What are hyphenated domain names? Are hyphenated domain names worth investing in?

Hyphenated domain names refer to domain names where words or word fragments are separated by hyphens (-). For instance, in "example-domain.com," the hyphen is used to separate the words "example" and "domain." Hyphenated domain names are typically used to address readability issues between different words in a domain, as spaces or other separators are not allowed in domain names.

Many domain investors tend to avoid hyphenated domain names. There are two opposing views among domain investors on this matter, with a significant split in their opinions according to relevant surveys. Around 30% of individuals plan to increase their holdings of hyphenated domain names, while nearly an equal number express intentions to sell off most of their current holdings of hyphenated domain names.

1. Sales Data for Hyphenated .com Domains from Five Years Ago (NameBio Database)

Sales figures for both hyphenated and non-hyphenated domain extensions and their average prices can be examined. The data cited below includes sales amounts of $100 or more, and the statistics quoted below are updated until October 22, 2019.

- Over the past five years, hyphenated .com domain names have averaged 1,213 sales per year, while the total annual sales for .com domains averaged around 70,200. Thus, sales of hyphenated domain names account for 1.7% of total .com sales. The average sale price for domain names containing at least one hyphen is $658, compared to an overall average sale price of $1,518 for all domains over the five-year period, more than twice as much as the former.

- Looking specifically at 2017, sales of hyphenated domain names comprised nearly 1.5% of all .com domain sales, with an average price of $783 compared to the overall average of $1,471.

- In 2018, 1.8% of sales included hyphens, with an average price of $562 compared to the overall average price of $1,259.

- So far in 2019, hyphenated domain names account for 2.5% of total .com sales. The average sale price for hyphenated domain names is only $480, while the total .com sales amount to $1,335. However, it should be noted that the $30 million sale of voice.com significantly impacted the average price for 2019. Excluding this transaction, the average price would be around $944 instead of $1,335.

The statistics seem to support the claim that hyphenated .com domain names have been selling more frequently recently, although they still represent less than 3% of all .com sales. In terms of pricing, the average sale price for hyphenated domain names is lower than the overall sales for this extension.

2. Highest Sales Figures for Hyphenated Domains

The following lists the highest sales values for hyphenated domains in 2019, according to NameBio:

1. blog-city.com: $30,500

2. education-world.com: $20,022

3. SEO-browser.com: $16,750

4. art-invest.com: $9,934

5. KPMG-institutes.com: $8,601

6. norse-corp.com: $8,600

7. body-fit.com: $6,591

8. webcreator-fr.com: $6,426

9. be-u.com: $6,047

10. BMI-calculator.com: $5,885

It also lists the highest sales values ever:

1. hotel-reservation.com: $200,916 (2009)

2. 18-wheeler.com: $82,390 (2007)

3. faire-part.com: $59,056 (2008)

4. sci-fi.com: $50,000 (2017)

5. black-jack.com: $49,657 (2017)

6. online-games.com: $48,000 (2012)

7. assurance-vie.com: $43,500 (2009)

8. bike-components.com: $42,577 (2012)

9. all-in.com: $40,000 (2008)

10. web-design.com: $38,498 (2013)

3. Are Hyphenated Domain Names a Good Investment?

The percentage of sales and average prices alone cannot answer whether hyphenated domain names are a reasonable investment. We need to consider the probability of domain names selling within each category to help answer this question. It's possible that hyphens only account for 1% of sales, but if hardly anyone is using them, they might be a poorer investment for those holding them.