Hyphenated domain names containing keywords no longer have the direct search engine relevancy benefit they previously provided. However they can be well worth registering because of the anchor link boost to rankings they provide. See here for details: keyword domain names.
If you do opt to use a hyphenated domain name as your primary web address also try to register the un-hyphenated version if it's available.
e.g. if you register as xyz-company.co.nz then
also register xyzcompany.co.nz.
There are a couple of reasons for doing this:
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If you don't register the un-hyphenated version of your domain name then a competitor may grab it. There are plenty of examples of this - check out www.running-shoes.com and www.runningshoes.com which are 2 quite separate & presumably competing websites.
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Many people struggle with hyphenated domain names and get them wrong. "What's a hyphen?" (Really!) Then they mix up hyphens and underscores which are on the same key of computer keyboards.
Hyphens or underscores?
NB Underscores are not allowed in domain names but they can be used in file names. e.g. www.xyz_company.com is not allowed but
www.xyz-company.com/blue_widgets.html is OK.
Having said that we always recommend using hyphens rather than underscores in file names because it's more beneficial from a search engine perspective.
At the March 2004 Search Engines Strategies conference in New York Google's Director of Technology, Craig Silverstein pointed out it’s better to use hyphens than underscores. Apparently Google’s parsing policy underscores in domains are treated as letters while treating hyphens are viewed more like spaces.
If you register multiple domain names for your website it's essential they are all set up to resolve to your main website address. Find out how here: Re-directing Parked Domain Names
Back to NZ Domain Name Registration
This
page last updated
May 03, 2010
