Daily Domain Name Registration Blog

There are a lot of mixed opinions about domain names and which it’s best to choose for this or that online enterprise. Personally I think the wisdom imparted on article sites and in other places is just too simplistic. A lot of it is horribly out-of-date, as well.

Are hyphens a good idea?

No. There are a few reasons for this:

• People tend to forget about hyphens when they come to re-type domain names; you will lose traffic to the owner of the unhyphenated version of the domain.
• Hyphens make your domain longer.
• It looks like you couldn’t afford the unhyphenated version (which may be true, but you don’t want people to know that), and/or that you lack imagination.
• Hyphenated domains are difficult to say aloud.
• Search engines are nowadays totally capable of finding keywords in unhyphenated domain names; you are not boosting your chances by inserting hyphens between keywords.
• If you’re registering the hyphenated version because the unhyphenated one is already taken, you may be accused of infringing a trademark or cybersquatting.

Exceptions:

• If you own an unhyphenated multi-word domain, it is worth registering the hyphenated version to avoid cybersquatting problems and to catch any misdirected traffic.
• If your domain would be hilarious and embarrassing without a hyphen or two (expertsexchange.com, therapistfinder.com etc. ad nauseam), you could register the hyphenated version, or you could just think of a better name.

Should I choose a domain that’s focused on branding or on keywords?

Really, it depends on what you’re going to be using it for. If you’re planning to focus on offline marketing, brand-friendly domains are a good idea. If you’re relying solely on search engine traffic, a keyword-rich domain might be better. But bear in mind that keywords in your domain are not going to instantly fling your website to the top of the SERPs.

Generally speaking, if I’m trying to make any money out of a website, I like to put brand before keywords. There are a lot of very similar-looking and -sounding websites out there, and you need to be vaguely memorable if you are going to get any returning visitors, and turn them into customers. A lot of internet marketers get so caught up with the idea of traffic that they forget that people don’t automatically buy things once they’ve arrived at a website. Personally, I feel more attracted by websites which have well-branded domain names than those which are too keyword-focused.

If you’d like to use a keyword, remember that it is possible to have a domain that both contains a keyword and has a branding idea in it. Studentbeans.com and Domainmonster.com are good examples of keyword+branding. This is a good way of catering to the demands of both your marketing department and your SEO expert.

Possibly more about this another time, as it comes to me.