Hyphenated or non-hyphenated domain names?

By now everyone should know that having major keywords in the domain name is a really big plus as far as search engines are concerned, because when people type in these keywords they are likely to see your site first in the search engine results. To make this even more effective, you should add hyphens in the domain name. For instance, if your specialty is blind salamanders, then something like “www.blind-salamanders.com” would be as effective as you get in terms of using keywords in the domain name. Search engines see hyphenated words as different words. On the contrary, non-hyphenated words are seen as one word. Here lies the dilemma: Hyphenated domain names are best for SEO, but they look somewhat awkward to people. Non-hyphenated domains look professional, but aren’t as effective as the hyphenated ones. Which one should you get?

The answer is, you should try to get both. Then, host the hyphenated version on your server. The non-hyphenated version goes in business cards and advertisements. But how can you use both domains and make them rank the same in search engines? The truth is you’re only making the hyphenated version rank. The non-hyphenated version is just for dressing, and for people to easily remember your URL. Use a 301 redirect from the non-hyphenated version to the one hosted on your server. Be aware, however, that 301 redirects can sometimes irk the search engines–that is, if not done properly. Just make sure your site is clean–no “black hat” SEO employed like keyword stuffing on the landing page and the like. Now you can please both the search engines and the visitors!

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