Dash or No Dash in the Domain

[Crabcake Johnny]

I'm been killing myself trying to grab a new domain with the dreaded "insurance" word. Most of you know what that means - cybersquatters have registered them in the thousands.

"Insurance" is already a pretty long word and I don't want to tack two other words onto it. The domain name will be too long.

However, I have found a few killers names but I have to put a dash after insurance.

Does it matter?

 

[GreenSky]

I'm been killing myself trying to grab a new domain with the dreaded "insurance" word. Most of you know what that means - cybersquatters have registered them in the thousands.

"Insurance" is already a pretty long word and I don't want to tack two other words onto it. The domain name will be too long.

However, I have found a few killers names but I have to put a dash after insurance.

Does it matter?

No, it doesn't matter to me.

Or is your question on a different level?

Rick

 

[b61mack]

The problem i see, is the person with the same name without the - will benefit. I tried to use a ! but could not. I think it just has be be easy to remember

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

I'm not exactly sure how the person without the dash could benefit. I googled it without the dash and it doesn't show up. It's simply be registered - squatted domain.

Now, if there was already a site built around it and it has SEO then I wouldn't consider the same name with a dash.

 

[CHUMPS FROM OXFORD]

Depends if you are going for brand recognition. If you're going to build a great website with unique content, then the dashes shouldn't hurt (or so many people say). If you're after consumers to type the exact phrase themselves, then it will be an issue. If you have health-insurance-rates.com, many people, whether they previously saw your site or not, will type in healthinsurancerates.com, not yours.

DISCLAIMER: Although I offer unbiased advice, I am NOT an SEO expert. There are a few on the Forum that can offer solid advice.

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

Chumps, I agree which is why it's a possible issue for me. It's fine when someone is clicking a link, but telling anyone to type it in, or someone who likes the site trying to tell someone else about it is tough. They'll likely forget the dash.

That said, I'm thinking 95% of my business from this site is going to come from people clicking the link so I'm really leaning towards the dash.

 

[b61mack]

Seach the name of the person that owns the name without the -, you maybe able to buy it.

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

I've been down that road before, quite a few times. In most cases, these cybersquatters want an unreasonable amount of money. They're theory is if you want the domain then you REALLY must want the domain.

I'm not impetuous about this particular domain regarding SEO. I'll take my time and build it up correctly. Because of that, a domain name to me is worth $8. If I wanted to build some huge company around that domain, then maybe I'd consider it. This is not the case.

 

[ksigmtsu]

For seo the dash doesn't matter at all.

I have some with dashes some without, I can't tell that it affects ctr, conversion, or anything else.

This forum has a dash in it and none seems to mind.

 

[Sam]

I agree with what has been said, and I would add that if you plan on doing any offline marketing at all, it will make a big difference as opposed to a strictly SEO play.

The forum stated with a - and it hasn't hurt us in terms of traffic or ranking per se, but when I tell people the name over the phone, it doesn't translate as well as something without.

If you will be giving the site name to people you telemarket to, or have it on doorhangers or other offline marketing, go a head and skip the hyphen.

One other thing to keep in mind if the ctr from the serps. People click on sites that seem legitimate, and a domain with a hyphen will have a marginal impact on that ctr.