Are domains with a - profitable?

by 26 replies
30
I have been asked to broker a few domain sales

Do domains with - every sell

For example
Online-Jobs.com


Anyone have experience selling these domains and what is the best way to go about selling them?

Appreciate your advice
#main internet marketing discussion forum #domains #profitable
  • Is there content with the domain?

    Do the domain names make sense?

    The only way something sells is if someone wants that thing - either by their own desire or your marketing genius.
    • [1] reply
    • Yes very good short keywords and 7 year old domains

      Both have traffic stats too?
  • Well the way I look at it, if you need to put a dash, that means there exists a domain without a dash. If I were google, I would definitely prioritize the domain without the dash.
    • [3] replies
    • Thats good thinking

      I will also see what the Google stats are for the one without the - and what the searches and comp is like
    • Banned
      Well, Google doesn't agree with you about that, Joe - and says so openly and repeatedly.

      (It's actually a "hyphen", rather than a "dash": they're different punctuation marks. )

      There can certainly be advantages of having the unhyphenated domain (one of which is that you don't have to worry that someone else has it), but SEO isn't one of them.

      With some domain-names, hyphenated versions actually read better, and look better. As the owners of "Pen Island" and the famous "Mole Station Nursery" found out.
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
      • [3] replies
    • I don`t think you`re right. Google will prioritize good content, not - or no -. I`ve seen sites with - rank pretty well.
  • I have seen plenty of domain names in the past with a dash, and still turn out to make a lot of money. It all depends on the sites content or the service.

    I think all domains are profitable, you just have to put the effort and time in and it will work out.

    Make it better than the site without the dash if possible
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • Thanks for this positive line of thought
  • A hyphen does not negatively affect SEO or ranking.

    However, in most countries, the non-hyphenated version is preferable for a few reasons: it's shorter, easier to spell(you don't have to tell people "dash"), and passes the radio test.

    In terms of value, all other things being equal, non-hyphenated wins.

    However, if the non-hyphenated domain is a parked page with zero content, and you develop the hyphenated version into a site with a lot of content and traffic, then the hyphenated version is more valuable.

    Germans love hyphens, and many times, prefer them.

    Basically, you stand a greater chance of selling the hyphenated version if the non-hyphenated version isn't developed and in use by a company.
    • [1] reply
    • I have heard that before...any idea WHY?
      • [1] reply
  • You should strive to making the website successful and profitable FIRST, dash or no dash. Very few people will want to buy a site that isn't making any money. How much money are you looking to price your domain at?
  • Well the dash obviously lowers a domain's value. That's because someone owns the non-dashed domain name and if you get any kind of success, you would be sending them free traffic.
  • I totally agree with Nate (#2) & Alexa (#12). Why would Google prioritize domains without hyphen over hyphenated domains? Does Google said, I love non hyphenated domain names ...!

    Why would most sites have such a permalink structure of: http://namewithouthyphen.tld/i-hate-hyphenated-domains ?

    Domains worth on the value of their contents as well as the other factors involved regardless hyphenated domains or non hyphenated domains.
  • I'd avoid registering domains with a -
    So in my eyes the value goes down.
  • Dash doesn't matter.
    In fact, it works better for SEO than no dash.
    Google reads dashes as spaces.
    Most people use spaces in their searches.
    I've used dashes in many sites and they have all made top 5 ranking or better
    for my main KWs.
  • One famous example is ExpertsExchange.com, read it the wrong way and it appears as ExpertSexChange.com

    Same words, different reading. A dash between the words would make a HUGE difference, such as Experts-Exchange.com. This isn't for SEO reasons but it sure helps identifying your market!!!
    • [ 2 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • Love this! Hilarious how you can interpret differently.

      Thats why sometimes it may be better also to avoid brand copywrites for example

      Facebook shut down all domains with Facebook in them

      What if your domain was PrettyFaceBooks or something? Would Facebook shut you down but if you used the hyphen Pretty-Face-Books that would be ok?
      • [1] reply
  • If it is in a Hot market I don't see any reason that they could not be profitable.
  • As mentioned several times here, a hyphenated domain name is no problem as far as SEO goes.

    There are two main problems with a hyphenated domain. 1) Someone else owns the non-hypenated version, and you will lose a substantial amount of traffic to them, because many people will type in the domain without the hyphen. 2) It is not easily verbalized, and therefore a terrible choice for media advertising (tv, radio, print).

    Is a hyphenated domain "profitable"? That's like asking, are pink cars profitable? The answer to that question depends on how well you do in locating a buyer that wants it. "Profitable" can mean any amount higher than what you paid for it, so you'll need to be more specific.
  • Google has said over and over that domains with hyphens are not rated any higher or lower than domains without hyphens shearly on the basis of the domain name.

    To further answer your question, when Search Engine Optimization is done properly, the majority of your traffic will come from clicks; the user/ potential customer will hardly ever manually type in your URL if it can be found readily in a search engine. Hyphens in domain names become an irrelevant topic in the search engine world as long as the claim that priority is not given to either hyphenated or non-hyphenated domains and your search engine optimization is done well.

    (Unless your potential customer has a predisposition to hyphens of course. Which, unfortunately could be the case)
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