Are EMDs with dashes in domain less valuable?

demongerbil · Dec 10, 2011

Please help resolve an argument I had with someone:

Does an EMD with fantastic-purple-widget.com domain hold less SEO value than fantasticpurplewidget.com? How much less?

If fantasticpurplewidget.com is taken but does not rank for the keyword, is it worth it to try to rank fantastic-purple-widget.com? Would it be better to buy fantasticpurplewidget.[net/org] instead?

ezines · Dec 10, 2011

I always do one dash and it works always. I cannot tell if it's worth for more than one dash.

Sometimes, I add some letters or numbers at the end of the taken .com domain and it works well, too.

mindmaster · Dec 10, 2011

I have one .com emd with 3 dashes.
The without dashes emd on .com is not even on front page.
Now I know that the other guy did a poor seo campaign, although his on-site was ok.

However I am on first page, he isn't.

Even with these, I see a lot of contradictory data about EMD with or without dashes from reputable member on this forum... so I think there is no 100% sure answer on this.

madoctopus · Dec 11, 2011

The one without dashes is better.
The more dashes you have, the worst, but combining no dashes and dashes (e.g. best-purpleWidget.com) is even worse.

Most importantly the value of an EMD comes after you have some good links, otherwise the value is not that high. A well optimized EMD on #1 is a bitch to outrank.

Also search through my posts (one of my first posts) I have made a good explanation on EMDs.

cornkernel · Dec 11, 2011

i don't know if it's worth more or less, but i usually don't visit sites with dashes. even if it's first in google. but that's just me.

it looks spammy to me, and i'm sure that there's other people out there who think the same.

i would buy the .net. i have bought a .net over buying one with dashes. i just don't like it!

mark0v · Dec 11, 2011

I have a 3 word EMD with two hyphens. It has almost no content and just a few low quality links, yet for some reason it ranks well.

madoctopus · Dec 11, 2011

mark0v said:
I have a 3 word EMD with two hyphens. It has almost no content and just a few low quality links, yet for some reason it ranks well.

I can rank on #1 a domain with just one shitty nofollow link if the keyword has no competition. The keyword always matters in a statement like this and that is why just because X managed to rank his site using some method, it doesn't mean you can do that as well for your keyword.

Jonny13131 · Dec 11, 2011

Madoctopus is spot on, it doesn't matter if you have an emd with dashes or not if you have no good backlinks.

Madi al Dajjal · Dec 11, 2011

You say no dashes, I say do dashes; let's call the whole thing off because only SEO and backlinks matter IMHO.

-Jericho- · Dec 11, 2011

Stop worrying so much about EMDs. They just don't carry much weight anymore. They're nice to have but don't beat yourself up over it. You're better off buying an aged domain in the same niche with related keywords. You may even be able to snag the old content and possibly some PR out of it.

Do dashes matter? No, it's more of a preference. If you have a domain with 6 dashes in it it would look a bit odd though.

Kaistar · Dec 11, 2011

cornkernel said:
i usually don't visit sites with dashes. even if it's first in google. but that's just me.

Is that not just because you know a bit about web creation though ?

My opinion would be that Joe Bloggs knows nothing and probably doesn't even notice the e-m-d because all he is interested in is the pretty pictures and the competitive prices offered.

W00t! Bargain ... CLICK!

mark0v · Dec 11, 2011

madoctopus said:
I can rank on #1 a domain with just one shitty nofollow link if the keyword has no competition. The keyword always matters in a statement like this and that is why just because X managed to rank his site using some method, it doesn't mean you can do that as well for your keyword.

My domain is ranking #3 for the keyword phrase like 'one two three' but most of the traffic comes from 100's of related long tail queries. That said I looked up the competition in market samurai and although it's ranking with a bunch of very heavy hitters, mine appears to be the only one with very thorough on site optimization.

paulpapapump · Dec 11, 2011

i've tested this out and got results going either way. someone suggested on the forum that the dashes make your site look spammy but no problem here. it makes me money

PauloPaul · Dec 12, 2011

A domain with dashes is NOT an EMD and holds little or no seo value.

Always but the ,net or .org if they are available they will give you a massive boost. If the keyword is a winner contact the existing owners ofthe REAL emd's to see if you can buy them.

i bought an emd 4 months ago that was ranking page 6 and it's now making me $1,800 a month. I nabbed it for $350.

bartgatsby · Dec 12, 2011

Even a keyword + any word .com .net .org works.

lineguy · Dec 12, 2011

madoctopus said:
The more dashes you have, the worst, but combining no dashes and dashes (e.g. best-purpleWidget.com) is even worse.

Source for this?

hiimanshu · Dec 12, 2011

if you are seo expert or have enough understanding about seo then with or without dash it dosen't matter. Just register your domain and bulid backlinks.

XIDOTCOMIX · Dec 12, 2011

I never use dashes, because if you want to grow traffic to your site over time... one of the factors I always keep in mind is leveraging "Word of Mouth"

And it's very hard for people to just tell a friend or co-worker about your site if it has a dash in it.

finerpleasures · Dec 12, 2011

Stop worrying so much about EMDs. They just don't carry much weight anymore. They're nice to have but don't beat yourself up over it. You're better off buying an aged domain in the same niche with related keywords. You may even be able to snag the old content and possibly some PR out of it.

I second this - emd's are a waste of "time". And, i dont like waiting for money, and it's much better to buy an old domain with some reputation with related keywords if possible.

You can blast away with this, no waiting - except to buy the domain name.

monk13 · Apr 11, 2012

i've had enough campaigns i've run using both dashes and without dashes, also read a bit from google regarding how they interpret dashes
dashes domains will usually rank lower (slightly) than non dashed domains, the reason i say usually is...
(and this is my favorite way to explain this to clients as well, it always gets a chuckle)
dashes in domains are sometimes necessary, there was once a company that sold pens, they registered penisland dot com,
now...they got a lot of traffic because of their name, but...it was the wrong kind of traffic, they were constantly miscategorized under adult
and all they did was sell pens
a dash was necessary in that domain because without one, google is not sure where to seperate the words.
the same goes for any emd term where the ending of one word could combine with the beginning of another
dashed emd will rank higher than non dashed in that instance if all else was equal

Are EMDs with dashes in domain less valuable?

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