Domain Name Tips - Should You Use Hyphens in Your Domain Name?

This article looks at the advantages and disadvantages of using hyphens in your domain name. It will give you a better idea of whether hyphens in your domain name are going to benefit your website or not.

Advantages of hyphens

• Hyphens can give you the option to obtain a good TLD (Top Level Domain), such as a .com, if the name without hyphens is already registered - but, make sure to check the related disadvantage below.
• They can help to make your domain name easier to read, if it is lengthy or confusing without.
• Hyphens can avoid misinterpretation of your domain name by humans.
• They can help to clarify the words for search engines, if there is room for misinterpretation.
• Hyphens are very useful in the extensions of your URL. They are even recommended in this case by Matt Cutts of Google, as it can help to clarify what is often a long string of words.

Disadvantages of hyphens

• If you are speaking your domain name, whether this is in person, by phone, on radio or television, it can be awkward if your domain has hyphens and it will be harder for people to remember. Maybe a single hyphen in a domain name with two words is not too difficult, but you are likely to test the patience of a chat show host, as well as listeners, if you are having to spell out your domain name and are telling them where to insert hyphens. There is also the risk that someone may confuse an underscore for a hyphen, or that they may think the word hyphen is a part of the domain name.
• Possibly the most important reason to avoid hyphens is that domains with hyphens look less professional than those without, although this view is changing. This is a slightly unfair legacy from the fact that a lot of domains with hyphens were spam sites many years ago.

So which is best?

First, it can be as well to consider registering both domains (with and without hyphens), if you suspect that someone may try to piggyback off the success of your site, by using the version that you haven't registered. If using hyphens I'd rarely recommend using more than a couple, maybe three, more than that and I'd start looking for a different domain name. They can be used to split a couple of phrases, rather than every word. It is also worth noting that hyphens will not have any effect upon your ranking by the search engines, at least not to any noticeable degree when compared to all other factors. Ultimately, there is no single answer that suits all sites, you will need to consider the points raised above and see which carry more weight for your domain.