They've been discussed in the past here: http://moz.com/community/q/is-it-okay-to-use-elocal-services, and Kristy's thorough answer at the time still rings true, "There is nothing blackhat about using a citation building service like eLocal, Yext, etc. Rather, there are other considerations that need to be taken into account in determining whether this is the right move for you."  And I agree with her. It seems like you've got a handle on your site's listings and they wouldn't bring much additional value to the work you're already doing.

Or make the Keurig sessions min-value:10 every day until this is solved.

Hyphens are a very common convention in folder names, and while too many can possibly be a negative in a domain name (it-is-a-really-hyphenated-domain.com for example) they're an accepted practice in folder / file names.

One thing I'd ask though is if someone had a hyphen in their folder name to begin with, would that cause something like /double-----dash--becomes--quintuple--dash/ ?  If so I'd ask them to try a little harder to get the dashes down to a minimum, just for the sake of keeping the URL shorter overall.

Getting precise numbers on such a broad topic will likely be a bridge too far, plus they start to move and oscillate into the future so some projection factor is going to have to be used for any sort of planning as you make them. For example, look at Google Trends analysis of the topic LEGO: http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=LEGO&cmpt=q.  And look at some of the ways it begins to get messy: Is it just the industry of toys? What about the movies LEGO is now producing?  Or are Legoland searches at the core of it?

The broader net you cast the more odd intersections you're going to come across...

It sounds like you're trying to use these numbers not as an industry report but for actionable budgeting and tactical planning for the nationwide business. Or maybe I'm mis-reading your question. The point being, your existing business should have some reliable numbers on current conversion rates and traffic that are much more applicable to scale into other locations. Why not use those and first apply some level of market penetration based on demographics and populations?

TL;DR: I'd project some simple trends for the industry, but then be tactical on the small scale. Work where you can move the needle most.  Cheers!

Excellent! Glad Monica and I could point you in the right direction. It sounds like you have the pieces in place to make the most of it.

It's ok. It's a little tricky to get as this aspect has changed over the years as well. And Feed The Hungry is a good example of where their brand matches their domain like Monica mentioned earlier.  As a business "Feed The Hungry" is what goes on their business cards, letterhead, LinkedIn, etc. That the brand name is tied in to an applicable search is helpful partly for people who remember them and create a link back to them (branding) and partly as an EDM. Still the press they've gotten, DA they've built, and networking they've done online and off under the name "Feed The Hungry" has a stronger weight than the EDM. That the EDM ties into it though smoothly is icing on a cake built from all those other efforts.  So, EDM isn't worth zero, but you shouldn't sacrifice branding to get one.

Another search that's instructive: https://encrypted.google.com/search?hl=en&q=google incorporated When you search for Google Incorporated you get different results than just searching for Google, same goes for LeSEA Global Feed The Hungry, Inc vs Feed The Hungry.  Search Engines have done well at figuring out search intent in addition to nuanced differences like lack of spacing in the domain vs the business name (earlier example).  An excellent litmus test would be to go with the name that you feel most comfortable promoting, pressing, and talking about as that's the work that's going to get you to rank.

I see. Here's an instructive search: https://encrypted.google.com/search?hl=en&q=pop urls

The news aggregator popurls (always conjoined in their branding and links) ranks highly for the spaced search while the discussion on the RFC 2384 - POP URL Scheme is further down the list.

Even if you get more far afield in your searches https://encrypted.google.com/search?hl=en&q=pop urls#hl=en&q=face+and+book the conjoined, but well known site ranks higher.

Welcome! There are benefits to each. When people refer to your URL you'll have your keyword set there and when they talk about you as a business the name will be more readable. Very few business come to mind that keep the TLD as part of the business name: eBay, Google, Yahoo... maybe Pets.com--due to it's generic name without the '.com'.  So it's partly a branding decision in that regard.  I think if you do some analysis specific to what your 'blue widget' is you'll come up with a good answer as far as your branding goes. As far as SEO both will work if your presence grows.

Based on how you're describing it, I'd leave them out of the sitemap.