Domain name syntax

oldBastard

oldBastard

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I want to register a domain, but the .co.za is being held "randsom", well not really, some schmuck went and registered it and is asking US$1,150.00 for it, over R12k, not going to pay that.

So what I can do, it is three letters originally, I can add two more letters to it to make sense and possibly more descriptive.

So what would the better syntax be, keeping SEO in mind and all that stuff, xxxyy.co.za or xxx-yy.co.za, with hyphen?

Those two formats are available and still make it easy to remember and typing it.

I would prefer the hyphen as it separates the two, yay or nay for hyphens in domain names.
 
Mike Cuss from Google had a talk about this sometime, I think he said it makes no difference for SEO.

I'd pick the hyphenated one too.
 
nand said:
Mike Cuss from Google had a talk about this sometime, I think he said it makes no difference for SEO.

I'd pick the hyphenated one too.
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Interesting.

So far most people are suggesting stay away from hyphenated domain names.

The problem with hyphens
So it looks like hyphens in domain names do mean lower positing in Google’s SERP. If Oliver had the non-hyphenated domain name from the start, it’s likely that he’d have won our SEO challenge).

I’ve heard people advising not using hyphens in domain names for years, but always for the reason that it’s hard to understand when you read it aloud, or more difficult to remember. Not for SEO reasons. But now I’ve got proof that Google will favour non-hyphenated domains.

We know that our test isn’t entirely scientific, and it’s based on one isolated incident. But what I hope this shows is that choosing the right domain name is crucial to success. If you’re setting up a new site, here’s some classic advice for choosing the right domain name from the SEOmoz blog.
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How one tiny hyphen destroyed our SEO efforts

They did their little test based on this 2007 blog, a really old blog, but how relevant is it today?

Reject Hyphens and Numbers
Both hyphens and numbers make it hard to give your domain name verbally and falls down on being easy to remember or type. I'd suggest not using spelled-out or roman numerals in domains, as both can be confusing and mistaken for the other.
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12 Rules for Choosing the Right Domain Name

Will try to dig a little more and see if I can find anything for at least the last two years.
 
2. Avoid Dashes In Domain Names
Select a domain that is your brand or represents your business in a concise, professional manner without dashes. Do not worry about keywords. While I do not know of any technical reason not to use dashes in domain names, from a practical perspective, they look cheap and compromising. That may raise a caution flag when you reach out for links and citations.

One of the primary reasons people select hyphenated domains is to insert keywords. Last year Google updated its algorithms to dampen the exact match domain benefit. However, long before this, the success of numerous brand name domains, many verging on the ludicrous, proved you do not need a keyword rich domain to succeed.
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9 SEO Quirks You Should Be Aware Of

Something more recent.
 
@DWPTA, our opinion is slightly different; think of the domain name as your business and the right business address could be the difference between success or failure. Why do shops pay such high rentals in a shopping centre or do franchisees pay huge fees to get a franchise, it is all about having the name and the brand.

These are some questions you should ask yourself with that 3 letter domain that you want,
• Is it your brand?
• Will it be better for your business to have the 3 letter domain
• Will it generate greater sales

And if the answer to the above is yes, ~R12k is a small price to pay for the right business name that meets the requirements
 
nand said:
Mike Cuss from Google had a talk about this sometime, I think he said it makes no difference for SEO.
Click to expand...

There are too many factors influencing SEO ranking for a single event to effect a pages score. From what I recall is that domain name. The country code is more important and needs to reflect your content but even then google contradicts themsevles on this one.

nand said:
I'd pick the hyphenated one too.
Click to expand...

I would not. Usability issue. You need to think how would a mobile user type it in. Better to register both and then alias the hyphen one.

eg:
i-love-ockie.co.za -> iloveockie.co.za
 
If I were you, I'd get both the hyphenated and the non-hyphenated version to prevent a similar domain squatter, and to protect your brand name.

I'd redirect the traffic on the hyphenated to non-hyphenated.
 
Domains.co.za (Wayne) said:
@DWPTA, our opinion is slightly different; think of the domain name as your business and the right business address could be the difference between success or failure. Why do shops pay such high rentals in a shopping centre or do franchisees pay huge fees to get a franchise, it is all about having the name and the brand.

These are some questions you should ask yourself with that 3 letter domain that you want,
• Is it your brand?
• Will it be better for your business to have the 3 letter domain
• Will it generate greater sales

And if the answer to the above is yes, ~R12k is a small price to pay for the right business name that meets the requirements
Click to expand...

I agree what you are saying, but by adding the last two characters, gives it more definition to the name.
 
cbrunsdonza;12835685. said:
eg:
i-love-ockie.co.za -> iloveockie.co.za
Click to expand...

The real question is.......does ockie know?

Hyphens look dodgy and unprofessional for domain names. Nuf said
 
cbrunsdonza said:
There are too many factors influencing SEO ranking for a single event to effect a pages score. From what I recall is that domain name. The country code is more important and needs to reflect your content but even then google contradicts themsevles on this one.



I would not. Usability issue. You need to think how would a mobile user type it in. Better to register both and then alias the hyphen one.

eg:
i-love-ockie.co.za -> iloveockie.co.za
Click to expand...

scudsucker said:
If I were you, I'd get both the hyphenated and the non-hyphenated version to prevent a similar domain squatter, and to protect your brand name.

I'd redirect the traffic on the hyphenated to non-hyphenated.
Click to expand...

imranpanji said:
The real question is.......does ockie know?

Hyphens look dodgy and unprofessional for domain names. Nuf said
Click to expand...

Was thinking it by registering both and using the non-hyphen one. Thanks for the input.
 
I have put an alert on the original one and maybe on later stage buy, as cash flow is very tight for now. Will see if I can get capital somewhere and just buy it.
 
DWPTA said:
I have put an alert on the original one and maybe on later stage buy, as cash flow is very tight for now. Will see if I can get capital somewhere and just buy it.
Click to expand...

Unless the domain name is your brand, you will be better off spending that R12K on your actual site than your domain with some advertising and quality SEO.
 
cbrunsdonza said:
Unless the domain name is your brand, you will be better off spending that R12K on your actual site than your domain with some advertising and quality SEO.
Click to expand...

Like I said adding the two characters to it gives the name more meaning, I will try my best to get it. If I can I will in all likelihood point it to xxxyy.co.za anyways, as I have decided to go with this format, xxxyy.co.za
 
Anything other than alpha numeric is bad.

It is harder to type no matter the device.

Not to mention older generation don't believe in things like hyphens. I doubt the # generation like them much either.

You may want to consider buying the .com and redirecting to your .co.za

I did a web-site for my mom and bought co.za & .com both for like R150 or something. Then HTTP 301 (permanent redirect) the .com to your .co.za

I did a static page so I simply put it into an Amazon S3 bucket which is free (for 5GB of data and 20 000 get requests per month). So up until now, spent R150 for 99.999% availability :p
 
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