Domain with a dash in the middle

[we live in hope]

Is there less competition/interest in names a dash in the middle in general?

What about if there was a pre existing site without the dash?

say the domain was computer-forums.co.uk (for example) and computerforums.co.uk was number1 in google for 'computer forums'.

will many people be going for the computer-forums.co.uk?

 

[eddieb]

The dash makes no difference to the SERPS but end users do not seem very keen on them

 

[we live in hope]

The dash makes no difference to the SERPS but end users do not seem very keen on them

sorry this was meant to be a drop catching question, i might have got the wrong section.

 

[namealot]

It suits some better than others if it ticks all the other boxes there worth having many businesses thought it broke the word up and made it more understandable and benefited seo wise etc. Most are more net savvy now? You can list them and possibly steal traffic thunder etc from the non hyphenated?

There main disadvantage is with other forms of advertising especially radio b dash (hyphen) c. you’d be surprised how many don’t know what they are or were they are on there keyboard though ?

 

[accelerator]

The hyphen is not ideal if you're looking to resell the domain.

 

[Aegean]

The dash makes no difference to the SERPS but end users do not seem very keen on them

I completely agree with Eddie B (that rhymes )

Basically I have a couple of websites with hyphens at the top of Google, there is no problem ranking them, and if, like me, you have a site with good organic traffic then it has a value just like any other. However, if you are trying to sell names with hyphens without a site, it'll probably be more difficult.

Saying that, if you get a web developer who knows what he is doing, and is after organic traffic, then the hyphen shouldn't deter him too much. A businessman may react differently.

 

[we live in hope]

Thanks for the replies guys.

What i was actually asking though, is is there likely to be much competition for that domain on the day it drops?

Imagine there is a huge site on computerforums.co.uk, computer-forums.co.uk drops tommorow, is there likely to be a huge amount of competition for it?

 

[eddieb]

No, especially at the moment when even good non-dash names are unwanted

 

[we live in hope]

No, especially at the moment when even good non-dash names are unwanted

thanks Eddie

 

[we live in hope]

well it turns out there was some competition from some bugger called ecodo ltd

i had the domain booked with caught.co.uk and (dont laugh) 123reg, day 92 was xmas day, i checked in the morning and it hadnt dropped yet, then with working followed by food/alcohol and what not, i forgot all about it till just now, it turns out it did drop yesterday.

ah well we live and learn.

 

[crabfoot]

Take heart, the fact they caught it means they thought it was worth having, so you were not alone in attaching value to the name.

This also demonstrates how competitive catching is becoming. I've been catching ICANN domains in the past, but something very significant happened in January 2012.

The SCHLUND organisation took over Moniker / Snapnames. Schlund is their TAG, you know them as 1&1, mail .com and lots of other names. They are mostly Germans trading through a Swiss holding company.

Since they took over Moniker, they have been so active in their catching activity that it is not possible to compete. Until they came on the scene, it was still possible to catch domains from the individual search at a few registrars (one of which was Moniker). Not now, unless you're talking about a complete rubbish domain.

So why mention them?

If you really really really want a domain, go to Snapnames and go through the flak. They charge about 70 notes upfront, then you have to bid for the domain if other people want it - but they have so many people/subsidiary domains deployed on catching, nobody else has the firepower deployed. 123=cocked hat.

If you really really want a domain, GoDaddy still offer good value for a catch. I don't like their politics, but they still give good service.

If it's a UK domain, the specialists you find on Acorn can still compete with the Schlund monster, but life is getting harder. The whole catching biz is turning into big biz.

People have been making money, and someone noticed - domaining is hard work these days.