A couple URL questions

[beachbum]

So I have a poker affiliate site that does not have the word 'poker' in the main URL. As I write and create new pages, is it best to put 'poker' somewhere in every URL? If so, should I just create a 'Poker' subfolder, or put it in the file name? As an example, let's say I want to create a page about satellites, which is the best URL for it?

1) mywebsite.com/satellites.html
2) mywebsite.com/poker/satellites.html
3) mywebsite.com/poker-satellites.html


Another question: when I get a new domain for a new poker affiliate site in the future, is it best to have the URL all one word, or hyphened? As another example, which one is best (or does it not really matter)?

1) newpokerwebsite.net
2) new-poker-website.net

[pokerprop]

For question #1: Personally I feel this is a matter of opinion and I do have an opinion but will let others here that can give better answers respond first.

For question #2: always go without the - when possible. No dash is more user friendly which is a key basis of search optimization that everything else just works around.

[Michael Martinez]

So I have a poker affiliate site that does not have the word 'poker' in the main URL. As I write and create new pages, is it best to put 'poker' somewhere in every URL? If so, should I just create a 'Poker' subfolder, or put it in the file name?

There are 200+ factors that a search engine like Google takes into consideration when assessing the relevance of a document to any given query. Keyword in the URL is one of those 200+ factors.

It might help, it might in fact be the straw you need to break your competitor's back.

Then again, you might get sick of "poker-this" and "poker-that".

If there were no search engines, what would you prefer to do? What do you think would be most likely to get a visitor to the site to follow through on your call to action?

Would a self-labeling URL help?

Another question: when I get a new domain for a new poker affiliate site in the future, is it best to have the URL all one word, or hyphened?

It generally makes no difference, although some people hold the opinion that using more than one hyphen in a domain name might trigger a little extra algorithmic scrutiny.

If you have never had a site banned or penalized, you're probably okay. If you HAVE had a site banned or penalized, and if the new site is traceable to you, it MIGHT raise a little red flag.

If you've had many sites banned or penalized, it won't matter. You're shooting around the 8-ball to begin with.