Hyphens

[Clam]

Okay, so what is the deal on hyphens? I realize that a domain is generally more valuable without hyphens, but it seems to me that domain names are much more readable with them.

potatochips.com vs potato-chips.com

What is the deal?

 

[Shane]

Value decreases significantly when there is a hyphen. One hyphen is acceptable to Google but multiple hyphens are an indicator of spam.

 

[Biggie]

read a little:

http://www.dnforum.com/search/38515/?q=hyphen+domains&o=date&c[title_only]=1

then draw your own conclusions

imo...

 

[magicpig2]

Personally, I think there is a huge market for hyphenated domains throughout Europe. Sold two so far this year to Europeans for over $2.5k

 

[Shane]

Personally, I think there is a huge market for hyphenated domains throughout Europe. Sold two so far this year to Europeans for over $2.5k

Bring those buyers to me!

 

[Charles Sweeney]

I would never register a domain with a hyphen. Mainly because it is so awkward and stupid to say the name to someone. potato-chips.com says "potato hyphen chips dotcom". Someone asks what your web address is. You reply: "potato hyphen chips dotcom". Can anyone seriously say there is any sense in that?

I wouldn't worry too much about Google. You should make a site for humans, not bots. Plus they can change their algorithm at any time.

 

[DomainVP]

I agree with Charles, having to explain the hyphen to people that expect a domain name to be in the format [ string.extention ] is a mess.

In general, think about how they would advertise on the radio... Just go to Cold"HYPHEN"beers.com and get yourself a drink.

This would lead to people going to ColdHyphenBeers.com, Cold'beers.com, or Cold_beers.com (yes some people have no idea what a hyphen is).

The hyphen is the LAST resort that you want to have to use for a domain name. Right now I am working with a potential buyer who owns a hyphenated name, and I own the non hyphenated name.

HOWEVER!

I have come across a few six-figure names with hyphens that had metrics to justify a huge price tag even for the hyphen.

Typically, avoid hyphens.

 

[domainoid]

you find hyphens very often in .de domains but i am not sure why. most other cases a hyphen works against a domain and makes it worth considerably less than a non-hyphenated one.


would avoid them in most cases as they make the domain look and sound awkward.

 

[Gerry]

HOWEVER!

I have come across a few six-figure names with hyphens that had metrics to justify a huge price tag even for the hyphen.

Typically, avoid hyphens.

I echo DomainVP's thoughts and advice.

I have had success in this area HOWEVER! they typically are exceptional and have the metrics and history to back them up.

Today, there is very little value in hand-regging names with hyphens. It is not impossible to make a sale but, again, it is not common and you may be sitting on a name for quite some time.

 

[Gerry]

Okay, so what is the deal on hyphens? I realize that a domain is generally more valuable without hyphens, but it seems to me that domain names are much more readable with them.

potatochips.com vs potato-chips.com

What is the deal?

I prefer PotatoChips.com to either of your examples.

When making a site, you can always brand the name with proper capital letters making it much more appealing.

But, that is the difference between sites and parking...many parking companies do not give the option of capitalizing letters.

 

[Theo]

The Germans love hyphens. When I visited, every office building had plates with keyword-keyword-keyword.de

 

[PKumar]

There is just one solid drawback of hyphenated domains, that is hard to brand....

Imaging, if you are advertising your website on TV, or recommending it to your friends, you won't like to speak hyphen.

CarModels.com pronounces Car Models.com

Car-Models.com that pronounces Car Hyphen Models.com

 

[visit]

The Germans love hyphens. When I visited, every office building had plates with keyword-keyword-keyword.de

I don't think so Theo,
The point is that the Germans don't like so much the .com... people go for hyphens in .DE instate for .Com without hyphens. The cannot identify with the .com

 

[accurate]

No, just no.

 

[Helmuts]

I would never register a domain with a hyphen.

exactly my case as well...

