Hyphens in Domain Name

[RobMay]

Hi C nature,

OK, there are many schools of thought on this, so many SEO's will have different views. Nothing wrong with that Sure, Search engines and research speculates now that exact match domain names are no longer the be-all, end all of SEO relative positioning.

I have done several tests with regards to this, building test sites that are exact vs non-exact match domains based on market research. The exact match always (90%) of the time, beat out the other versions.

All my hyphenated domains tests have always taken longer (ave 44% longer) to start ranking, gathering rankings based on KW research than the non-hyphenated counterpart.

One other thing to consider is how search engines perceive hyphenated domains. Because they have been known to be used/abused by spammers (which ultimately made them less credible from a trust perspective). This in turn was a direct correlation to the amount of time I mentioned (ave 44% longer) to get ranking.. search engines have a tendency to take longer authenticating these domain types, vs their non-hyphenated cousins.

If your looking for quicker results, perhaps focused around 1-2 main keywords, then the exact match domain (non-hyphenated) would be your best bet, to build the site/domain around. For that specific keyword or 2, it will yield the quickest results over time. Link building, social profiles etc will still need to be built out to get signals moving in the domains favor to establish itself within the SERP's.  It will be up to you to build out a more structured plan around other keywords/terms to focus on for short and long tail search through content development and on-site optimization.

The competitiveness of the 'target' keyword can also play a factor into the domains non-hyphenated domain and ranking performance. If the domain also has brand level keywords (something like coca-cola-softdrinks.com might be difficult (if not near impossible) to even begin to rank for due to the brand authority recognized online of the actually coca-cola company site). It really depends on the scenario.

If your looking to build something long term, that could eventually be recognized, your best bet would be to build a site/domain out with a brand' style domain using a 'company brand name' and optimize it around that. It won't be exact match, and may take longer, but over time will build the trust using brand authority will yield better results.

If you think about it, typing in something like your example above (business-broker-alabama.com) would be a real pain in the a#$, LOL. It would either be the non-hyphenated or a brand level domain optimized around the focus on your domain example which would yield a better user experience from the get-go.

I'm thinking about re-doing my test/thesis over to determine if recent statements on exact match domains has changed in value. I think I feel inspired to do it again !! Time to start digging.

My opinion would be either non-hyphenated or brand level domain building. Stay away from the hyphenated and spammy looking domains.

Hope this helps. Cheers!

[SeattleOrganicSEO]

Interesting data about the hyphenated domains.  Intuitively for me, people just don't type hyphens between words.  So, outside of the SEO aspect of the domains, the "usability" of the domains has something to do with what I'd argue would get more traffic to the domain withOUT the hyphens.  There's some research that says people type in domains "as is" into the url bar the a .com at the end and I'd argue they never put the hyphens in there.

Like the previous 3 comments, in terms of SEO value, they're the same, but Rob's data is fascinating.  If there are manual raters out there checking out the hyphenated versions of domains, there may be a reluctance to value these domains and frankly, almost every hyphenated domain I've ever seen has "less quality" than the non-hyphenated ones.  Definitely can't be proven via data, but just my gut...

[SparkplugDigital]

I would personally always avoid the hyphens in your domain if you can. I agree that the usability is a big negative factor. When you tell someone a domain at a networking event you will have to give them extra instructions and hope they remember it. If someone sees your domain offline, like in a newspaper or billboard, they may have difficulty remembering the hyphens. Also, when people are linking to you they may forget to add the hypens or put them in the wrong place and so you could potentially lose links that you have earned. Since people are so used to typing domains with no hyphens, it will make SEO and marketing more difficult in the long run.

[DougRoberts]

The only good reason I can think of for using hyphens is when you want to ensure that you're keywords don't get confused when placed next to each other.  penisland.com or expertsexchange.com are infamous examples domains that suffer from this problem!

[RobertFisher]

Hey Doug, 
Gianluca had answered a question a long time ago using these and I could not find the question again after a 30 min search. Thanks,

Gianluca's point was that Google did not see hyphens as spam and not to worry about it as I recall.

I would personally use hyphens if there was a domain I wanted that was unavailable and the hyphenated version was. If I wanted it, I would obviously believe I had the ability to rank for it in the likelihood someone used the non hyphenated.

I was wondering, is there a nonexpertsexexchange.com?? I can understand getting a discount for having a novice over an expert, but this seems extreme;)

Best

[DougRoberts]

Hi Robert, That's my understanding too. (Google doesn't think hyphens = spam).

I do think that there's  a SERP CTR/searcher perception issue that you need to think about when choosing your exact match domain name.

I'm sure that the more words you have and the more hyphens between then will mean that you domain will appear less authorative and more "spammy" to searchers. (Those who actually notice the domain name!)

Sorry to hear you wasted 30 mins!

[RobertFisher]

I would just really have to see the test and the data. Here is the issue as I see it:

First, someone who already knows the name of the site and is going there is a given they are ok with it. They are not searching for it per se (even though many still use search to go to a site), so CTR would be a given.

So, we are speaking of those searching for a given product. Let's say Oatmeal Cookies.

Assuming someone created Almond Oatmeal cookies and there were two people selling them: One bought the Almond-Oatmeal-Cookies.com domain and the other bought the AlmondOatmealCookies.com domain.

If I am the searcher for these cookies my friend, Doug, just PM'd me about, am I going to click on AlmondOatmealCookies.com if it is ranked third over the hyphenated version at two or four? Are most people going to do that for that one reason? I just have a hard time grasping that, but I learned a long time ago that in marketing never assume people are like you.

This also may be one of those that EGOL talks about where it is dealing with the minutiae of SEO that has very little impact on the result. I would allow that your CTR issue is the first time someone has made me think more about the issue. The, its spammy, argument is just not thought out enough for me.

As usual, all the best to you and yours!

[DougRoberts]

I agree, I really don't think it matters that much.

It's nice to have a URL that you can easily say out loud, on the phone etc, and it's handy if you can keep it short enough to fit on your business card!

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[RobertFisher]

Mark,

Either will work fine for EMD. Note that I only saw this due to the settings i use with SEOmoz. Next time it would be better if you post a question in Q & A as a new question as opposed to an older string. It is not a problem and I am always happy to answer, but you will get a lot of responses the other way in case no one on a string is getting emails about it any longer.

Hope it helps,

Robert

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