Why John Mueller Of Google Is Not A Fan Of Keyword Hyphenated Domains

Feb 16, 2023 - 7:31 am 4 by

Google Dashes Hyphens Underscores

Google's John Mueller posted at Reddit why he is not a fan of using keyword-rich hyphenated domains. He said, "I'm not a fan of keyword-keyword domains, but YMMV."

He then listed his "random thoughts" on why he is not a fan of such domain names and it includes:

  • Everyone thinks you're a spammer
  • Changing business focus, or even expanding, is harder
  • You have no brand name, there's nothing that people can search for which "obviously" should show your site. You're always competing, you're not building value with long-term users.

You wonder why we went with RustyBrick in the early 90s?

Do you agree?

Forum discussion at Reddit.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: January 23, 2026

Jan 23, 2026 - 10:00 am
Search Video Recaps

Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Search Double Heated, Personal Intelligence in AI Mode, ChatGPT Ads & Apple Siri Updates Coming

Jan 23, 2026 - 8:01 am
Google

Google Search Gains Personal Intelligence In AI Mode

Jan 23, 2026 - 7:51 am
Google

Google Falls Back To Featured Snippets When AI Overviews Don't Generate

Jan 23, 2026 - 7:41 am
Google Ads

Google Ads PMax Asset Group Editing Bug

Jan 23, 2026 - 7:31 am
Google Maps

Gemini Local Results Insights Into How Google Interprets Your Business

Jan 23, 2026 - 7:21 am
 
Previous Story: Survey Says SEO Think Microsoft will Gain Less Than 5% Market Share From Google