To use hyphens or not to use hyphens?

How-do-you-think-people-remember-domain-names-best?

[rubenski]

Hi there,

In this thread [webmasterworld.com] I decided what will be the primary key phrase for my new web site. I am going to use the main keyphrase for my site's domain name and I am wondering which one is best:

www.regionname-vacation.com or
www.regionname-vacations.com or
www.regionnamevacation.com or
www.regionnamevacations.com

All names are still available. From a user-perspective I'd say regionnamevacations.com is best, but I am not sure about seach engines. Do you think hyphenated domains will end higher in SERPs, because a white space is present in the search phrase (regionname vacation)? Further, do you prefer -vacation or -vacations in this case?

[Pibs]

I prefer hypthens. Easier to spot spelling/mistakes.

Not keen on underscores, as links are underlined already, newbys tend to type the name with spaces. Strangely, that doesn't work..

AC

[encyclo]

Yes, I would agree that hyphens make for easier readability, and hyphenated words are considered as separate words by search engines. In this case, I would also go for vacations rather than vacation just because it sounds better.

Of course it almost goes without saying that you should actually buy all four domain names, and use a 301 Permanent Redirect for the three unused ones to the main domain - that will cover your bases in case of type-in mistakes by users and such. Just stick to marketing the correct domain, though, with the others as backup.

[rubenski]

With my Adsense check having arrived today I might just be able to buy all four of them. Else, I'll just go for regionname-vacations.com and (hope to) get the other ones later. Thanks :-)

[jo1ene]

I would nab all of them, myself. Even if you get all of them, you still need to pick the primary. Yikes! One "dash" never hurt anyone. I think using a hyphen would highlight the kywords, but to the best of my knowldge, domain keywords aren't incredibly important to SEs. In terms of plural or not, I would go for natural phrasing on that one. Probably plural.

[rfgdxm1]

>I would nab all of them, myself.

I would say this is the best answer. What if a competitor registers the others and redirects them to his site to get the type in traffic for your site of people who can't quite remember the exact domain name?

[raymond4unc]

Which does google like better?

my-domain-name.com
mydomainname.com

would both be equal if I just typed in domain as a keyword? Assuming all other factors were the same for the site, just URL difference.

[rfgdxm1]

>Which does google like better?
my-domain-name.com
mydomainname.com

Clearly the latter if the words in the domain name are something people will serach on.

[webadick]

after reading,glad to find out my natural instinct on hyphens was correct,underline sucko,and get all you can cuz you sell related also,deoxyrybonucleicacid though is best run-on

[trillianjedi]

Clearly the latter if the words in the domain name are something people will serach on.

I think you meant "former" there rxdfm1.

Googleguy on here somewhere has already confirmed that "....generally dashes are better".

Personally, I go with brand everytime because my experience is, in the long term, it's the better option.

Keywords in domain names are a good thing in google right now, there is no denying that. I've recently adopted a policy of using keyword domain (or more importantly in my view a domain name, with or without hyphens, that naturally incites people to use a particular anchor text when linking to it) and a year or so after having success on the SE's as a result, 301-ing to the brand domain.

I don't write and ask webmasters to update links. I'm happy to leave the anchor text there.

The advice about buying all of them is good advice. Always do that.

TJ

[rfgdxm1]

>I think you meant "former" there rxdfm1.

I did. My bad. :(

[iblaine]

If you're trying to optimize for the SE and not the user then hyphens can be good. If you're trying to optimize for the user or create a brand then use short names and no hyphens. I don't think it matters much today because keyword spamming in URLs is a thing of the past. I do think it's a good idea to keep domains names short because spam filters may look at the length of a domain name.

[MarkWolk]

I think these days Google and others do see the words in yourdomainname.com just as well as in your-domain-name.com... However using your-domain-name.com has a few other advantages: 1) it is easier to see for the human eye; 2) it can be used on the web page as a pure url or email address, and the keywords will surely be counted by the search engine; 3) some other websites might link to you hyperlinking only your url, but the keywords "your domain name" will still be seen by the search engines and their meaning surely associated with your website.

I would not exceed 2 dashes per url, though, as one day some search engines might consider too many dashes as spammy and ban you. I would also secure variations of the same domain in plural and without dashes.

[DoingItWell]

I handle some travel destination sites, and have come across a practice which is becoming a de-facto standard - you use:

www.visit<destinationname>.com or .info

It doesn't have much to do with G optimization, but when choosing a name it is nevertheless somewhat important, if you want people to be able to find you intuitively.

[g1smd]

I didn't think that underscores could be used in domain names anyway?

In folder names, yes (but still not a good idea); but not in the domain name part.

[SEOMike]

I just did a name search to see if underscores are allowed. I tried two different places, and neither would let me use an underscore and replaced it with a hyphen.

I-like-my-hyphenated-URL. It works for me, is easy to read, and easy for people to remember.

[MarkWolk]

Underscores cannot be used in domain names; they can be used in file names and folder names.

[bethabernathy]

what if you had too many hyphens in your internal website links. Then learned too many (i.e. over 2) might be too many. So, then we fixed the internal links. Will Google give us another chance. The site is listed on Google, the spider just isn't picking up more than the home page.