Fact or fiction does - Make a different to domain names?

[Alex P]

Are there any facts to suggest the - in domains such as project-elder.com vs projectelder.com makes any difference when it comes to domains or is it all opinions??
Im thinking of registering a new domain and im wondering whether I should go for the - that I want or look for a different domain name without the - which is possible.

 

[Andr3w]

it makes a big difference in terms of brandability.

You'll have a hard time having returning visitors because of the "-" (hyphen). Think of how many websites you visit that have the "-" in their web address ? Get my point ?

It terms of SEO, or how the search engines see project-elder.com vs projectelder.com, most say there's no difference, although I'm on the opinion that the non-hyphened version, projectelder.com, will have a slight advantage over the hyphened version because:
1. hyphened websites are usually attached to spam, MFA's etc. type of websites.
2. having the non-hyphened version it means you at least invested some into the domain as these domains are worth much more than hyphened domains. So, you are serious about your domain. And if you afforded to invest in it you're more likely to create valuable content.

In conclusion, if you have the opportunity to chose a non-hyphened domain, go for that option. You'll thank me someday.

 

[Alex P]

Thanks very much for your reply, im currently looking into alternative to the hyphened domain that I originally want.
You are right about one thing I normally give them a miss due to people never typing in the - but sometimes its better to have the domain you want rather than a domain you make do with.

One of the things I was interested in originally was the SEO side, I don't want to suffer because of the hyphen.

 

[lazaruslong]

In my opinion, for SEO purposes, the - does not matter, and can in fact be useful for separating out words.

In the wider world, of course, non-hyphenated domains are still considered superior. BUT, that can be good if it means you can get a - domain much, much cheaper.