A WebmasterWorld thread asks if the format of a title tag matter much in terms of SEO?
Excluding your the keywords you are placing in the title tag, just thinking about the format of the keyword you put in that title tag, does it matter?
Examples:
- Red Widgets–Red Widget Supplier
- Red Widget – Red Widget Supplier
- Red Widget ¦ Red Widget Supplier
- Red Widget : Red Widget Supplier
Now, everyone in the thread is in agreement that Google will ignore all those characters. So you can technically go with any version you like. It should not make a difference in terms of how well your page ranks in the search engine if you choose a : over a -. Note, this is not the URL formatting of the page, it is the title tag.
Now, the rest is a matter of personal preference and what you think may lead to a higher click through rate from the search results.
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.