Why Hyphens Aren't Used in Domain Names Anymore (2 Viewing)

A consideration that caused hyphenated domain names to fall out of favor is that they have an untrustworthy appearance and that can work against conversion rates because trustworthiness is an important factor for conversions,” Mueller continued. “Lastly, hyphenated domain names look tacky. Why go with tacky when a brandable domain is easier for building trust and conversions?”

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Read more: Google’s John Mueller on Why Hyphens Aren’t Used in Domain Names Anymore | Strategic Revenue - Domain and Internet News

I live in a twin city called Kitchener-Waterloo and everywhere you look it is spelled with a hyphen so I acquired the domain name Kitchener-Waterloo.com which compliments the other two I have, Kitchener.com & Waterloo.com

You could say I basically own my home town

Some companies use a hyphen in their name like Mercedes-Benz.ca

Germany is huge for the hyphenated market, I have often seen webmasters pass on the non hyphenated name in favour of a hyphen.

If you want to see a nice forum of German Domain names you can visit: domainfragen.de

domainfragen translates to Domain Questions.

Hyphens still work for domains, but only when it's the proper form, and they can't be a 'forced usage' Plan B when the actual domain you want is already registered.

If your company is called 'Truth In Advertising' and that domain is taken in .com and .ca, then it's bad form in 2044 to hand-register Truth-in-Advertising.com and then run a business on it. You look like a hobo and I'd hardly trust my money with a garbage name like that.

I think I own one hyphenated domain (rendez-vous.ca) because that is the way the term/word is written and used in French, and I've also had a few inquiries on it.