Should I change my domain?

[dbuckles]

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[EGOL]

I really like .com domains compared to .net domains.

I also don't like hyphens in a domain.  They are very hard to communicate and hard to remember.  Lots of people will type your domain and forget the hyphen - so lost traffic.

I think that SuretyBondSoftware is easier for me to remember.

If you know that your market is software for the long term then I would probably move to the new domain.  However, if I had a lot of SEO in place on the old domain I would be a bit nervous about moving and suffering a some loss in the SERPs.

[MarieHaynes]

I'm no pro on domain names, but personally I think what you've got is ok.  If you've built links to it and it's ranking well then I personally wouldn't change it.

Keywords in domain names are losing their importance.  Matt Cutts recently posted a video about this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAWFv43qubI

watch?v=rAWFv43qubI

[AaronSchinke]

While 301 redirects do pass the "juice" it is never certain that you will get 100% to go through, however it sounds like long-term the new URL will help increase the overall SEO value of the site. I think it's more descriptive and I would make the switch, but I'm a little separated, obviously.

[MarieHaynes]

Good points!  If you were still wanting to keep the original domain and were worried about the type-in traffic you could also buy the non hyphenated domain and 301 it for type in traffic.

[Hallam]

I am with Aaron on this one but you have to remember that changing your domain name is something that you shouldn't take lightly. If you know a lot of people that link to you already it is worth the trouble of contacting them directly and getting them to link to the new domain name.

I think option two is easier to remember and will give you a better long term seo benefit, but don't jump in with your eyes closed!

[Dan-Petrovic]

I would say do what sounds the right choice from branding and business perspective. Search engines are pretty good and picking up domain migrations and there are tools to help you do that effectively (301, Google Webmaster Tools). To me .com does sound better.

[dbuckles]

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