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What you need to do is search your 2 main keywords, and check the Top 10 results, and list down how many of the domains are without hypen and how many of them has (even 1 hypen count).
For me.
1st keywords (2 words): All 10 without hypens
2nd keywords (3 words): 8 without hypens, 2 with hypens.
How about you?
OK...
First keyword (Two words) none with hypens.
2nd keywords (three words) none with hypens.
[edited by: robotsdobetter at 6:29 pm (utc) on Aug. 19, 2004]
1st keywords (2 words): 8 without hypens, 2 with hypens.
2nd keywords (3 words): 7 without hypens, 3 with hypens.
Both results contain my site which has one hyphen.
I wonder what % of the web contains domains with hyphens? Probably a LOT more domains without hyphens. I know I would have had my domain without if it was available at time of registration but it was already gone.
By the way, welcome to WebMasterWorld AthlonInside!
AthlonInside has over 600 posts under his/her belt. I think you misread this somehow webdude.
DerekH
One point of order: wouldn't the non-hyphenated urls be more likely to be older, more establshed and with perhaps more incoming links?
If the number of URLs with and without hyphens is roughly equal, then the number of results in the first ten with and without hyphens will (in the large) skew one way or the other if hyphens make a difference.
If the number of URLs without hyphens is one hundred times as large as the number with hyphens, then the absence of hyphened URLs in the first page is nothing to write home about (or to write here about!).
We mustn't rush to make a conclusion, any more than saying that you're more likely to see a stray cat in the road than a stray alligator. It's not because cats stray more than alligators, it's because there are more of them!
I'm just following Googleguy's comment that hyphens were OK, and they most definitely are as far as I'm concerned.
DerekH
Second most important (two words): One site with a hyphen, one site (not a spam site) with two hyphens
Third most important (two words): no hyphens in the top 10
<added>And all my traffic comes from free Google serps</added>
I'm #1 (thanks WebmasterWorld :)) and this domain has had a hyphen for years (6-7?), back before hyphens were ven talked about. It just reads easier. I also have the non-hyphen version of the name.
WBF
AthlonInside has over 600 posts under his/her belt. I think you misread this somehow webdude.
oops
:-@
I like them as long as there are no more than two.
3rd (3kw) 0 of 10 with - (2 subdomains) 11th has a -
I added subdomain sites because similiar questions have been asked about rankings using them and it would be nice to see how they do as well.
My KW's are in the travel industry and are place specific with total results of 482k, 8,500k and 6,400k respectively
Just to make it interesting, both of the ones with hyphens are me and both are #1.
how not to do statistical analysis.
I was thinking the same thing.
The original poster invited members to participate in a "simple survey," nothing more.
Ummm... Here is the part of the heading of this thread that has me a bit concerned.
Then we can make a conclusion
let's see if Google like it
Gosh, if ever there was a bizarre survey... well here goes: one of my own sites is a single-hyphen domain made up from my two primary keywords. Would I prefer the keywords combined into a singleword domain? No. Are there any hypenated domains in the top ten? Yes - one (mine at #4). Do I think this demonstrates anything? No.
