The online marketing community has been debating whether you should include hyphens in your domain name for years.
From making your domain name easy to read to attempting to fit as many target keywords as possible on a single page, there are a variety of reasons why including hyphens in domain names is so popular with online marketers.
In the early days, Google was influenced by keywords that appeared anywhere on a page, including within the domain. Consequently, adding hyphens to your domain seemed like a logical choice. The easier to read, the easier to rank.
In a Google Webmaster Central “Office-Hours Hangout” episode on YouTube, Google confirmed that having keywords in your domain is not a ranking factor, and hasn’t been for a long time.
This begs the question: should our domain names contain hyphens, and is there any benefit in doing so?
In a recent discussion on Reddit, Google’s John Mueller answered that domain names featuring hyphens:
“Were considered to be less serious – since they could imply that you weren’t able to get the domain name with fewer hyphens”.
This misconception, paired with the fact that keywords in domains are no longer a ranking factor, could explain the decline.
Mueller went on to recommend that when choosing a domain name, users should:
“Pick something for the long run, and not be overly keyword focused, because life is too short to box yourself into a corner. Don’t let a domain-name limit what you do online…make something truly awesome that people will ask for by name. If that takes a hyphen in the name – go for it.”
When choosing a domain name, think: can this grow? Or are you restricting your website into a single topic? There’s no use trying to target a specific keyword that might limit the growth of your business later down the line.
If you fancy including a hyphen in your domain, as Mueller said, go for it. There’s no reason why not. Just be mindful that some misinformed online visitors may think you had difficulty getting the domain you really wanted and settled for the one you currently have.
Need help deciding on the best domain name for your business? Contact the friendly team at Engage Web today.
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