Domains with a dash

[uberanimal]

Do domains with a dash appear to be cheesy or is it something a lot of people are going too because the name my be taken and a way to get it is to add a dash to it. I know in terms of seo it does not hurt or help, just with people remembering the domain might be an issue? what is your thought on that?

[incrediblehelp]

Well domains that have 3-4-5 dashes seem a little cheesy and spammy, but I have seen many websites do fine with 1-2 dashes.

[advancedmerchant]

Just remember, that dashes are harder to remember, and even harder to pronounce, if you are looking forward to word-of-mouth (pun intended) referrals.

[bj]

I've never had a problem finding a suitable domain name with no dash.

Using a dash (or two or three) will ensure that your competitor with no dashes in his or her domain name will end up with some of your customers.

[DrTandem1]

This is a very frequently asked question. Here is the answer (IMHO):

Domain names are for people, not search engines.

[halfmexi]

In some countries it is hard to explain the 'dash'... here in Mexico they never get it right. I always try to find domains that don't need them - besides, you can always add a subdomain to enhance your original idea if you can't get the exact domain you are looking for.

BIL

[astro]

The practice of using the hyphon - (dash) is a throw back to the old days when you wanted to seperate words to convey a meaning or clarification of what that web site is all about (to search engines as well as surfers) rather than present a long and difficult to discern url. Times change! So does search engine technology and software.

The downside was it was often confused by inexprienced surfers (and still is at times) with the underscore _ which is placed on the same key on a querty keyboard. The confusion is due to the use of these in email addresses. Many still don't see the difference! I still get asked at times for my email address with a premptory www? Most see the world wide web and the internet as one entity when it is not.

I now have several websites all related to travel and a Greek island but my main website (and first website) has a hyphon and whilst I know I have sent visitors in the past to another site whilst looking for me by trying to remember my domain name, changing it now fills me with trepidation because the site is so high in the search engines, and that is where most traffic originates from. People tend to gain their web entry from a search engine or directory, even if they know the url, Why? It is easier to click than remember url's and type! However there is a lot to be said for "if it aint broke dont fix it!"

I believe there is no harm or cheesyness in one hyphon, two I think is pushing it a bit, three just makes extra work on the keyboard!

[/astro]

[billc]

The practice of using the hyphen - (dash) is a throw back to the old days when the Yahoo directory was king. In the Yahoo directory they still use the words in the title, description and URL to list your site for searches. If your URL had 2 words in it, your site showed up for searches for those 2 words together without a space. but not for them individually unless Yahoo had them in your title or description.

[cw1865]

I use dashes, but never more than one. I don't have a choice in the matter. So far they have worked well for me.

[DrTandem1]

Sometimes a hyphen is actually part of a business name, such as in "Harley-Davidson." However, they have both Harley-Davidson.com and HarleyDavidson.com. The latter forwards to their hyphenated name. So, unless the hyphen is integral, I recommend avoid using it.

If a hyphen is used because the preferred domain name is already taken, it is more apt to be confused. Also, I suggest registering hyphenated domains and other similar domains, if the unhyphenated version is already owned to prevent copycats that intentionally try to obfuscate.

[rickanderson]

Originally Posted by uberanimal

Do domains with a dash appear to be cheesy or is it something a lot of people are going too because the name my be taken and a way to get it is to add a dash to it. I know in terms of seo it does not hurt or help, just with people remembering the domain might be an issue? what is your thought on that?

What's a "dash"? you mean a "hyphen"? I use to own www.worlds-best-athlete.com and it was a pain to explain to people what a hyphen was and if I said "dash" some would say "forward or backwards" (wtf)....

so I switched to Rick Anderson's World's Best Athlete International Skills Competition (worldsbestathlete dot net) ez peezy.

.com would have been better but it wasn't available but .net is still better than a hyphen or two, imo.

Regards
Rick

[qh4dotcom]

I would get both the hyphenated version of a domain and non-hyphenated version and redirect the hyphenated domain to the non-hyphenated

[digitalseo]

well using 1-2 dash is ok...but i prefer not to use dash the fact that people might forget my site...and its harder to

remember a hyphenated domain...

[uberanimal]

so one dash should be good. I know with seo it really should not matter. but with people remembering like you all said, it is hard to remember www dot my dash web site dot come vs. www dot my web site dot com.

[aawhois]

Dash in domain is fine in case you cannot find a good name with no dash. My opinion is having dash (1 or 2) in the name is ok. Building brand base on such those domains is ok, ex. online-learning.com, pandora-jewelry.com,...

And if you are going to do the SEO for your bussiness, dashed domains will be good for that.

[snowman]

I say never, ever use a domain name with a dash between the words in that domain.
You make it that little bit harder to remember and you only end up sending traffic to the owner of the domain without the dash.

[chowell]

Be practical and reasonable...

Do you really think a visitor is going to remember or type in a 5 word domain with hyphens between each word?

incrediblehelp was on target = keep your domains to a maximum of 2 dashes.