Google’s John Mueller answered a question on Reddit about why people don’t use scripts with domains and if there was anything to worry about that they were missing.
Hyphenated domain names for SEO
I’ve been online for 25 years and I remember using hyphens in domains was something affiliates did for SEO when Google was still influenced by domain keywords, URL’s and basically keywords anywhere on the website. It wasn’t something that everyone did, it was mostly something that was popular with some affiliate marketers.
Another reason for choosing domain names with keywords was that site visitors tended to convert at a higher rate because keywords essentially pre-qualified the site visitor. I know from experience how useful two-keyword domains (and single-word domain names) are for conversions, as long as they don’t have hyphens.
One consideration that caused hyphenated domain names to fall out of favor is that they look unreliable and can work against conversion rates because reliability is a big factor in conversions.
Finally, hyphenated domain names look tacky. Why go with Tacky when a branded domain is easier to build trust and conversions?
Domain name question asked on Reddit
Here’s the question being asked on Reddit:
“Why don’t people use a lot of hyphenated domains? Is there anything to worry about? I understand that when you say it out loud people miss the hyphen in the search.”
And this is Mueller’s response:
“It used to be that domain names with a lot of hyphens were considered (by users? or SEOs who assumed users would do that? A long time ago) less serious, as they might imply that you couldn’t get the domain. name with less scripts There are a lot of top-level domains these days, so it’s less important.
My main recommendation is to choose something long-term (assuming that’s what you’re aiming for) and don’t focus too much on keywords (because life is too short to box yourself into a corner – do good things, fix the course). time, don’t let a domain name limit what you do online). The web is full of awkward, low-effort keyword-focused takes made for SEO: Make something really awesome that people are asking for by name. If that takes a hyphen in the name, go for it.
Choose a domain name that can grow
Mueller is right about choosing a domain name that doesn’t lock your site into a theme. When a site grows in popularity, the natural growth path is to expand the range of topics the site has. But that’s hard to do when the domain is locked into a rigid keyword phrase. This is also one of the downsides of choosing a “Best + Keyword + Reviews” domain. These domains can’t grow and look tacky, too.
That’s why I’ve always recommended branded domains that are memorable and build trust in some way.
Read the Reddit post:
Read Mueller’s response here.
Featured image by Shutterstock/Benny Marty
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