if so, which is better, "My-DomainName.com" or "MyDomain-Name.com" or "My-Domain-Name.com?" Also, is a .net better than a .org?

Peace,

Roey.
#domain #hyphen #style
  • Profile picture of the author jmidas
    Hi Roey, here is my two cents: 1) always use .com if possible. 2) hyphens, especially for SEO purposes are great. (Not as great for a customer remembering how to type in your URL). That said, if you are looking to generate ranking, I would go with my-domain-name format with a .com. For a blog, I think you will be OK with this too. Cheers.
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  • Profile picture of the author GailTrahd
    Also - If I can I purchase two: My-Domain-Name.com and mydomainname.com with the first carrying the site and the second a redirect for those who don't remember to type in the hyphens.

    So, if you aren't tied to the name and can make it a bit different so you can get both the solid and hyphenated that would be best. But, this also depends upon how you anticipate getting your traffic. If you think people will be typing it in the go with the example in the first paragraph I wrote.

    However, if you are really tied to the name AND think that the majority of the blog will get traffic from others linking, SEO or article marketing then use the hyphens for SEO purposes and go with it.

    Hope that helps
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  • Profile picture of the author Clyde Dennis
    Greetings,

    I agree with jmidas on the ALWAYS use MySite.com when possible, but don't be too disappointed if you find you have to get domain with hyphens. Especially if most of your marketing is going to be online where people will be clicking on it rather than trying to commit it to memory.

    Just my 2 cent
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  • Profile picture of the author AtticusBaker
    Personally, I don't like hyphens. There may be an SEO reason to use them, but I don't like the look and it's easier to just type words all mashed together. I'll have to look into MySite, so thanks for that heads up.
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  • Profile picture of the author Brett Kruger
    Hi Roey.

    I personally can't stand hyphenated domains, but that is only personal opinion.

    If the domain you are after is gone, I find using a dotcom works quite well.

    eg widgetsdotcom.com

    Just my 2 cents worth.

    Brett.
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    • Profile picture of the author ~DesmondOwens
      I used to get the hyphens but I suppose I really dont get them as much these days, but thats just my personal pref. The way I look is...well whatever I can do to push taht domain to make money.

      Desmond
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  • Profile picture of the author Roey Pimentel
    Thanks for the replies. Let me clarify the issue a little further. The case in point is where I found a sweet niche, with several keyword phrases that are tasty too. The thing is all of the dot coms are gone. I was taught for this type of research (for I.M. blogging) you need the Exact keyword phrase for your domain name, so the choices become the following:

    1. MyDomainName.com (taken already)
    2. MyDomainName.net
    3. MyDomainName.org
    4. My-DomainName.com
    5. My-DomainName.net
    6. My-DomainName.org
    7. MyDomain-Name.com
    8. MyDomain-Name.net
    9. MyDomain-Name.org
    10. My-Domain-Name.com
    11. My-Domain-Name.net
    12. My-Domain-Name.org

    So, my question is, which number is the next best thing if the dot com is taken. For simplicity I put a number next to each choice. I'd really appreciate it if you would rank them from best to worst choice.

    Thank you so much!

    Peace,

    Roey.
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    Peace, Roey.

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  • Profile picture of the author Trieu
    Not a big fan of Hyphen domains. They dont look professional or brandable to me, even though its good for seo purposes. Anyway, I still can get good rankings with a mashup domains so personally that would be my 1st choice
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  • Profile picture of the author Norma Holt
    I use hyphens when necessary as it makes the name stand out more and some well known experts recommend it. Some mashed together names are often hard to decipher and people usually get to your site by clicking from somewhere else. if you rank high in SE's for keywords they will find you.

    Norma
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    • Profile picture of the author Alton Hargrave
      Today, I faced the same problem. A problem faced before. I would go with option number 10. My next choice would be option 2.

      Don't you wish all problems in life were so easy to lay-out and make choices on? You know, some people have hyphens in their names. Such as when some women get married and don't want to lose their names, so they just throw them both together and slap a hyphen in between to give 'em some breathin room.

      Alton
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  • Profile picture of the author p2y
    I always try and get domainname.com but if I have to I'll settle for domain-name.com, but these days even the hyphenated domains seem to be taken and parked on sedo.
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  • Profile picture of the author Vanquish
    What affect does adding a third word into your domain have on seo?

    For example

    www.gethelp.com is taken but www.gethelpnow.com is available

    Would adding the now as part of my domain have a negative impact on my seo?
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    • Profile picture of the author jmidas
      #10 would be my choice if I picked just one.
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  • Profile picture of the author Roey Pimentel
    Dear Vanquish,

    Thanks for bringing that up as this is the root of my quandry. I was under the impression for seo and blogging it needs to be the exact match of the target keyword phrase. Comments, anyone?

    -r*
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    Peace, Roey.

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    • Profile picture of the author Vanquish
      Originally Posted by Roey Pimentel View Post

      Dear Vanquish,

      Thanks for bringing that up as this is the root of my quandry. I was under the impression for seo and blogging it needs to be the exact match of the target keyword phrase. Comments, anyone?

      -r*

      Np, I recently found a keyword that has high seaches low compeititon and a product that is fitting for it but the main domain is registered so im hoping to register the domain with now at the end but im wondering if this will have a negative effect on seo. Or in general what the effects of adding a third word are
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  • Profile picture of the author Tyson Faulkner
    I personally like the look of domains with hyphens in them.
    When we read and write words have spaces in them, and
    when a domain is all jumbled together it can be hard to
    even read what the separate words are.

    Putting hyphens in your domain name will make it easy to
    read if it's a phrase. Like a few posters said it can be a
    little confusing if someone is trying to type in the domain
    from memory.

    I plan on most of my traffic coming from referral sources though,
    where they will be clicking on the link and not typing in the
    domain.

    But if you are doing a lot of offline marketing and
    your visitors will have to remember how to type it in, you
    probably want to avoid the hyphens.

    So like several others, I would go with #10.

    -Tyson
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