What Domain Would You Choose for SEO purposes?

Recently, I found a keyword that I wanted to target and decided I would check to see if the domain was available. Of course, the .com was taken but the .net and .org were available.  I don’t mind developing domain names with either of these extensions but since it was a two word keyword, I also searched to see if putting a dash between the keywords was available. The dash .com was also  available. The last domain name option would be to add another keyword to the domain to get the .com.

The basic problem with .net, .org and dash is you you may lose traffic to the .com.

Using a domain with an added  keyword  makes the domain harder to remember and you may not get as much search engine benefit of having the exact keyword match.

I have used all of the above domain buying options except using a dash. So I bought a dash domain name and will report on how it goes.  I may buy a couple more to get a general idea on whether the search engine benefit is as much as you would get as if you used .net/.org counterparts.

I run into this question quite often and haven’t decided which type of domain name I prefer. I usually end up picking one and then the next time I have the problem go with a different option…I figure it can’t hurt changing it up because long term no one knows how google will rank extensions and dash domains but if anyone has any evidence or thoughts on which is best currently…let me know.