Long Domain Names

[burke]

For best SEO results, how should I register a long domain name?
Which is better: longdomainnamehere.com or long-domain-name-here.com?

 

[TestCase]

Yeah, long names with multiple hyphens can be clunky to type in, but if all you're concerned about is someone finding your site on a search engine or in a directory, I think hyphenated dn's are great and may be the way to go, especially if they are generic words.

Remember, everyday web surfers are not as savvy/jaded as we domainers. All they're looking for is the solution to their question. A hyphenated domain "spells" out what your site is about so there is a direct and easily discernable correlation between you site name and its topic.

If you plan to develop the domain name, then I'd pick up both versions if possible. But if your just looking to "flip" a domain for profit, then I'd avoid them.

I have 2 domains with 3 hyphens each (xxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxxxx-xxxxx.com) as well as their non-hyphenated equivalents. The hyphenated versions' traffiic is still 80-90% of the non-hyphenated versions. I'd say that is pretty respectable.