Is hyphen worth it with 368k exact searches?

[fooz]

Hi, just looking for some advice.

I'm looking at a 2-word phrase that gets 368,000 exact global searches and 60,500 exact local searches according to AdWords. The .com and .net are taken, but there is pretty much nothing on those sites. Just a couple unrelated images and sentences, no ads, no backlinks, no PR, nothing of value.

The .com and .net with a hyphen between the words are available (www.Word1-Word2.com). Does it make sense for me to get them? Do you guys think there could be value in this domain when there are so many exact searches? Should I get both the .com and the .net?

Please, any sort of insight on this would be greatly appreciated. I know that we generally want to stay away from hyphens but is this one of the times when it makes sense to make an exception?

BTW, this is a fairly generic keyword phrase, not a speculative brandable.

Thanks!

 

[ARonald]

Why not take the .org. If you must get the hyphenated .com as well.

 

[fooz]

Well, just because an org doesn't really make sense for this particular phrase. But the real question is... is there any value in getting the hyphenated name or is it just a waste of time/money?

 

[BizBot]

Hyphen names have value but not as much without it.

Why are you looking at the name? If you are buying the name to resell - it may not be worth it.

If you want to develop the name, the hyphen will not matter as much. A strong phrase could work out good for you.

Also, I would go with the .com name and leave the .net and .org alone.

 

[fooz]

Thanks for the advice.

My intent is to develop it a little, maybe enough to rank it on the first page of search results for that search phrase. And hopefully to make some money from ads/affiliates. But ultimately my goal is to resell it.

I realize that the hyphen makes it not worth as much, which is why I'm asking this question in the first place. Given the large amount of exact searches and moderate advertiser competition, is it possible that there is value in getting this domain for eventual resell?

 

[BizBot]

Thanks for the advice.

Given the large amount of exact searches and moderate advertiser competition, is it possible that there is value in getting this domain for eventual resell?

Without knowing the name, can't say much about the value. But yes, if you develop the name and your site gets traffic, good search engine rankings and earns revenue that will increase the resell value of the name. People buy names based on the number of searches, traffic count and earnings.

 

[fooz]

Thanks. I think I'll get it and try to work on it for a while to see what happens. Best way to learn is through trial and error, right? =]

BTW I see that you are the owner of a hyphenated domain too. Hopefully that's working out well for you, in terms of traffic/revenue.

 

[Burano]

You mentioned 'moderate' advertiser competition -- that is probably the most important part of this equation. What do you mean by moderate? What are the bid prices?

If the bid prices are high on your keywords and you can manage to rank well for them - then yes, could be valuable to an enduser. Domainers tend to overlook hyphens...which sometimes is a big, big mistake. BUT - if it's a competitive niche - you aren't going to easily rank on page one just because you have the keywords. So, you have to be willing to work at development. If not - then don't bother with them.

 

[MicroGuy]

Leave the .NET and .ORG alone. Find a .COM without the hyphen. IMO.

 

[shaper]

Having a hyphen will often give you access to more highly searched terms, usually this means more competitive territory.

Hyphenated domains appear to SEO well in my experience, so if you are looking to develop, compete in a niche a hyphen with the right phrase has a better shot than trying to rank without the keywords in the url. Its not as good as having the exact keyword set without the hyphen, but its still strong, and may make it easier for some engines to parse the phrase.

If you are looking for type in traffic, forget the hyphen unless you can get the top slot in the search engine, not too many people are going to type a hyphen into a search.

If you are looking at resale value, the hyphen will significantly diminish its perceived value, it doesn't look as good on a business card, ad, etc and often people will forget the hyphen. Although there is a pretty strong argument that revenues speak for themselves.

Basically, if you are attempting to develop and SEO the domain, a hyphen can work fine if you can bring enough juice to crack the leaderboard for the phrase. The keyword text is an advantage, but is probably not going to default you to top slot in the engines that put a lot of weight on the sitename. If you are aspiring for moderate traffic, then get a dot com thats got less searches, if you want to go guns out in a large niche, every edge counts and its worth considering the hyphen. If your site ranks high its an attraction to potential buyers, hyphen or not.

At the end of the day it comes down to whether you are developing it and whether you think you can break the niche you are in. The bigger and more lucrative the niche, the more competitive and more work you are setting yourself up for. If you just want to do a basic site and not work with it much and still have resale value, then get a smaller niche dotcom, if you want to work at monetizing a site in an aggressive area a dash can be very effective in getting those extra few ranking points.

 

[fooz]

Thanks for the detailed advice. I think that, being a beginner, I should first try my hand at the "easier" ones like a smaller niche .com like you mentioned. It's easy to get carried away before you really know what you're doing, and I'm trying not to make that mistake.

 

[DNNinja]

simply contact the owner of both non-hyphen and hyphen names in .com and .net then go from there. You may need to contact them many times to get an answer.

 

[MicroGuy]

Hyphens are evil. They are never worth anything more than evil.