3 no-s for me:
1) hyphens
2) misspellings/typos
3) hacks

gl,
Helmuts

 

[humbug1s1k]

I've registered a few hyphens............and am not registering any more!

 

[taherk]

personally i like hyphens when its a personal blog site or there are two words eg pico-projector , if .com is available I will go for it.

 

[vinsdomains.com]

It is not impossible to make a sale but, again, it is not common and you may be sitting on a name for quite some time.

Definitely not impossible. Some hyphen sales out there over the last two months...
September
online-roulette.de 7500 EUR
externer-datenschutzbeauftragter.de 7000 EUR
my-ticket.com 5000 USD
com-tec.com 4995 USD
e-360.com 3000 USD
u-first.com 2900 EUR
cloud-agent.com 2800 EUR
tos-dr.info 2603 USD
der-ring.de 2500 EUR
autowerkstatt-stuttgart.de 2213 EUR
k-day.com 1999 USD
online-spielautomaten.de 1700 EUR
civics-online.org 1700 USD
marketing-people.com 1695 USD
e-filing.co.uk 1620 USD
cheap-vacations.com 1600 USD
mein-freund.de 1499 EUR
something-something.com 1400 USD
wordpress-pt.com 1300 USD
kfz-24.com 1250 EUR
hotel-marketing.com 1200 USD
zone-telechargement.fr 1100 EUR
costa-rica.us 1100 USD
x-models.com 1077 USD
fabrique-en-france.fr 1000 EUR
d-struct.com 1000 USD
e-filing.co.uk 1000 GBP
tango-project.org 1000 USD
my-tickets.de 990 EUR
building-cincinnati.com 965 USD
home-decorators.com 899 USD
ratgeber-geldanlage.de 896 EUR
virtual-economy.org 860 USD
ibr-seminare.de 850 EUR
local-media-conference.com 800 USD
tomorrow-web.com 760 USD
bits-int.org 740 USD
online-gv.com 730 USD
whatsapp-plus.net 723 USD
hist-analytic.org 710 USD
dr-house.de 700 EUR
global-commission.org 660 USD
canine-genetics.com 660 USD
ls-la.net 600 USD
africa-research.org 571 USD
flash-db.com 520 USD
concur-conferences.org 510 USD
smiths-nursery.com 505 USD
gaming-host.info 498 USD
csr-supplychain.org 496 USD
everything-fine.info 496 USD
mode-d-emploi.com 482 USD
bsr-aerotek.com 455 USD
nipc-nigeria.org 442 USD
halloween-haunted-house.com 407 USD
cfg-inc.com 405 USD
hvacr-jobs.com 400 USD
slovakia-online.com 389 USD
ronin-intl.com 360 USD
collaborativetech-conf.org 356 USD
desktop-designz.com 355 USD
willowvalley-pa.com 352 USD
scar-icestar.org 339 USD
help-health.com 301 USD
solid-wood-doors.com 300 USD
distant-learning.net 300 USD
historic-landmarks.com 295 USD
finland-in-china.com 282 USD
daniel-soft.net 271 USD
esc-alger.com 271 USD
stauss-grillmeier.com 271 USD
amra-intl.org 270 USD
creative-pakistan.com 266 USD
site-cooler.com 265 USD
ishr-web.com 260 USD
pan-caliente.com 257 USD
crow-fair.com 250 USD
roe-pdx.com 241 USD
the-pavilion-cafe.com 230 USD
social-media-marketing.com 227 USD
planet-iran.com 223 USD
chenonceau-education.com 221 USD
wallstreet-inversiones.com 217 USD
internet-law-compliance.com 215 USD
intel-iris.net 215 USD
wewebu-software.com 211 USD
the-fetish-galleries.com 206 USD
zenit-camera.com 206 USD
business-letter-templates.com 205 USD
re-date.com 205 USD
planet-architecture.org 205 USD
no-source.info 205 USD
u-2013.org 205 USD
mindless-games.com 205 USD
mobilebackhaul-asia.com 205 USD
answer-project.org 205 USD
w3c-compliant.com 203 USD
cll-nhl.com 201 USD
mymiddle-earth.net 201 USD
nomads-backpackers.com 200 USD

