Domain Name Conflict - Which one do you like better?

[KyleAtkins]

We are at a little bit of a disagreement over here at my work about which domain name to put on our logo and focus our SEO efforts on.

Which domain name do you guys like better?


DiscountLowVoltage.com

or

Discount-Low-Voltage.com

Comments? Suggestions?
Thanks

 

[owntype]

I'm a bit surprised that you own both names but have no idea which one to use ...

Domain without hyphen is always the 1st choice.

 

[ecalc]

Here's a quick gut check. Look at dnjournal YTD top 100 sales charts. Do you see any hyphen demand? If not, why not? Is it possible that web surfers and/or SEs discount hyphenated names? I'd go with DiscountLowVoltage unless you have reliable data showing that SEs strongly favor hyphenated names.

 

[notlikeyou]

Here's a quick gut check. Look at dnjournal YTD top 100 sales charts. Do you see any hyphen demand? If not, why not? Is it possible that web surfers and/or SEs discount hyphenated names? I'd go with DiscountLowVoltage unless you have reliable data showing that SEs strongly favor hyphenated names.

Agreed go without the hyphen, and you could always forward the hyphenated domain to the non hyphenated.

 

[KyleAtkins]

I'm just gonna go ahead and tell you which one I'm trying to convince them to go with, which is the first one (no hyphens) even though I would still like more feedback from you guys.

Good point ecalc. That was one of my main arguments to them about the name. How many big name businesses out there use hyphens? It seems amateur in a sense. I feel that hyphens discredit the business, but they don't seem to see that.

Please, the more input the better everyone. Even if you don't leave feedback, just put which one you like.

Thanks

 

[-REECE-]

I have to agree with ecalc on no hyphens.

You should show them this thread once it's a whole page long with everyone agreeing hyphens are a bad choice if they can be avoided in a case like this

 

[h2o]

Hyphens are not the worst thing in the world, but if you get a clean domain without hyphens it should be a no brainer. Without hyphens are better domains.

 

[KyleAtkins]

Were on the right track. Thanks for all the replies. Anyone else have anything good to say about the hyphenated domain? Besides maybe that its easier to read?

 

[Kate]

Hyphens are best avoided for branding. Imagine if you had to spell the name on the radio (the famous radio test) ?

SEO is not just about having the right 'keywords' in domain.
The domain will probably have little overall impact in SEO, unless maybe it's a pure generic (ie. car.com holiday.com etc) that happens to match your industry.
Don't overdo it, one hyphen may be OK but if you add more you might actually be penalized by the search engines if the domain looks like keyword 'stuffing' :talk:
Not to mention that it doesn't look too professional.

Only the wannabe SEOers are adamant that hyphens will automatically boost their rankings. That just isn't true.

Nonetheless it makes sense to register the hyphened version of your name even for defensive registration purposes. My suggestion would be to use the non-hyphened version on stationery and for advertising. You can still forward one domain to another (use HTTP 301 redirects).

SEO and branding are different things, but the importance of a good name cannot be overrated. Having a memorable will never hurt either.

What I do to better separate the 'glued' keywords is use capitalization like this: ClearDreams.com.
Don't be afraid to be creative with typography.

 

[Midano]

Hi, Kyle. Welcome to NP.

Sounds like you're on a crossroads in a company start-up phase.

Thoughts...

DiscountLowVoltage is hard to read when three words are mashed together, and that's perhaps the argument against using it on a logo. But... a good logo designer will always find a way to visually separate the words. Like:

DiscountLowVoltage

It's very rare for a self-respecting company to go with a hyphenated domain unless the company is traditionally branded that way.

Take Merriam-Webster for example:

merriam-webster.com is the main site.

merriamwebster.com - non-hyphen redirects to hyphenated.

m-w.com - better for branding and usability, still redirects to the main domain.

Verdict: go with a no-hyphen.

 

[lincolndsp]

If you decide to use the non-hyphenated domain, then all your SEO will be directed towards it. So I do not see why you still need a hyphenated domain then - I would drop it, since no returning vistors would type it in.

As for your question, I like more your LowDiscountVoltage domain.

 

[KyleAtkins]

Thanks for all the replies. Some good info in there
Much appreciated