What's better .NET or a hyphenated.COM domain

[RonSparks]

What's better .NET or a hyphenated .COM domain

I know this is simple but in selecting a domain for my current project and I only have two options.

firstname-lastname.COM or 
firstnamelastname.NET

I'm leaning to the .COM as after reading the how to choose a domain name post.

http://www.seomoz.org/blog/how-to-choose-the-right-domain-name

Thanks

[RobertFisher]

My personal opinion is that you can do either, but I would go with the hyphen.com. The reason for me is simple it is easier to read. That said, you will shortly have other opinions and they will revolve around being spammy. There is no increase or decrease in SEO value and I have yet to see any quantification of the spammy factor and any effect on CTR or conversions. But, I don't think the hyphen will out perform the non hyphen.net. I think all things being equal, they will be equal.

Best

[ThomasHgenhaven]

I agree with Robert. The ranking difference between .com / .net and no-hyphen / one-hyphen is going to be minimal. So go for the domain that is easier to read. That will probably benefit you in the long run.

[EGOL]

I used to have sites with hyphens... and all of my hard work was enriching the guys who owned the domains without a hyphen.  The harder I worked to make my site popular the more they enjoyed it.   I finally gave in and paid big bucks to get those domains.

So when you are workin hard to make Rons-KickAss-Site.com  AND RonsKickAssSite.net  huge successes they guy who owns RonsKickAssSite.com will be smiling as lots of your customers land on his spammy site and click ads to sorry domains.  Not a good customer experience and not good for your wallet - because the people who remember the name of your site well enough to type it in without a hyphen were probably going to buy something. Nice you just lost that $2000 sale to someone else - and he thinks you went out of business.

So, spend a little more time coming up with a kickass domain or be willing to spend some money to get the domain that you want.  Because if you own RonsKickAssSite.com I doubt that anyone is going to look for you at Rons-KickAss-Site.com

Here's a couple of quotes from Rand's post..... at http://www.seomoz.org/blog/how-to-choose-the-right-domain-name

and while directing traffic to a .net or .org (as SEOmoz does) is fine, owning and 301'ing the .com is critical.

Both hyphens and numbers make it hard to give your domain name verbally and falls down on being easy to remember or type.

[AlanMosley]

I agree they are equal in SEO, but I also agree you will get differing opinion about looking spammy. i think hythens look spammy, but are coming a bit more normalized as time goes on, but anouther reason is that they are hard to say, image a radio ad, the reader having to explained the hythens

at coca hythen cola dot com

[RobertFisher]

EGOL,

While I do not think your response is without merit and I do sometimes consider the issue of which is easier to remember, I am not sure it is as relevant as it was when Rand made that post in 2007. As we see so many sites today with hyphens, I think more people are used to them. But, that does not mean it won't happen.

I think, once someone has seen it visually it is not an issue. If I am doing radio it is. With a non visual medium, you are forced to spell it out and say something like (remember to put in a hyphen between Rons and kickass and Site.net!) That is not a great option.

With most of our sites, people are clicking the link organically for our eCommerce where there are return customers, we are leaving cookies and bookmark options.

As to spending money to get the site you want, it is relative depending on the client. If a client is new (I have a small client who came from a relative that is two ladies who do baby sitting and pet sitting and we are building a 5 to 6 page site for) to business and has a low budget, getting the dream domain is sometimes not possible. Yes, for Fortune 500 they will likely blow a bunch for insuring a branding option.

But, again, it is two sides to a very interesting coin.

Always appreciate your opinions as you think before you write.
Best

[EGOL]

I have really strong feelings about hyphen domains and domains other than .com.   Most of this is from running retail sites on hyphen domains and trying to explain to people by phone about the hyphen and hearing from them how they went to the wrong domain when trying to visit.  The last customers I want going to the wrong domain are the people who are typing it in!

So, after hearing this stuff for a long time I paid hideous sums to get the unhypenated domains and the guys who I bought them from told me that their typein traffic was rising every year.

But, I have those domains now and am happy... well... there is one more that I would like to get. 

They say that converts are the worst type of fanatic. 

[RonSparks]

Thanks for the responses, its sounds like the SEO programatic stuff is all about even.

It the human factor that is really up for grabs here, what's easier to read, remember, speak, and trust.

In my case its all about personal brand so a hyphenated .com maybe easier to remember and trust then a non-hyphenated .net which could get confused for a .com

Sounds like i'm still choicing between two good options but not the best option

And yes I'm looking at ronsparks.net vs ron-sparks.com and other future domains with a simliar issue.

ps @EGOL ronskickasssite.com is available tho its a bit hard to read with all those S's