Mine has one, but I'm not one who worries about SEO either.

I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing. I know all of those online lead generation sites use the dashes everywhere to mimic a regular company's web address.

"A dash? Huh? Can you spell it again? Oh, you mean a hyphen? Is there a space, too?...isn't it called an underscore? Oh? That's not the same thing? Really?.....:no:"

Ok, ok.... sorry, I meant hyphen. But the OP said dash, so I just followed along and did as well.

My bad. :blink:

MarkJames said:

"A dash? Huh? Can you spell it again? Oh, you mean a hyphen? Is there a space, too?...isn't it called an underscore? Oh? That's not the same thing? Really?.....:no:"

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I'm gonna have a stroke. :whistling

MarkJames said:

"A dash? Huh? Can you spell it again? Oh, you mean a hyphen? Is there a space, too?...isn't it called an underscore? Oh? That's not the same thing? Really?.....:no:"

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Whatever dash widget.com

Or

Whateverwidget.com


One requires a bit more brainpower and focus to remember, and if someone sits at their computer and they can't remember your website in about 3 seconds, they're probably more likely to just google what they need and find someone else.

I say avoid underscores/dashes/slashes/extra dots/.net/etc, but I'm no expert.

I don't see a problem as long as you are not adding the hyphen just because someone has the domain name you want and you want the exact same one, but with a hyphen.

As far as I can tell no one has a similar domain.
My concern was withs out the hyphen the first word ends with the same letter as the second word starts with and I though that might get confusing.

SectorSecurity said:

I don't see a problem as long as you are not adding the hyphen just because someone has the domain name you want and you want the exact same one, but with a hyphen.

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Mine is our name.... completewindowanddoor.com and I've never found it to be a problem. I have more trouble getting folks to remember to spell the "and" rather than using a &.... than I do with the double consonant.

Stunt Carpenter said:

As far as I can tell no one has a similar domain.
My concern was withs out the hyphen the first word ends with the same letter as the second word starts with and I though that might get confusing.

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We would be better informed to assist on this decision should you decide to share the domain name...

Really, unless someone is looking for you specifically peole searching click on links not re-write the domain in the search bar. When was the last time you wrote out someones domain www....

Stunt Carpenter said:

As far as I can tell no one has a similar domain.
My concern was withs out the hyphen the first word ends with the same letter as the second word starts with and I though that might get confusing.

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Couldn't agree more . . .

Roofcheck said:

Really, unless someone is looking for you specifically peole searching click on links not re-write the domain in the search bar. When was the last time you wrote out someones domain www....

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Mine has one. Never been a problem. I think it breaks up the words so people can see/remember it better. I HATE domain names that are all mashed together.

MarkJames said:

"A dash? Huh? Can you spell it again? Oh, you mean a hyphen? Is there a space, too?...isn't it called an underscore? Oh? That's not the same thing? Really?.....:no:"

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Especially when they're sentences.

wedocountertopsandkitchensandbathsandbasements dot com.

ESSaustin said:

....... I HATE domain names that are all mashed together.

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mine has one with no issues.

www.newimage-construction.com

Even if there is a newimageconstruction.com

local searches lead to me because of my seo updating

Typing out the entire address only comes into play with the email addresses associated with the site. I have been struggling with this for awhile and its getting to the point where its just worth it to pay for a better domain address......

Superior remodeling solutions, llc

When and how to use dashes in your domain name

There are several elements to consider when using any sort of dash or hyphen in a domain name. The first, and most important, is where will your visitor go if they forget to put in the dash? (and they will forget)

If I select the domain OrlandoAC-Repair.com and someone types in OrlandoACRepair.com I've done nothing but inadvertently benefited the owner of OrlandoACRepair.com. Most people will simply forget the dash and land on a competing site instead. Awful outcome!

The only way this works is if you use the domain with the dash as the actual site domain but you use a different, less confusing URL address (basically a forwarded domain name) for marketing purposes. Both domains go to the same site but the keyword rich version above is good for SEO authority and ranking and will index well in the search engines but will not have to ever be typed into a browser to be found.

Visitors simply click your link on the search results page to visit your site with that domain. I could use another name for offline media such as my companyname.com (if it is available) that simply forwards to the website. This is a much easier name for your customers and offline ad viewers to remember.

Without trying to confuse the crap out of everybody, this is a good workaround when you want a keyword rich domain for indexing your site that is already taken by someone else. Using this method, you have an easier to remember domain for offline marketing and a keyword rich domain for search engine ranking.

Just remember to NEVER promote the domain with the dash in it.

Plenty of sites rank well with dashes or hyphens, especially in the service industry. Your best bet, brand the hell out your main site. Set up a few sites with the hyphens as supporting blog sites. Your feeder or supporting sites will serve you well, and if they get caught up in a penalty, then just dump them.

Stunt Carpenter said:

Would having a dash in a domain name be a bad thing? I've been considering a few domain names for a new website and I was thinking one along the like of company-service offered. Not sure if this would be a bad thing for seo or for people remembering it?

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Interesting question and I can attest to the problems mentioned by MHaines & others as someone else in Long Island had my preferred domain name. With that as soon as I was able to purchase the other I did, but choose to keep & use the dash one due to all the links pointing to it, marketing materials, etc...

However I did see you answered your own question - if the domain is available with & without the dash buy both & then redirect the one without a dash to the dashed site (which I did). Now this brings us to email accounts - make sure you have a catch all or at least the same email address for both so any that may forget the dash won't get a bounce back & you will receive the email

Since not much was said in regards to if the dash-hyphen will be bad for SEO the answer is it has no real impact good or bad. As far as SEO goes keyword domains have a small impact on your rankings. Back in the day this was a golden nugget, you could buy a keyword domain and rank it with minimal effort. This is not the case so much anymore. I would think about your domain more as a good identifier for your company that people can remember.