Domains with Dashes...To Dash or Not to Dash?

small business website

Sometimes it can be difficult to find a good domain name that contains your targeted keywords. Have you ever thought about using dashes in your domain name? Maybe you wanted a domain name like www.blahblahblah.com using your keywords but that domain name was was already registered by someone else so now you want to register www.blah-blah-blah.com.

Truth be told, the dashes might be easier on the eye but that is as far as it goes. I do not think they have any advantage otherwise. Domain names with dashes do fine in the search engines but people have a heck of a time trying to remember where to put the dashes into the browser. If your potential visitors are typing in the domain name they might not be able to get to your website --which isn't so good for you.

This to consider:

  • If someone is searching for your dashed domain in a search engine you would not be at a disadvantage.
  • The more the dashes, the more spammy the domain name will look
  • Small and single dashed domains are OK
  • The only issue you will have is with typein traffic. Sites with "-" in them tend to not get any type in traffic
  • If you want to build a recognizable brand, do not use dashes in your domain name.

Ultimately it's up to you whether or not to use a domain with dashes.

 

About the Author:

By: Gina Hoover © 2007-2014. Gina Hoover can be reached for questions about this article at http://www.hooverwebdesign.com. Gina's company, Hoover Web Design specializes in professional website design, web templates, flash photo galleries and flash music players for beginning Webmasters. Google Plus


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