Hyphens in domain names

[MortimerJazz]

I'm just wondering whether someone may be able to shed a bit of light on how Google views hypens in domain names, especially when it comes to keyword-rich domains.

Let's say I'm trying to target the keywords "Big Red Handbags" because it's getting a fair bit of search volume. Ideally, I'd like to buy bigredhandbags.com, but if that has already been taken how much is my domain weakened by purchasing big-red-handbags.com.

I'm assuming Google treats each hyphen as a space. Therefore are both .com addresses treated the same? And how much weight does that carry when users type that particular search term into Google?

Thanks alot,

[John Jupp]

It's all in the tags.

bikers clothes - Google Search

I'm currently going through the opposition to see how they're titled and tagged.

As you see from the search there is a domain called bikers-engine and you can see from their title how they feature in the search.

[John Jupp]

clothes for bikers - Google Search

You can see them listed higher than me here. Mines the clothes4bikers.com listing

[MortimerJazz]

Cheerrs John - I appreciate the reply.

Originally Posted by John Jupp It's all in the tags.

So, by this do you mean that purchasing "search phrases" as domain names doesn't necessarily add a whole lot of value to a site in Google's eyes?

Whatever domain the site finally runs on, I'll be looking to SEO it fully ...

[mobillica]

Having your keyword in domain name definitley DOES help you in the eyes of google imo, although I wouldnt want more than one hypen in the name.

If your keyword is your domain name it also has lots of other benefits ie. if somebody links to your site (without you knowing) perhaps due to its excellent content the anchor text they use will automatically be your keyword.

Although having xwww.i-think-these-hypens-will-help-me.co.uk probably have the opposite effect

[John Jupp]

It helps to have a generic name. Certainly.

However the first para or two should also match the meta description, which should have some relevance to the meta keywords which should correspond to the structure of the title.

So a search for Red Handbags:

Title: Red Handbags - Get the latest handbags from Groucho Bazaar

Description: The latest red handbags are available from Groucho Bazaar

Keywords: tara palmer-tomkinson, latest red handbags, red handbags, latest red designer handbags, designer handbags, latest red handbags, red designer handbags.

Para: The latest red handbags including red designer handbags now available from Groucho bazaar include the one used by Tara Palmer-Tomkinson

[MortimerJazz]

Thanks for the detail John it's much appreciated.

Originally Posted by mobillica Although having xwww.i-think-these-hypens-will-help-me.co.uk probably have the opposite effect

That's a good point - I will try make sure the domain has only one hyphen in it. Thanks for the tips ... it's just a bit of a new thing for me buying domains based purely on search volume.

[mobillica]

it's just a bit of a new thing for me buying domains based purely on search volume.

Good luck if you can find them!

[Tezza]

I think too many hyphons look spammy, but yes, keywords do help in a domain name. Through my own studies I have had better results without the hyphons, but that doesn't mean much. If you play your cards right you can get a hyphonated domain to rank just as well as a non-hyphonated, there is very little difference I would say but non-hyphonated just pinches it for me. Just dont throw together about 7 or 8 keywords and hyphonate them, it doesn't work like that

Although there are other methods...

You could concentrate on maybe getting 2 of the 3 keywords into the domain (myredhandbags.co.uk seems a reasonable example of a decent keyword domain) then you should rank pretty well for variations of the keyphrases with some good keyphrase anchor bound backlinks, you dont neccessarily have to have every keyword in the domain.

With this in mind you should rank well for longer keyword variations of 'Red Handbags'... like maybe 'Big Red Handbags'?

Always remember, 1 keyphrase wont bring you instant success, unless it is maybe a 1 word generic like 'loans', you need to also rank for variations of the keyphrase so punching 1 keyphrase into a domain may only bring you 20-30 visitors per day whereas variations and a good niche site could bring you 300-400 and more. Think outside of the box.

Terry

[fizzbird]

Originally Posted by MortimerJazz I'm just wondering whether someone may be able to shed a bit of light on how Google views hypens in domain names, especially when it comes to keyword-rich domains.,

Also, if you plan to do any pay per click, your display URL can have a big impact.

[MortimerJazz]

Originally Posted by fizzbird Also, if you plan to do any pay per click, your display URL can have a big impact.

Hi fizzbird. Do you mean that too many hyphens can look spammy, which will stop people clicking through?

[fizzbird]

Originally Posted by MortimerJazz Hi fizzbird. Do you mean that too many hyphens can look spammy, which will stop people clicking through?

Partly, yes!

Also, your display URL is limited to so many characters. Hence, a domain with hyphens could limit your ability to highlight the keywords in your destination URL.

For example:
If you were promoting say, Batman toys and your URL was www.toysuk/batman-toys.co.uk

You could use the display URL:
http://Toysuk/Batman.co.uk

Whereas, if your domain was www.action-figures-uk/batman-toys.co.uk
Your display URL would be (at best):
http://Action-Figures-UK.co.uk

A simplistic example, but I'm sure you could guess which would convert best?

[Jean]

Originally Posted by MortimerJazz Cheerrs John - I appreciate the reply. So, by this do you mean that purchasing "search phrases" as domain names doesn't necessarily add a whole lot of value to a site in Google's eyes?

We use this method for domain names and it works great for us, providing you optimise correctly, and keep optimising. Remember the key phrase tools only give you details of what was searched for the previous month.

[Dazza30]

so according to what ive read above, something like pre-pay-as-you-go .co.uk would be a mistake then would it?

[Stuart]

Where possible I try not to have hyphens, however in some cases its the only domain available and they can still do very well, I have a hyphernated domain (in fact 2 hyphens) in G position 1 and has been for months...