is store-name with dashes bad for SERP?

[chamco]

I am programming for a site that refers to themselves with dashes.
I'm using store-name for an example.
The site is storename.com.
store-name.com redirects to storename.com, so we won't lose those customers.
I've began to wonder if we are suffering because others refer to us as storename.com OR store-name.com.
Maybe this affects the relevance of our site.
Could it?
On the site we use both, to try to show search engines that both are us. (We actually show storename and store-name: would adding .com help?)

[caveman]

Hey chamco,

Using both is a pretty bad idea IMHO. From an SEO perspective, if you use both, you're making it simple for sites to link to two entirely different domains. Yes, you're redirecting one to the other, so you're retaining the traffic. But how are you redirecting? If temp/302, then the PR/link authority is not being passed. If perm/301, then the passed link value should be fine, but we all know that the SE's are not getting 301's right all the time ,and personally, I hate leaking link authority.

Also from an SEO perspective, there's the anchor text. Let's say that half of those linking to you are linking with one version of your name, and half with the other version. That means that half of them don't have your store name right, whatever it is. Or, even if there are two store names officially (crazy), then no one name is getting more than half of the potential backlink anchor text value it deserves. And that is almost a crime, from an SEO point of view. You really want to dilute the value of your backlink anchor text by something close to 50% when it comes to your brand name? :/

Plus, from a marketing perspective, you have no unified identity. That means that consumers don't remember you as one thing, and with media becoming ever more segmented, and top-of-mind awareness becoming ever more difficult to achieve, why make your life artifically more difficult than it is already?

[Storyman]

Wouldn't the hyphenated version (store-name.com) be the preferred name. Of course I would avoid it if you don't also own the storename.com URL. Set up the domain as store-name.com and use a 301 redirect so storename.com immediately transfers to store-name.com. The purpose has a lot to do if the site is being advertised in print. The hyphenated version is preferred by some advertisers.

From experience I see too many users who have trouble remembering the hyphen. Besides owning only the hyphenated version is asking for trouble from someone who buys the storename.com version.

Caveman makes a good point about back links. That's a problem if half have storyname.com and the other half have story-name.com. Decide on which version is to be used for the primary site and email those who link to the 301 redirect name and request that they update their links.

Some claim the hyphenated version has a SE benefit. Some claim that it means nothing. Go with your gut feeling.

[appliedi]

Two things

First use only one domain and set a 301 permanent redirect from one site to another dnt get sfared with the tcynical term its easy

Do this using .htaccess file. If you want instruction let me know.

if you have been blogging you would know blogspot converts your title to urls with hyphens
They cld use undercore they could use no spaces but they use hyphens

So i wldnt care much what evry one else says if google does it i guess you are safe doing it.

adi

[edited by: caveman at 2:44 pm (utc) on May 1, 2006]
[edit reason] Removed URL, per TOS [/edit]

[Storyman]

I think we said the same thing, right? Can't completely figure out line two.