Should i use hyphens in my domain name

This does not by any chance make your domain unique. It is hard enough for users to try and remember one hyphen. While we have come to the conclusion that hyphens need to be avoided, it is important to note that this only applies to domains. Hyphens can and should be used for pages and folders of the website. The last part of a domain name is what is referred to as a Top-level domain TLD as in. It is also known as a domain name extension. Some common TLDs include. The TLD is the most vital part of the domain name.

Learn more about top-level domains here. A sub-page or sub-folder is basically what comes after the TLD. You usually see it after clicking a specific link on a site, for example, another page as in www. As you can see, hyphens have been used after the slash after the second-level domain. We could look at it as an expansion of the second-level domain.

A lot more thought needs to go into choosing domain names. It is a part of your brand that will stay with you for a long time. Go for a short, simple, catchy and easy to remember domain name. When was the last time you saw a hyphenated domain name rank?

Watch John Mueller answer the question at the Minute Mark. Roger Montti is a search marketer with over 20 years experience. I offer site audits, phone consultations and content and Keywords in Domain Names There is an idea that having keywords in the domain name will help a site rank better.

But Google changed that in Category News SEO. Whether the benefits of avoid ambiguity outweigh the drawbacks of using hyphens varies from case to case. A professional writer since with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism, John Lister ran the press department for the Plain English Campaign until He then worked as a freelance writer with credits including national newspapers, magazines and online work. He specializes in technology and communications. By John Lister.

Acceptable Characters The hyphen is a rare exception to a general principle of acceptable domain names. Memorability Including a hyphen in your name may make it harder for users to recall the address.

Reputation and Rankings At one stage, using a hyphen could help websites appear higher up on some search engines. Google Since , Google's algorithms have favored websites that have a domain name that precisely matches the keyword or phrase for which somebody is searching. Exception One arguable case where a hyphen might make sense in a website address is to avoid ambiguity.