Hyphenated .co.uk vs. Non Hyphenated .org.uk

[bensd]

Which is better?

 

[Systreg]

@ Ben, I was going to start the exact same topic this evening, I'm not sure what is best, but my head sways toward hyphented .co.uk, I have quite a few on notepad with hypens for the .co.uk and the same available in the .org.uk without a hyphen.

Personally, I don't mind hyphens at all, and they don't seem to affect search engine rankings, and possibly even benefits the name in some examples I have read on this forum, think it was in the hyphens topic in the new domainers sub forum.

 

[rjs_essex]

I believe neither to be better/worse for SEO purposes but if it comes down to personal preference then I would take a hypenated .co.uk over a .org.uk anyday of the week... Providing the extension fits the niche...

Rich

 

[accelerator]

It depends what kind of marketing you are doing. If it's just SEO then there's not a lot of difference, if you are doing offline marketing like radio and TV then non-hyphenated .org.uk might edge it, because it's easier to say.

Rgds

 

[cm1975]

If it's just SEO then there's not a lot of difference,

Would be true of .me.uk as well?

 

[rjs_essex]

Would be true of .me.uk as well?

Yes, the extension doesn't seem to have a lot of bearing on SEO... Its all down to perception though... I believe some Internet uses would trust .me.uk less than its .co.uk equivalent if both were listed in SE (and they bothered to check the extn)...

Of course it would be a lot harder to market a .me.uk too due to traffic leak and the awareness of the extn with the general public.

 

[cc976a]

Have to say I have been in to seo for a number of years now, personal sites and clients, and I have never (as far as memory recollects) ranked as well for a hyphenated name as I have for a non hyphenated name.

I know there are so many variables to consider...but food for thought though.

Marketing wise, particuarly spread of popularity by word of mouth wouldn't fair very well for a hyphenated. Traffic leak to the non-hyphenated is a bug risk.

Got to the point where I pretty much avoid hyphenated names altogether, particuarly on sites to build on myself.

Dean

 

[Systreg]

What are your thoughts on names where it's made up of 3 letters seperated by 2 hyphens, such as, d-i-y, for example?

 

[ScottJ]

Depends what your motive is, is it to rank, build and sell or quick flip.

 

[Systreg]

@ Scott, I was thinking with a view to getting ranked in search engines with 3 letters names like that.

 

[ScottJ]

for ranking imo .co.uk & .org.uk are the same
Linkability differs dependant on sector
Other things differ
For Google I feel .co.uk & .org.uk are level on seo value (at present)

 

[crabfoot]

I've been researching parsers lately (and kissing mainly frogs in search of the prince of parsers) - just pragmatic testing, "see what happens if ..." stuff - feeding keywords into Google etc searches, stuck together, separated, different order...

The parsers used by the major search engines appear to have no trouble finding the keywords in names, but the ones available for "testing purposes" have not caught up with recent improvements, to quote a man who has shelved his parser project.

So if you are testing out a name, it helps the "test parser" if you use hyphens in many cases, but for SEO purposes hyphens should not make much difference.

 

[retired_member12]

for ranking imo .co.uk & .org.uk are the same
Linkability differs dependant on sector
Other things differ
For Google I feel .co.uk & .org.uk are level on seo value (at present)

Scott's right. Also, there are still some choice words available in the .org.uk arena which a good mini site or more could benefit from. Just don't fall into the trap of buying some of the trademarks all the serious guys have steered clear of. You know the ones;

kays .org.uk
playboy .org.uk
thule .org.uk
pampers .org.uk etc

Unless you're feeling brave that is!