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Hyphenated domain or add suffix?

by Russell Hall
7 replies
I'm deliberating over a domain name using my main keyword phrase which is similar to "Cheap domain hosting"
. The .com, .net, and .org are all gone but I could have "cheap-domain-hosting.com" or alternatively I'm thinking an unhyphenated alternative might be better?.. such as "CheapDomainHostingHQ.com". Interestingly the name I wanted "Cheapdomainhosting.com" is for sale but I'm reluctant to get too excited about that unless I see a reasonable price but one thing worth considering with that domain is that it was first registered in 2002 so it would hold solid maturity value from a ranking perspective.
Your opinions would be most appreciated.
Cheers, Russ
#add #domain #hyphenated #suffix
  • Profile picture of the author Laura B
    Personally, I would not use hyphens, but others might. To me, that makes it a little spammy, especially if all the words in the name are kind of generic.

    I'd add something that is at least a little brandable.
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  • Profile picture of the author ramkarthik
    Are you looking for short term monetization through search engines or long term monetization by branding?

    If it is short term, you can go for the hyphenated. If it is long term, you should go for a suffix in my opinion.

    You cannot build a brand easily with hyphens. When you meet people, would you say first name hyphen second name hyphen thirdname? I mean you can, but will the other person remember?

    For branding, no hyphens.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
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    • Profile picture of the author Russell Hall
      Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

      Do you really want to build your business on a domain-name of which the ".com" version belongs to someone else?! I wish you well with it, but this wouldn't be my choice.

      I wouldn't be concerned about ranking and hyphens at all. These are the least of your problems, in the long run. I would be thinking of another name, and not needing to worry about who that .com might belong to in a couple of years and what might be on it and what proportion of "my" traffic will get there.
      Thanks Alexa,
      these are good points you raised and from the perspective your indicating I'd have to agree.
      However, the principal objective for this project is to rank highly in the SERPS for the keyword phrase and to obtain an organic traffic advantage by getting into the top 5 on Google page 1. I know that by having the keyword phrase in the URL it will generate a distinctive (if not critical) advantage in ensuring that I rank highly on GP1. I am highly confident that I will achieve this objective and could probably do so without the entire keyword phrase in my URL but it would take longer (maybe a lot longer),.. plus if an evenly pitted niche competitor came along and was using the keyword phrase in the URL then I would get relegated behind him or her for sure.
      So maybe I should have clarified the point initially that this is entirely a niche project designed at getting optin sign ups and clients from an organic search advantage.
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      • Profile picture of the author Microbusiness Media
        You should avoid the hyphens and go for the dot com. like ramkarthik mentioned, it is much better for the long term and if you ever decided to sell the web site, a .com without hyphens is going to be worth more.

        I also agree with Alexa Smith, stay away from .com names that are similar to what others own ad make your name as unique as possible.
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  • Profile picture of the author InternetMarketingIQ
    Have you ever done a search online an intentionally typed in a hyphen? Pick a single important keyword... build a phrase around it and get a dot com.

    Image is everything and hyphens portray a poor image.
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  • Profile picture of the author Russell Hall
    Hi everyone,

    just to let you know the conclusion to this matter. I had to agree that the .dom was the way to go and that the use of a hyphenated domain was going to weaken the overall presentation and the effect in the SERPS. Therefore instead of using [cheap-domain-hosting.com] I decided to go with [CheapDomainHostingCo.com]. Thanks to everyone for their much appreciated input.
    Cheers, Russ.
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