Does domain name matter for SEO?

You will only catch me using an ugly domain name to redirect to a good domain name. At a point, even if the name didnt hurt seo, some names are just horrid.

Your domain name doesn't necessarily determine the topic of your website, but it can give search engines an idea of what your website is about. It's more important to have high-quality content and relevant keywords that match what users are searching for. So, yes, you can rank with a domain name like "start-a-business.com" even if your website is about entertainment or news.

It can affect a little bit

sageshark said:

Not a good idea.
As other people suggested above, don't use '-' in 2023.
Go for an aged expired domain name if you want to avoid the sandbox.

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Is an expired domain actually, it did took alot of effort to get this and it do have '-'

DR 46?



Go for it bro!

sageshark said:

DR 46?

Go for it bro!

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Thank u, I've purchased it already yesterday the very moment it became available.
Let's see how it goes

it doesn't affect that much but is a plus, everything that give you a little more discoverability is welcome.

Norman_drey said:

I got a domain and its name for example is "start-a-business.com and I wanna use it for entertainmet/news blog, will I rank with it? Does it even matter?

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Yes, like @RoiBox said... Domain name can have an impact on SEO, but it is not the only factor that search engines consider when ranking a website. While using a domain name that includes relevant keywords can help in some cases, it is not a guarantee for higher rankings.
It's important to note that content quality, relevance, and user experience are among the most important ranking factors for search engines. Therefore, having high-quality and relevant content that matches your website's topic is crucial for ranking higher in search results.
In addition to that, having a domain name that is easy to remember, brandable, and reflects your website's purpose and identity can also help with user engagement and attracting backlinks, which can indirectly improve your SEO performance.
Overall, while domain name is not the only factor in SEO, it is important to consider it as part of your overall SEO strategy along with other crucial factors like content quality, relevance, and user experience.

Without (-) hyphen, Domain look good and much effective too.
Just avoiding using hyphen and other punctuation, domain name seems natural and also easy to remember

As allways: It depends.
A Domain name can have influence on new sites, mostly in terms of indexing and stuff like this. In the really early stages and we might only speak about hours. For rankings it is basicly irrelevant. The URL can have influence, though.
And there are other domain metrics, that actually matter