Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
Domain name with a hyphen
-
I am looking at starting a brand new website and purchasing a domain to see my hair product. My question is that domain i am wanting to purchase if a 2 word .com domain but it is not being currently used and it is up for auction for 10K.
I am looking a purchasing a domain name that is the same 2 words but a has a hyphen between the 2 works.
My assumption is that if I start building content, concentrating on seo (keywords, link building, etc) and brand building that I should not have any problems with my hyphen in the domain.
I am looking for feedback and insight from the SEO professionals! Thank you guys in advance.
UPDATED 1-29-13
Here is the scenario and I am looking on how you would handle it.
**name = my brand name
I am looking to purchase a domain within the year: namehair.com
I currently am using: namehairbrand.com
I have purchased: name-hair.com
My concern is if I began my SEO efforts and the brand grows extensively then the person who owns "namehair.com" will raise the price even more than the current price of 10k. I plan on purchasing that domain name within the next 18 months or so and then direct the traffic to the domain "namehair.com".
If I put all my efforts into "namehairbrand.com" and then submit to Google that I have changed domains - will I get my butt kicked by Google? Thank you guys - you are really helpful!
-
Here is the scenario and I am looking on how you would handle it.
**name = my brand name
I am looking to purchase a domain within the year: namehair.com
I currently am using: namehairbrand.com
I have purchased: name-hair.com
My concern is if I began my SEO efforts and the brand grows extensively then the person who owns "namehair.com" will raise the price even more than the current price of 10k. I plan on purchasing that domain name within the next 18 months or so and then direct the traffic to the domain "namehair.com".
If I put all my efforts into "namehairbrand.com" and then submit to Google that I have changed domains - will I get my butt kicked by Google? Thank you guys - you are really helpful!
Denny
-
I started a site ten years ago with a hyphen in the domain. The domain without the hyphen was owned by a domainer. The harder I worked the more traffic he received when my customers typed the domain without the hyphen.
I finally paid a lot of money to get the domain without the hyphen.
On another project I had a domain with a hyphen. Within a year I was able to obtain the domain without the hyphen in an auction. When I redirected the hyphen domain to the non-hyphen domain the rankings went up immediately. Immediately.
-
It's totally not a problem for SEO.
Just weird from a user perspective when you tell people www.my "hyphen" site.com and type thru traffic.
I personally don't like hyphens for that reason, but i would rather a hyphen and having a much longer available domain name.
What are the two words, keywords or brand name?
-
I have never had any issues with hyphenated domain names and I have used them many times.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Why not just use an alias if the only change is a different domain Name?
We are rebranding our store with a new name. We have purchased a NewDomainName. Can I just make the "Old Domain Name" an alias for the "NewDomainName"? The site will not change in any other way than having a new logo. This is an e-commerce site with over 100 categories of artisan made products. So once we move the site, the old domain will be empty. Thank you Stephen
Branding | | stephenfishman1 -
Is there Schema Markup for "brand name"?
Hi Mozzers, I've been trying desperately for months to get my domain to rank #1 for its brand name in Google. This is made hard by the fact that the brand name is also a combination of two keywords, one of them being "Hire". I've actioned everything I can think of, setting up and maintaining social networks (including g+), adding the site to lots of high quality business directories, internal and external linking. I even asked right here. The site continuously rises in the ranks until it hits top of page 2 and then starts falling again. When searching [Brand name] +[Town of HQ] we get the open graph info displayed, and the g+ pin, but still only rank 3rd! My Question: Is there a schema.org markup for brand names? and would it make any difference adding this? I feel like I'm clutching at straws now... Oh were in the UK if that helps. I'd also be happy to share the domain via PM if anyone is willing to help!
Branding | | Silkstream0 -
Wikipedia and Domain Authority?
Hi there, my company is an online publisher of Theater news and reviews. We also sell theater tickets. We presently don't have a Wikipedia page. Would creating one generally help our search rankings?
Branding | | TheaterMania0 -
1 Website, 2 Business Names, 2 Locations
I took on a dentist office as an SEO client. They have 1 website, 2 business names and 2 locations. Each location has it's own business name. They are both within the same city as well. I'm not exactly sure where to start with them since they have 2 different business names. If it were 1 name with multiple locations I would just create a Contact Us page for each one, but is that the best thing to do when the location names are different? Should I create a different website for each location or is that smart because then they are competing against each other? Any help from the community on the direction I should take would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Branding | | SilhouetteBS0 -
How to improve the quality score (QS) when bidding on competitor brand names in Google Adwords?
Hi, I have researched few sites on this topic and I could see that the competitor keyword should match with the add text relevance, landing page relevance and CTR. Any other factors more to be included to improve the quality score? Reference: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2285536/Google-Updates-How-AdWords-Quality-Score-is-Reported
Branding | | zco_seo0 -
Do Dashes in Domain names hurt SEO ranking?
I have found conflicting reports online whether or not dashes in domain names hurt/help ranking. Example yourbrandonline.com vs your-brand-online.com? I found Rand's write up on how to select a domain and he suggests staying away from hyphens but mainly because its hard to remember or people my enter it in wrong. Here's his comment. "Reject Hyphens and Numbers
Branding | | JoshKimber
Both hyphens and numbers make it hard to give your domain name verbally and falls down on being easy to remember or type. I'd suggest not using spelled-out or roman numerals in domains, as both can be confusing and mistaken for the other." Aside from people possibly struggling to get there directly because of the domain name, are they OK to use? Or, are domains with hyphens considered spammy? Thanks in advance.1 -
Brand Name searches: Low Click Through Rates in Google - What are your CTR in the SERPS for your Brandname?
Hello, Checking the Analytics part - Search Engine Optimization/ Queries - I found suprising results for my website: The website is no. 1 for my brand name but only has a 28% CTR on the brandname in the Google SERPS! Please see exactly what I mean here: http://screencast.com/t/GKjwliZ6GTF7 I'm looking for your experience of CTR of other websites in the same situation. Do you have similar low CTR? Some background info; The website is no1 for the brandname. Sitelinks are shown. Google Maps is shown on right. In the period are no adwords advertisments on my brand name as I know. I checked several times. I cant understand where 72% go after searching for my brandname. Thanks for sharing your experience. Best Regards Daria
Branding | | nmedia0 -
Twitter Account names for Fictional Characters
I'm consulting for a web series that features ~6 well established characters, and I would like to establish a twitter stream for each character before the start of the new season in a few months. The characters all have first names but no last name, and the web series's name (Naked In A Fishbowl) is too long, and the acronym NIAF is not well-branded yet. What would be the best way to pick Twitter handles for cast members (BonnieNIAF, Jean NIAF? BonnieFishbowl? Bonnie_NIAF?)
Branding | | EthanStanislawski0