Hyphenated Domains - Part 2

Back in March of this year I wrote about how folks should stay away from hyphenated domain names. More than a few months have passed between now and then, but now somebody has finally called me on my statements. Christine Roeder from PlusDomains.com argues the other side of the conversation. She does have a few good points in there as well.

While you do have some good points about hyphenated domain names, I have to say that you do readers a disservice by insisting that all hyphenated domain names are bad, no matter what.

I own nearly 700 domain names and have spent quite a lot of time learning about what really makes a domain name good, bad, or neutral. Let me use a couple of my newest acquisitions as an example of how a hyphenated domain name can be useful–even valuable.

Consider these domain pairs: DesalinationNews.com and Desalination-News.com, or RoboticsWorldNews.com and Robotics-World-News.com.

Search engines will immediately understand the keywords in the hyphenated version of a domain name. In a sea of similar sites with less keyword-specific names, my hyphenated name can give my site a quick boost up in search listings. It’s also easier for search users to read than the non-hyphenated version, perhaps prompting the user to click my listing before those of my competitors.

While using the non-hyphenated name for my website, a long-term benefit of owning the hyphenated version is that I have taken it off the market. There is no possibility that someone will register the hyphenated name later on and build a site that could be potentially damaging to my site’s credibility or financial stability. In other words, it’s insurance for my website’s future.

There are other reasons for choosing a hyphenated domain. For example, if the domain was used with a formerly successful web site that has lapsed, there may still be a lot of traffic going to the domain name. Some people seek out these lapsed domains simply for the traffic value, which can be forwarded to their own related websites.

Why waste all those targeted visitors?

To your credit, it generally is not a good decision to buy a hyphenated domain. However, your advice is more appropriate for those who are unfamiliar with the domain names market. You could serve those readers better by pointing them to resources where they can learn about domain names, rather than misinforming them with a mostly invalid blanket statement.

Like most everything else, there are exceptions to the rules. In the case of domain names, it really just depends on how you plan to use the domain.

I still stand by my original idea, but it is always nice to hear an opinion from the other side.