— Hyphens in Domain Names Facts
Why not add a hyphen if it adds value for customers?
Domain naming conventions have evolved as new ideas develop into strategies. We see the connection between 1-Keyword domain names looking like a phone number and a phone centric industry like pizza.
People still call to order pizza so we see value in the use of the hyphen.
Google Guide: Interpreting Search Queries
Interpreting Your Query
Understanding how Google treats your search terms will help you devise effective queries and revise ineffective ones.
Hyphenated Terms
Because some people spell hyphenated words with a hyphen and others with a space, Google searches for variations on any hyphenated terms.
When Google encounters a hyphen (–) in a query term, e.g., [ part-time ], it searches for:
- the term with the hyphen, e.g., part-time
- the term without the hyphen, e.g., parttime
- the term with the hyphen replaced by a space, e.g., part time
- [ part-time ] matches “part-time,” “part time,” and “parttime”
- [ part time ] matches “part-time” and “part time”, but
- [ “part time” ] (with quotes) is better for space-separated words
Also:
Note: Google may search for variations of your query terms that are included in the online dictionary that Google uses.
- [ non profit ] matches “non-profit,” “nonprofit,” and “non profit”
If you aren’t sure whether a word is hyphenated, go ahead and search for it with a hyphen.
Click less, Eat more Pizza. ©