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Domain Name Hyphen or Prefix?

by amcg
8 replies
Hi guys,

I know this has been asked before a thousand times but I thought I'd get an updated take on it; do you use a hyphen or prefix if your name's not available?

I'm launching a new discussion forum and I've got both options:
  1. The prefix I own is 'thekeywordforum.com'
  2. The hyphenated domain is 'keyword-forum.com'

I'm favoring the prefix as it feels better both in conversation and in text online.
#domain #hyphen #prefix
  • Profile picture of the author datingworld
    A Big No to Hyphens as in case someone forget hyphen [and many people do forget hyphen in domain names] your visitors will end up on your competitiors sites

    I even don't like the idea of having prefix in domain name [but if you don't have any other choice, then its better than hyphens]

    I would prefer to register domain names without hyphens and prefix.
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    • Profile picture of the author amcg
      A Big No to Hyphens as in case someone forget hyphen [and many people do forget hyphen in domain names] your visitors will end up on your competitiors sites
      Good point however I'd counter that by saying the 'keywordforum.com' version doesn't resolve to any address (it's probably a multi-million dollar domain name)

      I even don't like the idea of having prefix in domain name [but if you don't have any other choice, then its better than hyphens]

      I would prefer to register domain names without hyphens and prefix.
      As above, the non-prefix, non-hyphen domain name I want is probably a multi-million dollar name. I think the prefix is a good bet, it's three syllables and easy to read/speak in conversation.
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  • Profile picture of the author Gambino
    I'm not a fan of hyphens.

    Personally, I'd rather go with something more brandable like: keywordworld.com, keywordplace.com, etc.
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  • Profile picture of the author mdan287
    I always prefer prefix.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jeff Lenney
      You know, I used to do sites like how-to-get-ripped-fast.com etc - just to get my keyword in there, but it ended up looking silly and it's not radio friendly (say it out-loud).

      Exact match domains still DO work, but they're not as allmighty powerful as they used to be. Now I'd rather find something short, and more brandable., rather than use a bunch of dashes or hyphens.

      An example of one I did recently for some acne phrases is http://omgpimples.com/- it's short, brandable, and still has my main theme (pimples/acne) in the domain name.

      I hope this helps
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  • Profile picture of the author curationsoft
    do not use hypen on your domain please. it will not gonna help searchable on search engine sites.
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  • Profile picture of the author amcg
    Thanks for the advice guys.

    I forgot to add something that might leave it open to more debate; the prefix is thekeywordforum.com however obviously I want to drop 'the' eventually.

    The hyphen however is 'keyword-forum' - this is the exact reference I want to eventually use in marketing the site i.e Keyword Forum.

    Does this make a difference or should I still go with the prefix? I guess FB is the classic case study right - they went with thefacebook.com and managed to drop the 'the' without anyone knowing anything different.
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  • Profile picture of the author WebMeUp
    I second most opinions voiced above: a hyphen is a big no. Firstly, there's a scenario when people forget the hyphen, trying to access your site directly, and you give away all your traffic to a competitor. Secondly, hyphenated domains are often perceived as spam, and Google users tend to skip them in search results. The same is true about any domain names that contain keywords, so I would steer clear of thekeywordforum.com as well.

    Instead, go for a brand. It's all about the way you build your community and promote your board, not about keywords in the domain that drives forum popularity. Make the name of your forum easy to remember, yet let it the name be easy-to-visualize and associate with your niche. A great example to show what I mean in the SEO forum niche is perhaps traffic planet. It doesn't contain anything like "SEO forum" in the name, but it still makes it clear what the board deals with. And it's really easy to remember.
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