Do high-ranking websites that use hyphens prove that hyphens benefit SEO?

No. The fact that high-ranking websites use hyphens only shows that this URL format can coexist with strong search performance; it does not prove that hyphens caused those rankings. Stack Exchange can serve as a reference for URL formatting, but the claim that switching to hyphens improves rankings still lacks evidence that separates the effects of hyphens from those of other factors. A website adopting a format, documentation recommending a format, and that format improving rankings are three different things.

High-ranking examples demonstrate a practice, not its effectiveness

Some participants in the discussion pointed to Stack Exchange’s high rankings and use of hyphens in URLs as reasons to adopt the same format. Others argued that because its team understands SEO, its choices are worth considering. Critics noted that this still does not establish causation: we do not know whether hyphens were chosen for SEO reasons, because of the URL rewriting system, or for some other reason.

• “It uses hyphens” is an observation about URL format.
• “It ranks well” describes search performance.
• “It ranks well because of hyphens” adds an inference that has not been proven.

In its overview of MOZ’s 2013 correlation study, awoo also explicitly cautioned that the study identified characteristics common among high-ranking pages, not proof that search engines use those factors to determine rankings. This is a limitation to keep in mind when interpreting that historical study, not a direct test of the effects of hyphens.

Formatting recommendations are not promises of higher rankings

The Google documentation quoted in the discussion recommends using hyphens rather than underscores in URLs. A participant explained that hyphens can act as word separators, making words in URLs easier to identify. This addresses the choice of format more directly than “major websites do it too,” but provides no evidence of how much rankings would improve after switching to hyphens.

The discussion also included a different view: one participant argued that URL keywords should not matter because the title and main heading usually contain the same keywords and are more prominent. This is the participant’s judgment about search and user needs, not something that can be recast as an official Google rule. Neither position should be stretched into a claim that “hyphens are guaranteed to work” or that “URL format is completely irrelevant.”

Domain examples and early experiences cannot be applied directly either

A 2026 Search Engine Journal article lists brands such as Mercedes-Benz and Coca-Cola that use hyphenated domains. The author takes these examples as evidence that hyphens themselves carry no hidden penalty; each of the listed brand examples uses one hyphen. But “being able to rank normally” is not the same as “receiving a ranking boost because of it,” and domain-name examples cannot directly establish the effects of separators in URL paths.

The article also looks back at an earlier period when keyword-containing hyphenated domains often ranked well, and notes that some industry practitioners believed domain keywords were helpful as late as 2006. These accounts concern specific periods and combine factors such as keywords, website quality, and hyphens. High-ranking websites can therefore be treated as examples of adoption, but not as proof that hyphens independently improve SEO.