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"-" compared to "_" - Is there a difference?

by Dresden14
11 replies
  • SEO
    • |
For example:

Example.com/anxiety-help.php
Example.com/anxiety_help.php

Is there a difference when trying to rank subpages on google?
#compared #difference
  • Profile picture of the author iva
    Not from my own experience, but apparently it is. I am reading a book by Aarron Walter "Building Findable Websites" and he always recommends to use "-" instead of "_". When you use "anxiety-help" search engines read "anxiety" "help", whereas "anxiety_help" is read like "anxiety_help", which is not likely to match search query. At least, according to this book.
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  • Profile picture of the author socialbookmark
    However i am not sure about the difference between them for ranking, i prefer to use Example.com/anxiety-help.php and i suggest it to you.
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    • Profile picture of the author paulgl
      Matt Cutts has said a lot of stuff on this. First that
      an underscore means nothing to a human. But then I
      had found this video where he talks about separators.
      A dash is better. I always went with a dash because humans
      (visitors) know what that means. An underscore, not so much.
      Here is a semi-recent answer:

      I know some don't like Matt Cutts...Sometimes, he's all we got.

      Paul
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      • Profile picture of the author theentry
        Originally Posted by paulgl View Post

        Matt Cutts has said a lot of stuff on this. First that
        an underscore means nothing to a human. But then I
        had found this video where he talks about separators.
        A dash is better. I always went with a dash because humans
        (visitors) know what that means. An underscore, not so much.
        Here is a semi-recent answer:
        YouTube - Should I use underscores or hyphens in URLs?

        I know some don't like Matt Cutts...Sometimes, he's all we got.

        Paul
        Heh wanted to post the same vid. Yes it makes no difference, but a hyphen is more "user friendly" I think
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  • Profile picture of the author Matt Ward
    I had no idea you could even use underscores in page names. I don't think I've ever seen that used before, now that I think of it. Hyphens definitely look better, SEO factors aside.
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  • Profile picture of the author jesus72knight
    "The reason why we typically never talk stuffs in the future is that it gives us the freedom to change our minds."

    Currently, dashes are the ones preferred to be use as separators but who knows? The gameplay might change in the future.
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  • Profile picture of the author sijugk
    Originally Posted by Dresden14 View Post

    For example:

    Example.com/anxiety-help.php
    Example.com/anxiety_help.php

    Is there a difference when trying to rank subpages on google?
    _ is a null character like space. - is a character. It is not wise to use _ for separating words in a url. Better practice is - .
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  • Profile picture of the author tracy.roberts35
    a "-" hyphen is more preferred to "_" underscore and its a good practice too
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