Are domains with a - profitable?

26 replies
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
#domains #profitable
  • Profile picture of the author NatesMarketing
    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.
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  • Profile picture of the author Joe Thio
    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.
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    • Profile picture of the author FitMarketer
      Originally Posted by Joe Thio View Post

      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.
      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
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Joe Thio View Post

      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.
      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.
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      • Profile picture of the author Taniwha
        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        Well, Google doesn't agree with you about that, Joe - and says so openly and repeatedly.
        Though I don't agree that Google will prioritize the domain without the hyphen, I still think that it would be a bit harder to rank, for the simple fact that someone else is trying to rank for quite possibly the same niche. If both parties bought the domains as EMDs to their keywords, it just means more competition.
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      • Profile picture of the author FitMarketer
        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        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.
        Thanks for confirmation on the SEO front for hyphened domains

        I am definatly gonna flip these fr the seller and will give you all the feedback on how the sales do

        Thanks for all your advice
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      • Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        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.
        That one went way over peoples heads and deserves a repeat.
        Too funny Alexa! Yes, hyphens can be a good thing.
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    • Profile picture of the author mrgoe
      Originally Posted by Joe Thio View Post

      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.
      I don`t think you`re right. Google will prioritize good content, not - or no -. I`ve seen sites with - rank pretty well.
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  • Profile picture of the author alexinfox
    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
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  • Profile picture of the author dcdotcom
    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.
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    • Profile picture of the author serryjw
      Germans love hyphens, and many times, prefer them.
      I have heard that before...any idea WHY?
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      • Profile picture of the author dcdotcom
        Originally Posted by serryjw View Post

        I have heard that before...any idea WHY?
        It could be because on average, many german words are longer, so it makes them more legible to have them separated a bit.

        If I type "solar panels" into Google.de (which is not the German plural, but it still brings up search results), I see no fewer than 6 ads in the sidebar for companies with hyphens in the names.

        Anyway, in the U.S. non-hyphenated words are far more valuable, but that doesn't mean I'd overlook mortgage-rates.com if it was expiring and it was affordable.
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        • Profile picture of the author FitMarketer
          Originally Posted by dcdotcom View Post

          It could be because on average, many german words are longer, so it makes them more legible to have them separated a bit.

          If I type "solar panels" into Google.de (which is not the German plural, but it still brings up search results), I see no fewer than 6 ads in the sidebar for companies with hyphens in the names.

          Anyway, in the U.S. non-hyphenated words are far more valuable, but that doesn't mean I'd overlook mortgage-rates.com if it was expiring and it was affordable.
          Interesting about the Germans I wonder if that is same in other countires around Europe

          Great to hear your opinion
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  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    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?
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  • Profile picture of the author joaquin112
    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.
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  • Profile picture of the author run
    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.
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  • Profile picture of the author Brent Schmidt
    I'd avoid registering domains with a -
    So in my eyes the value goes down.
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  • Profile picture of the author lcombs
    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.
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  • Profile picture of the author roblawrence
    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!!!
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    • Profile picture of the author FitMarketer
      Originally Posted by roblawrence View Post

      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!!!
      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?
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      • Profile picture of the author wordwizard
        Originally Posted by serryjw View Post

        I have heard that before...any idea WHY?
        Well I'm German, at least originally, though I've been here for a LOOOONG time now. And I do like hyphenated domain names and own quite a few. Who knows...

        Of course, there are some domain names where hyphenation cannot fix potential misunderstandings as I learned the hard way AFTER I came up with a seemingly brilliant domain name for hair regrowth: GrowBackHair.info

        Not exactly what most women want: More hair on their back... Ouch.

        Another thought about not so perfect domain names - not every domain name is in use, and if it is, it may not be optimized. I am doing very well with quite a few .info domain names, actually.

        And with hypnenated domain names too. They may not sell for as much, but for the most part, I'm just using them myself. And if a successful website is attached to such a domain name, if and when I do decide to sell, I should be able to sell it, hyphens or not.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jenna619
    If it is in a Hot market I don't see any reason that they could not be profitable.
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  • Profile picture of the author Gene Pimentel
    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.
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  • Profile picture of the author GB Solutions
    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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