August
mambo-foundation.org 8200 USD
social-media.de 7750 EUR
hokkaido-hyakka.com 6000 USD
smart-magazine.com 4025 EUR
pkw-neuwagen.de 4000 EUR
one-media.com 3900 USD
internet-ink.com 3500 USD
baby-markt.cn 3500 EUR
n-m.com 3000 USD
e-doviz.com 2925 USD
powerhouse-fitness.com 2500 USD
i-z.com 2000 USD
e-cigarette.info 2000 USD
boat-dealers.com 1750 USD
accident-claims-helpline.com 1500 USD
wir-packen-es.de 1500 EUR
machine-a-sous.fr 1500 EUR
marken-macher.de 1495 EUR
video-proxy.com 1475 USD
p-ple.com 1475 USD
c-ads.com 1400 USD
digitale-agenda.de 1337 USD
erneuerbare-energien.net 1300 EUR
foto-hochladen.de 1250 EUR
mobile-clinic.com 1150 EUR
hard-drive.com 1101 USD
garda-see.de 1100 EUR
3-6.com 1050 EUR
eu-haushalt.de 1000 EUR
digitale-agenda.de 1000 EUR
spain-holiday.es 1000 EUR
einfach-glücklich-sein.de 999 EUR
cruise-ships.de 950 EUR
one-asia.com 925 USD
enviro-engrs.org 920 USD
ze-gen.com 800 USD
twin-set.com.au 750 EUR
m-bet.com 750 USD
com-unity.com 750 EUR
roto-shop.de 719 EUR
cade-24.info 632 USD
online-tvstream.com 612 USD
rockbottomt-shirts.com 611 USD
acme-superstore.com 608 USD
reproductive-fitness.com 607 USD
dans-arcade.com 601 USD
wdesign-it.com 560 USD
bridge-mag.com 455 USD
amelie-lefilm.com 410 USD
fivespot-atl.com 405 USD
skep-tech.com 405 USD
keira-knightley.org 404 USD
afrika-afrika.com 400 USD
civil-war.com 370 USD
hybrid-vehicles.net 315 USD
seo-gurus.net 305 USD
bailey-foundation.org 305 USD
chip-infarm.com 305 USD
gulf-biz.com 302 USD
mainstream-media.net 296 USD
thepaperboy-movie.com 286 USD
trespass-the-movie.com 282 USD
house-cleaning-directory.com 280 USD
oe-pages.com 255 USD
best-pictures.com 250 USD
world-directory.biz 225 USD
toledo-opera.com 223 USD
euro-itv.org 215 USD
nod32-crack.com 206 USD
dogcrates-4less.com 205 USD
zip-films.com 205 USD
fantasy-goddess-art.com 205 USD
original-content.net 201 USD
stolen-movie.com 200 USD
ingilizce-oyunlar.org 200 USD
mobile-betting.co.uk 198 GBP
nn-radio.com 195 USD
alz-rochesterny.org 190 USD
smart-realestate.com 180 USD
binom-shoes.com 165 USD
fresh-thinking.org 160 USD
capsoleil-maurice.com 155 USD
puerto-vallarta.com 155 USD
medicine-no.com 155 USD
rhythmandjews-acappella.org 152 USD
all-list.net 150 USD
e-commercewordpress.com 150 USD
reverse-email.com 147 USD
timberline-archery.com 145 USD
cooldogbed-4less.com 137 USD
cancun-webs.com 135 USD
xml-connection.com 134 USD
fac-simile.org 134 USD
ray-yem.net 133 USD
bradford-online.com 130 USD
audi-a1.us 130 USD
the-backup.com 125 USD
sabai-dee.com 125 USD
sportnet-media.com 125 USD
taag-airlines.com 125 USD