Hey,

 

Is it bad to have a dash in your domain name? Any disadvantages having a dash etc?

 

Thanks

Hey,

 

Is it bad to have a dash in your domain name? Any disadvantages having a dash etc?

 

Thanks

 

There's no real disadvantages as far as SEO goes to be honest - as adding a dash allows you to get some great domains with strong keywords.

 

The only real problem is personal preference - say your-website.com is acceptable but having lots of hyphens your-website-domain-name.com isn't recommended as it's awkward to type. - And i'm sure you would get sore fingers having to type that domain out.

 

So try to keep to using one hyphen or none if you can help it.

 

Also depends on what the site without the dashes is. If a direct competitor then the end user WILL get yours wrong and not put the dash. You might look like the weaker site/brand if you've got to add hyphens to get what you want

Sometimes a hyphen is also good for breaking up words. Especially if you have a long, long, looong domain name.

Long domain names (more than two words) should never use dashes in my opinion. all-the-typing-is-a-pain-in-the-bum-and-not-natural. One should be the max IMO

Ive got PSP-Repairz.co.uk and when I search to see websites value they point out that the - devalues the site a bit but i dont plan on selling it and doubt anyone would want it anyway so it doesnt bother me too much

If you find a key domain it doesn't matter at all if it has a dash. e.g cheap-flights.com is worth a fortune even if it has a dash. If you can avoid do so but if not it doesn't matter.

As long as it isn't too long, it's alright. As long as you remember that it's kind of awkward to type too many dashes

To use a classic example, I'd only use a hyphen to increase legibility (like Helen said) so:

www.penisland.com might be better as www.pen-island.com if you don't want half of Brighton visiting your site and becoming disappointed that you only sell biros!

^ that's a good example

To use a classic example, I'd only use a hyphen to increase legibility (like Helen said) so:

www.penisland.com might be better as www.pen-island.com if you don't want half of Brighton visiting your site and becoming disappointed that you only sell biros!

 

 

Great Example. 5*