Hyphenated domains receive 31% less direct traffic than non-hyphenated equivalents. Users forget to type hyphen or don't realize it's there. Traffic leaks to competitor.
The Hyphen Problem
business-solutions.com vs businesssolutions.com. You own hyphenated version. User types without hyphen (70% of the time). Lands on competitor's site. You lose traffic despite better brand recognition.
When Hyphens Might Work
Extremely rare scenario: yourname.com taken, your-name.com available, and you have $0 budget for premium domain. Even then, strongly consider alternative brand name instead.
Defensive Hyphen Strategy
Own businesssolutions.com? Register business-solutions.com defensively. Redirect to non-hyphenated version. Prevents competitor from capturing your mistyped traffic.
Voice Assistant Confusion
"Go to business dash solutions dot com" - confusing. "Go to business solutions dot com" - which version? Voice search era makes hyphens even worse. Voice can't distinguish hyphenated vs non-hyphenated.
Voice ambiguity: User says "best-buy.com" or "bestbuy.com"? Voice assistant can't tell. Routes based on algorithm guess (usually non-hyphenated due to higher traffic history).
SEO Impact of Hyphens
Google treats hyphens as word separators. "best-lawyer.com" reads as "best lawyer". "bestlawyer.com" reads as single word. Hyphen provides slight SEO advantage for keyword matching but hurts CTR by 23%.
Trust and Legitimacy
Spam domains historically used hyphens (best-cheap-pills-online.com). Users subconsciously associate hyphens with low-trust sites. 42% of users hesitate to click hyphenated domains in search results.
Numbers Create Ambiguity
24-7service.com - Is it "247service", "24-7service", "twentyfourseven", "two-four-seven"? Multiple interpretations = fragmented traffic. Some users type one version, some another.
Number Confusion Types
Digit vs spelled-out: "24/7" vs "twenty-four seven". Position of hyphen: "24-7" vs "247". Dash vs slash vs space: "24-7" vs "24/7" vs "24 7". Each variant splits your audience.
When Numbers Are Acceptable
Number is your brand identity: Century21.com (established brand), 7-Eleven.com (trademarked with number). Number is product name: iPhone14.com (Apple could use this). Otherwise: avoid numbers.
Number branding exception: If business name legally includes number ("21st Century Solutions LLC"), using "21stCenturySolutions.com" is consistent branding. But spell out "st" not "21century".
Radio Test Failure
Imagine domain advertised on radio: "Visit best dash lawyer dot com" - confusing. "Visit two four seven service dot com" - ambiguous. Radio test: Say domain once, can listener type it correctly?
Email Address Professionalism
john@best-lawyer.com looks less professional than john@bestlawyer.com in email signature. Hyphen suggests couldn't get "real" domain. Perception matters in B2B communications.
Competitive Vulnerability
Competitor registers non-hyphenated version of your hyphenated domain. They get 60-70% of your intended traffic for free. Legal recourse limited unless trademark registered (and even then, complicated).
Defensive Registration Cost
To prevent leakage, you'd need to register both versions. Annual cost: $20-30. Eliminates hyphen issue but raises question: why not just use non-hyphenated as primary from start?
Mobile Keyboard Friction
Typing hyphen on mobile: Switch from letter keyboard to symbol keyboard. Adds 2 extra taps and cognitive load. 18% of mobile users abandon if domain requires symbol keyboard switch.
Mobile abandonment: Each keyboard switch during typing increases form abandonment by 6-8%. Hyphen = one switch. Number (if not on letter keyboard) = another switch. Cumulative friction.
Alternative Solutions
Instead of hyphens/numbers: Abbreviate (BizSolutions.com not Business-Solutions.com), use creative spelling (Flickr, Tumblr), add prefix (GetBusinessSolutions.com), change extension (.solutions, .biz).
Legacy Domain Situations
Already own hyphenated domain with established brand? Cost-benefit: Rebrand to non-hyphenated (expensive, confusing) vs continue with hyphen (ongoing traffic leakage). Usually keep if traffic is stable.
Trademark Lens checks domain availability for clean, professional names without hyphens or numbers - maximize memorability and trust from day one.