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Domain Names
Do dashes in domain names have an SEO effect?
Using dash(s) as a delimiter in a domain name won’t have a negative SEO effect. Major search engines consider dashes in domain names as a space. This can be an effective method when one wording of a domain name is already registered. Below are a few examples showing a pre-registered domain name and an alternative use.
- FunnyPictures.com | Funny-Pictures.com
- HockeyTickets.com | Hockey-Tickets.com
- FreeOnlineTaxs.com | Free-Online-Taxs.com
- OrganicDogfood.com | Organic-Dogfood.com
Now, it’s a popular theory that abusing dashes in domain names can have a negative SEO effect. This is due to people stuffing domain names with keywords. You want your domain name to be short, sweet, and very relevant to your content. You don’t want to overuse keywords; this can actually dilute your SEO weight to each keyword.
It should also be mentioned that domain names with dashes can be harder for visitors to remember. Improper use can result in a very little to no direct type-in traffic. You’ll usually get a higher type-in traffic percentage if you have no dashes in your domain name. You shouldn’t have more than one dash in your domain name. You can maybe get away with two, but this article is recommending no more than one dash in a domain name.
When considering which keyword(s) to use in your domain name you should use Google Trends (http://trends.google.com) to compare the search volume levels of each keyword. You can compare all your considerations in one search results and see which keyword(s) are receiving the highest search volume on Google. You can also use the Google Adwords Keyword Tool (https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal) to help you come up with new keyword suggestions and ideas.