Does a hypen lessen the value of a domain name?

[Jim]

When looking at domain names consisting of 2 names (example: chevy-trucks), does a hypen lessen the value of a domain name? Would a hypenated dot com be better than a non-hypenated dot ws or dot biz?

 

[MediaHound]

To hyphen or not to hyphen that is the question.

A hyphenated name has less value than the same name without the hyphen.
However, the true value is only determined when the name gets sold.
Value is also created by driving traffic to the domain. You can turn http://www.x-x-x-x-x.com into a $10K name simply by creating content and driving traffic to the domain. Build up targeted traffic on a domain and its value is now a different story.
So, your question is hard to answer, there is no defiinate answer. It all depends on which name has more links pointing to it, the traffic it gets, etc. Search engines may favor the name with the hyphen as some have speculated, that the bots can distinguish the keywords easier. But, this is speculation.
As far as whats worth more, a .ws or a hyphenated .com, thats a close call. I would say paris-hilton.com is worth more than parishilton.ws wouldnt you agree? Maybe not, but thats why we trade in different extensions. Some prefer others.
Dont get me wrong, I am a big fan of .ws, too, having launched a few .ws sites recently.
Hope this helps.. just keep an open mind. And spend what you can afford, be careful and have fun...

 

[kodeking]

a name with a hyphen is almost always regfee unless it is a word that is normally hyphenated. With development comes value however.

 

[MediaHound]

a name with a hyphen is almost always regfee unless it is a word that is normally hyphenated. With development comes value however.

Almost always regfee?

Have any you would like to sell to me? I'm buying.

 

[mole]

Almost always regfee?

Have any you would like to sell to me? I'm buying.

Wanna buy do-re-mi-fa-so-lah-te-doh.com? :laugh:

My first business domain I was trying to develop back in 1999 was a e-___.com. I used to remember people telling me, "soo, you didn't manage to get the real thing did you?

Hyphens don't pronounce well in verbal speech. And verbal speech, is what viral marketing is all about :-(

 

[MediaHound]

I'm with you all the way on that, M.
But I disagree with the statement that they are worth just about always the registration fee.

Hang out in the appraisal forum and check out whats going on there. There's good hyphenated names.
Not for nothing, I have some I wouldn't sell for a small fortune.
I know a lot of us do.

 

[Anthony Ng]

When looking at domain names consisting of 2 names (example: chevy-trucks), does a hypen lessen the value of a domain name? Would a hypenated dot com be better than a non-hypenated dot ws or dot biz?

First off, my experience is that a hyphenated name is ALWAYS SIGNIFICANTLY less valuable than its non-hyphenated counterpart, EVEN for words that are normally hyphenated.

mole is correct in pointing out that it's probably a marketing disaster to tell people that your website is "w w w dot Chevy hypen trucks dot com" or "w w w Chevy trucks dot com, with the hyphen ... between Chevy and trucks", etc. LOL!

By the way, you might want to differentiate between .ws and .biz: I don't think they will ever be of the same capacity, even in the longer run. But if it's between a hyphenated .com or a non-hyphenated .biz, it's a tough call; personally, I would go for a non-hyphenated but longer .com (like "hotchevytrucks.com").

Just my two cents.

 

[Anthony Ng]

By the way, many so-called "search engine optimzers" forget one thing: people do NOT simply click on the #1 search result. Actually, if the search results are within the same fold/scroll, they do not differentiate *much*. People CHOOSE to click based on titles, descriptions and domain names; and using a hyphenated domain that looks cheap will to a considerable extent put searchers off.

 

[mole]

and using a hyphenated domain that looks cheap will to a considerable extent put searchers off.

It may be just me as a purist name-branding appreciator, but that's the outtake I get too, slave. I see things in searches in the likes of britney-spears-naked-sex-american-idol.com, and I think to myself, another spammer and scammer.... don't know why. Maybe its because I'm in this Internet surfing drill-down too long and just plain sick/sceptical of the SEO tricks.

A name/URL to me is a marketable brand, not a SEO keyword pharsing trick. And brands, DON'T have hyphens arty: