Skip to content
    Moz logo Menu open Menu close
    • Products
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Pro Home
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Home
      • STAT
      • Moz API
      • Moz API Home
      • Compare SEO Products
      • Moz Data
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Domain Analysis
      • Keyword Explorer
      • Link Explorer
      • Competitive Research
      • MozBar
      • More Free SEO Tools
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO
      • SEO Learning Center
      • Moz Academy
      • SEO Q&A
      • Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Agency Solutions
      • Enterprise Solutions
      • Small Business Solutions
      • Case Studies
      • The Moz Story
      • New Releases
    • Log in
    • Log out
    • Products
      • Moz Pro

        Your all-in-one suite of SEO essentials.

      • Moz Local

        Raise your local SEO visibility with complete local SEO management.

      • STAT

        SERP tracking and analytics for enterprise SEO experts.

      • Moz API

        Power your SEO with our index of over 44 trillion links.

      • Compare SEO Products

        See which Moz SEO solution best meets your business needs.

      • Moz Data

        Power your SEO strategy & AI models with custom data solutions.

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
      Moz Pro

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

      Learn more
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Domain Analysis

        Get top competitive SEO metrics like DA, top pages and more.

      • Keyword Explorer

        Find traffic-driving keywords with our 1.25 billion+ keyword index.

      • Link Explorer

        Explore over 40 trillion links for powerful backlink data.

      • Competitive Research

        Uncover valuable insights on your organic search competitors.

      • MozBar

        See top SEO metrics for free as you browse the web.

      • More Free SEO Tools

        Explore all the free SEO tools Moz has to offer.

      What is your Brand Authority?
      Moz

      What is your Brand Authority?

      Check yours now
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO

        The #1 most popular introduction to SEO, trusted by millions.

      • SEO Learning Center

        Broaden your knowledge with SEO resources for all skill levels.

      • On-Demand Webinars

        Learn modern SEO best practices from industry experts.

      • How-To Guides

        Step-by-step guides to search success from the authority on SEO.

      • Moz Academy

        Upskill and get certified with on-demand courses & certifications.

      • SEO Q&A

        Insights & discussions from an SEO community of 500,000+.

      Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints
      Moz API

      Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints

      Find your plan
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Small Business Solutions

        Uncover insights to make smarter marketing decisions in less time.

      • Agency Solutions

        Earn & keep valuable clients with unparalleled data & insights.

      • Enterprise Solutions

        Gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of search.

      • The Moz Story

        Moz was the first & remains the most trusted SEO company.

      • Case Studies

        Explore how Moz drives ROI with a proven track record of success.

      • New Releases

        Get the scoop on the latest and greatest from Moz.

      Surface actionable competitive intel
      New Feature

      Surface actionable competitive intel

      Learn More
    • Log in
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Dashboard
      • Moz API
      • Moz API Dashboard
      • Moz Academy
    • Avatar
      • Moz Home
      • Notifications
      • Account & Billing
      • Manage Users
      • Community Profile
      • My Q&A
      • My Videos
      • Log Out

    The Moz Q&A Forum

    • Forum
    • Questions
    • Users
    • Ask the Community

    Welcome to the Q&A Forum

    Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

    1. Home
    2. SEO Tactics
    3. On-Page Optimization
    4. Hyphens in Domain Name

    Moz Q&A is closed.

    After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.

    Hyphens in Domain Name

    On-Page Optimization
    8
    12
    8590
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as question
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with question management privileges can see it.
    • csmithal
      csmithal last edited by

      I have a client who is a business broker. I have just begun working with them, and they are trying to determine the best domain name to use - they have several.

      business-broker-alabama.com

      vs

      businessbrokeralabama.com

      Which one of these has more value? I know that search engines have somewhat devalued keywords. The first one probably has a little more SEO value, but is going to be a drag in terms of marketing -- saying "business hyphen broker hyphen alabama" is going to get old for them.

      Thanks!

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • RobertFisher
        RobertFisher last edited by

        Mark,

        Either will work fine for EMD. Note that I only saw this due to the settings i use with SEOmoz. Next time it would be better if you post a question in Q & A as a new question as opposed to an older string. It is not a problem and I am always happy to answer, but you will get a lot of responses the other way in case no one on a string is getting emails about it any longer.

        Hope it helps,

        Robert

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • DougRoberts
          DougRoberts @RobertFisher last edited by

          I agree, I really don't think it matters that much.

          It's nice to have a URL that you can easily say out loud, on the phone etc, and it's handy if you can keep it short enough to fit on your business card!

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • RobertFisher
            RobertFisher @RobertFisher last edited by

            I would just really have to see the test and the data. Here is the issue as I see it:

            First, someone who already knows the name of the site and is going there is a given they are ok with it. They are not searching for it per se (even though many still use search to go to a site), so CTR would be a given.

            So, we are speaking of those searching for a given product. Let's say Oatmeal Cookies.

            Assuming someone created Almond Oatmeal cookies and there were two people selling them: One bought the Almond-Oatmeal-Cookies.com domain and the other bought the AlmondOatmealCookies.com domain.

            If I am the searcher for these cookies my friend, Doug, just PM'd me about, am I going to click on AlmondOatmealCookies.com if it is ranked third over the hyphenated version at two or four? Are most people going to do that for that one reason? I just have a hard time grasping that, but I learned a long time ago that in marketing never assume people are like you.

            This also may be one of those that EGOL talks about where it is dealing with the minutiae of SEO that has very little impact on the result. I would allow that your CTR issue is the first time someone has made me think more about the issue. The, its spammy, argument is just not thought out enough for me.

            As usual, all the best to you and yours!

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
            • DougRoberts
              DougRoberts @RobertFisher last edited by

              Hi Robert, That's my understanding too. (Google doesn't think hyphens = spam).

              I do think that there's  a SERP CTR/searcher perception issue that you need to think about when choosing your exact match domain name.

              I'm sure that the more words you have and the more hyphens between then will mean that you domain will appear less authorative and more "spammy" to searchers. (Those who actually notice the domain name!)

              Sorry to hear you wasted 30 mins!

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
              • RobertFisher
                RobertFisher @DougRoberts last edited by

                Hey Doug, 
                Gianluca had answered a question a long time ago using these and I could not find the question again after a 30 min search. Thanks,

                Gianluca's point was that Google did not see hyphens as spam and not to worry about it as I recall.

                I would personally use hyphens if there was a domain I wanted that was unavailable and the hyphenated version was. If I wanted it, I would obviously believe I had the ability to rank for it in the likelihood someone used the non hyphenated.

                I was wondering, is there a nonexpertsexexchange.com?? I can understand getting a discount for having a novice over an expert, but this seems extreme;)

                Best

                DougRoberts RobertFisher 3 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 2
                • DougRoberts
                  DougRoberts last edited by

                  The only good reason I can think of for using hyphens is when you want to ensure that you're keywords don't get confused when placed next to each other.  penisland.com or expertsexchange.com are infamous examples domains that suffer from this problem!

                  RobertFisher 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                  • SparkplugDigital
                    SparkplugDigital last edited by

                    I would personally always avoid the hyphens in your domain if you can. I agree that the usability is a big negative factor. When you tell someone a domain at a networking event you will have to give them extra instructions and hope they remember it. If someone sees your domain offline, like in a newspaper or billboard, they may have difficulty remembering the hyphens. Also, when people are linking to you they may forget to add the hypens or put them in the wrong place and so you could potentially lose links that you have earned. Since people are so used to typing domains with no hyphens, it will make SEO and marketing more difficult in the long run.

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                    • SeattleOrganicSEO
                      SeattleOrganicSEO @RobMay last edited by

                      Interesting data about the hyphenated domains.  Intuitively for me, people just don't type hyphens between words.  So, outside of the SEO aspect of the domains, the "usability" of the domains has something to do with what I'd argue would get more traffic to the domain withOUT the hyphens.  There's some research that says people type in domains "as is" into the url bar the a .com at the end and I'd argue they never put the hyphens in there.

                      Like the previous 3 comments, in terms of SEO value, they're the same, but Rob's data is fascinating.  If there are manual raters out there checking out the hyphenated versions of domains, there may be a reluctance to value these domains and frankly, almost every hyphenated domain I've ever seen has "less quality" than the non-hyphenated ones.  Definitely can't be proven via data, but just my gut...

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                      • RobMay
                        RobMay last edited by

                        Hi C nature,

                        OK, there are many schools of thought on this, so many SEO's will have different views. Nothing wrong with that 🙂 Sure, Search engines and research speculates now that exact match domain names are no longer the be-all, end all of SEO relative positioning.

                        I have done several tests with regards to this, building test sites that are exact vs non-exact match domains based on market research. The exact match always (90%) of the time, beat out the other versions.

                        All my hyphenated domains tests have always taken longer (ave 44% longer) to start ranking, gathering rankings based on KW research than the non-hyphenated counterpart.

                        One other thing to consider is how search engines perceive hyphenated domains. Because they have been known to be used/abused by spammers (which ultimately made them less credible from a trust perspective). This in turn was a direct correlation to the amount of time I mentioned (ave 44% longer) to get ranking.. search engines have a tendency to take longer authenticating these domain types, vs their non-hyphenated cousins.

                        If your looking for quicker results, perhaps focused around 1-2 main keywords, then the exact match domain (non-hyphenated) would be your best bet, to build the site/domain around. For that specific keyword or 2, it will yield the quickest results over time. Link building, social profiles etc will still need to be built out to get signals moving in the domains favor to establish itself within the SERP's.  It will be up to you to build out a more structured plan around other keywords/terms to focus on for short and long tail search through content development and on-site optimization.

                        The competitiveness of the 'target' keyword can also play a factor into the domains non-hyphenated domain and ranking performance. If the domain also has brand level keywords (something like coca-cola-softdrinks.com might be difficult (if not near impossible) to even begin to rank for due to the brand authority recognized online of the actually coca-cola company site). It really depends on the scenario.

                        If your looking to build something long term, that could eventually be recognized, your best bet would be to build a site/domain out with a brand' style domain using a 'company brand name' and optimize it around that. It won't be exact match, and may take longer, but over time will build the trust using brand authority will yield better results.

                        If you think about it, typing in something like your example above (business-broker-alabama.com) would be a real pain in the a#$, LOL. It would either be the non-hyphenated or a brand level domain optimized around the focus on your domain example which would yield a better user experience from the get-go.

                        I'm thinking about re-doing my test/thesis over to determine if recent statements on exact match domains has changed in value. I think I feel inspired to do it again !! Time to start digging.

                        My opinion would be either non-hyphenated or brand level domain building. Stay away from the hyphenated and spammy looking domains.

                        Hope this helps. Cheers!

                        SeattleOrganicSEO 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                        • MentorMate
                          MentorMate last edited by

                          businessbrokeralabama.com won't set off any spam flags (not a huge issue since you won't be doing anything spammy, but why set them off when you don't have to?), plus it's quicker to type in and it's an exact match. Exact match domains still carry surprising value, especially in Google. I don't see any good reason to use the hyphenated one, just 301-redirect it to the non-hyphenated.

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                          • RobertFisher
                            RobertFisher last edited by

                            C Nature Travel

                            There are a lot of people who wonder about this. First, many of us thought the past year would show a real decrease in exact match domain name strength for SEO and I don't know that it has really changed that much. As to any value, there are simply two opinions: One group says it looks spammy the other says that it is easier to read.

                            We do SEO/SEM and WebDev/Design for clients. We have clients who have hyphens and those who don't and we do not see any appreciable difference. Frankly, as to "domain value" I do not really think there is a difference for a basic term. If it were branded it might be a bit different. If you have concerns as to value, buy both and 301 one to the other (your call as to which you have it finally resolve to).

                            In my opinion, neither has more SEO value. It is really up to you and your client. I like the hyphens for readability but, hey, I wear glasses.....

                            Have fun,

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                            • 1 / 1
                            • First post
                              Last post

                            Got a burning SEO question?

                            Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.


                            Start my free trial


                            Browse Questions

                            Explore more categories

                            • Moz Tools

                              Chat with the community about the Moz tools.

                            • SEO Tactics

                              Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers

                            • Community

                              Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!

                            • Digital Marketing

                              Chat about tactics outside of SEO

                            • Research & Trends

                              Dive into research and trends in the search industry.

                            • Support

                              Connect on product support and feature requests.

                            • See all categories

                            Related Questions

                            • jafarfahi

                              How Removing Zombie pages effect on domain authority?

                              Hi. Recently I got a project (removing zombie pages here: https://www.alamto.com/ ) As you can see this site has about 20k indexed page on google and it seems I should remove about 6000 useless indexed page. does removing (Noindex) these pages affect on the site metrics? Which metrics would affected? and how? Thanks.

                              On-Page Optimization | | jafarfahi
                              1
                            • slgray

                              Do You Add City Name & Key Word For Every Page?

                              Hello, I'm new to SEO but feel I have a decent grasp on it. However, I had a question pertaining to key words and using my city name in it. For instance, if I am using the key word "herniated disc treatment" do I need to put in my city name behind it or does google recognize that I am already in my city area because of my geo tagging and having it listed on the footer of my site? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! -Scott

                              On-Page Optimization | | slgray
                              0
                            • K3v1n

                              Snippet showing as domain name with apostrophe, instead of page title when searching for the domain name.

                              Hi, We have an issue with one of our websites, with the snippet dispaying differently in Google serps when searching for the domain or the website name rather than a search term. When searching for a search term, the page title shows as expected, but when searching for the site by the domain name either with or without the tld, it shows the snippet as the domain name with an apostrophe at the end. Domain is subli.co.uk Thanks in advance for any advice!

                              On-Page Optimization | | K3v1n
                              0
                            • BruceA

                              How to 301 redirect, without access to .htaccess and to a new domain

                              There are few ways to do this and I would like to ask other Mozzers if they have found the best way. We have a site .co.uk and are moving it back to .com.  However we do not have any access to the site folders for .co.uk.  (We have to move it anyway as our provider is withdrawing their service). We have built our URL 301 redirect file and it is ready to go, but how to impliment it? We can repoint .co.uk to another site, and then redirect all traffic for each URL but this is quite messy, or just forget trying to 301 each page and just rediect the whole site.
                              the .com has more authority already, but we ready do not want to frustrate visitors who are using a link to reach a product, only to find they hit our homepage and not the product. Your thoughts would be very welcome or other ideas Bruce

                              On-Page Optimization | | BruceA
                              0
                            • TheFlyingSweetPotato

                              Image File Names for eCommerce?

                              Hi everyone! I'm wondering about naming my product photo file names for an E-Commerce site. Let's say I say have product named Abe Lincoln in the **Print **category for sale with 4 images, relatively similar but from different views for example.Could I name them as follows? 1) abe-lincoln-print.jpg 2) abe-lincoln-print-side-view.jpg 3) abe-lincoln-print-close-up.jpg 4) abe-lincoln-print-font-view.jpg Or is that too many keywords for the page? Should I be worried about keyword stuffing? Plus once I add in title and alt tags and descriptions this could also increase the keyword count for "abe lincoln print"?

                              On-Page Optimization | | TheFlyingSweetPotato
                              0
                            • RomiSverige

                              Important keywords in product names

                              Hi! among other we sell motorcycle clothing, which you can buy as a set (both jacket and pants) or single piece. Currently we name the products with the labeling in the beginning, e.g: Motorcycle pants R2000, Motorcycle jacket R2000, Motorcycle kit R2000 Motorcycle pants R4000, Motorcycle jacket R4000, Motorcycle kit R4000 This is causing keyword stuffing and cannibalization in the category pages as all the product names include important keywords. On the other hand it would be beneficial to keep the labeling in the name for search queries for the exact product. What be your recommendations? I tend to take the labeling away.

                              On-Page Optimization | | RomiSverige
                              0
                            • JesseCWalker

                              How long is too long for domain URL length?

                              I noticed one of the negatively correlated ranking factors was length of URL.  I'm building a page from scratch, we are trying to rank for 'Minneapolis Fitness' and 'Minneapolis Massage'. Is www.minnnepolismassageandfitness.com  just ridiculously long?  Or does the exact match outweigh the penalty for URL length?

                              On-Page Optimization | | JesseCWalker
                              2
                            • homebizsmart

                              Landing Pages: New Domain or Sub Folder?

                              I use premise for landing pages. I have some extra domain names that are fantastic in my industry. I'm wondering if I should use those domains for these landing pages? The header, nav, footer, would be the same as my main site,  the body and content would be totally different. will google penalize me if I have the same header and footer on a landing page?

                              On-Page Optimization | | homebizsmart
                              0

                            Get started with Moz Pro!

                            Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

                            Start my free trial
                            Products
                            • Moz Pro
                            • Moz Local
                            • Moz API
                            • Moz Data
                            • STAT
                            • Product Updates
                            Moz Solutions
                            • SMB Solutions
                            • Agency Solutions
                            • Enterprise Solutions
                            Free SEO Tools
                            • Domain Authority Checker
                            • Link Explorer
                            • Keyword Explorer
                            • Competitive Research
                            • Brand Authority Checker
                            • MozBar Extension
                            • MozCast
                            Resources
                            • Blog
                            • SEO Learning Center
                            • Help Hub
                            • Beginner's Guide to SEO
                            • How-to Guides
                            • Moz Academy
                            • API Docs
                            About Moz
                            • About
                            • Team
                            • Careers
                            • Contact
                            Why Moz
                            • Case Studies
                            • Testimonials
                            Get Involved
                            • Become an Affiliate
                            • MozCon
                            • Webinars
                            • Practical Marketer Series
                            • MozPod
                            Connect with us

                            Contact the Help team

                            Join our newsletter

                            Access all your tools in one place. Whether you're tracking progress or analyzing data, everything you need is at your fingertips.

                            Moz logo
                            © 2021 - 2025 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
                            • Accessibility
                            • Terms of Use
                            • Privacy

                            Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.