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hyphened domain name

by mandos123
12 replies
Hello,

I recently bought hypened domain name. For example my keyword is "best soccer players", then my domain is xttp:// best-soccer-players . com

BUT.. I also read from somewhere that google hates hyphened domain - is that true (hard to rank in SERPS)?

What you think about that?
#domain #hyphened
  • Profile picture of the author Ross Cohen
    It's not difficult. Many websites I own have hyphens. It's really only bad for "brandable domains", for example companies such as Nike, Playstation, etc. For general sites, it's absolutely fine.
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  • Profile picture of the author Shawn Wilson
    It is not difficult to rank for hyphenated names, I have several that are first page and have been for awhile. I don't think Google penalizes you for them either, at least not in my experience. The only drawback from hyphenated is down the road when you want sell. Some will not buy just because they are hyphenated. It just really depends on the buyer and his outlook on the domain name as a whole. Best advice, if you can EMD without hyphens, do it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by mandos123 View Post

    I also read from somewhere that google hates hyphened domain - is that true (hard to rank in SERPS)?

    What you think about that?
    I think it's a shame that there's so much misinformation around that people can still read this stuff all over the place (as I know one can - you're not alone!).

    The reality is that Google has gone to great lengths to assure people that it isn't true. On their websites, on their blogs, and so on.

    There's even a little video with Matt Cutts explaining that hyphens in domain-names don't affect SEO/rankings at all. And it's in several threads here. I happen to know because I've posted it in them, sometimes, myself. But can I find a link to one of those threads now I want it?!

    You can relax about this, anyway: hyphens don't affect SEO.

    The owners of sites like "Pen Island" and the "Mole Station Nursery" are probably happy about that ...

    (But, as mentioned above, resale may be another matter, because if people still believe that hyphenation is a negative for SEO, then it's a negative for potential market-size on resale).
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  • Profile picture of the author HarrieB
    Unless you planning on selling it later, the hyphened domains work really well.

    They have no impact on rankings whatsoever!!
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnnyMazuma
      Mandos123 probably saw my post on another thread.

      I'm sure what Matt Cutts said ages ago had value then. However, things change. Take a read at Google's newest update to Page Rank scoring, "Ranking documents based on user behavior and/or feature data" at 1.usa.gov/wkI3Ga. Or you can read the shortened version at ascendercart (dot) com / page-rank-2.html.

      If you read close enough, you will find they mention hyphens.
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  • Profile picture of the author ukcarl
    I have loads of hyphenated domains outranking similar EMD's so I think that answers the question, there is nothing wrong with hyphens and as someone said above it is well documented that Google have openly commented it makes no difference.

    One thing I have learned online in the last couple of years is take things you hear with a pinch of salt, there are a lot of people talking about things they know nothing about.
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  • Profile picture of the author JDub07
    I try to avoid hyphens at all cost and like previous people mentioned it might be a problem if you plan on selling the site in the future.
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    • Profile picture of the author Chris W. Sutton
      Google does not penalize or hate hyphens. There is one main drawback to hypens and that is that SOME people look at domains with hypens and they won't go to the site because of some sort of prejudice. That is mostly if you are dealing with internet marketers. People in the REAL world don't think about them one way or another.

      As far as having a difficult time selling the site later... if you have a site that makes good money, it won't really matter whether it has hyphens or not. A money making site makes hyphens invisible!
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  • Profile picture of the author aderra
    Banned
    Some domain names can benefit from hyphens. You will lose traffic if people have to decipher the URL. Most potential visitors will only glance at it. However, I'd still prefer to find a domain that doesn't need the hyphens.
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  • Profile picture of the author OnlineMkter
    Hyphen has nothing to do with ranking. Even EMDs have little bearing on rankings nowadays I guess.
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