Would you rethink the name..?

tripple

Hi ,

I am starting a business.The name i have chosen is very good and I am very happy with it.but...

The problem is the .com domain name is not available but the .ie is.
Would you rethink the business name if you could not get the .com domain name to match..?

Also if it is a long businees name are you best to abreviate for the internet or stick with the exact company name..?

Few questions there..!!!

Looking forward to the advice..Thanks

Joseph

No, quite the opposite actually, if you're an Irish business .ie is better - gives a better impression, and if you've managed to get a good name (fair play ) hold onto it

I'd rethink the name if i wanted to do international business although this really is a matter of opinion.

Bob the Builder

if the opportnity existed to purchase the .com domain, take it, otherwise, stick with .ie and all the rest and go with them. Go to www.who.is and check who owns the domain, and contact them to see how much they would sell it for.

If their demands are ridiculous, don't fret, just leave .com out of the equation. The only exception to this is an ecommerce site - if so, be careful.

adrian.s

This is funny, I know so many people chasing their respective .com domains including myself!

What's not so funny is how difficult it seems to actually buy your domain from the guys that are sitting on them. In my case, they started out by looking for 6K which I don't think we're going to do business as. If you start to dig a little deeper into the whole business of domain names, it's becomes very frightening. You see entire conferences being organised around domain auctions, techniques to maximise the value of your domain name portfolio and huge companies buying up swathes of domain names. It's the internets equivalent of the used car market, so beware.

If you can live without your .com domain (and lots of successful companies can) then go for it. As long as your site comes up first in a google search that's really what matters. Whoever is sitting on your actual name will not want to feature in the search at all, as they then can find themselves in a legal situation "passing of" as you. In that case you pay your money and forcefully remove it from them using WIPO.

Good luck.

Adrian.

Good tips Adrian. What does WIPO mean? Is that the search engine optimization stuff?

adrian.s

Deleted User wrote: »

Good tips Adrian. What does WIPO mean? Is that the search engine optimization stuff?

It's the World Intellectual Property Organisation [1] who can resolve disputes around domain name ownership. It's an interesting site to browse, particularly the results of their arbitrations.

A.



[1] WIPO

Darragh29

I woudn't worry about the domain extension to be honest OP. I'd just secure one and maybe keep an eye on the .com domain in the future. .ie would probably be much more attractive for the domestic market anyway...

kazzer

What are peoples views on the whole .com versus .ie thing? Lets say your market is Ireland, does it really make a difference that your domain is a .com? From a consumer point of view, is there significantly more confidence in a .ie?

Lets say you cannot secure a .ie but you can secure a .com. Or simply because its simpler to register a .com.

Personally I would imagine that it would not matter that much these days, as people have become so used to just typing a web address into the address bar.

Whats your views?....

Darragh29

kazzer wrote: »

What are peoples views on the whole .com versus .ie thing? Lets say your market is Ireland, does it really make a difference that your domain is a .com? From a consumer point of view, is there significantly more confidence in a .ie?

Lets say you cannot secure a .ie but you can secure a .com. Or simply because its simpler to register a .com.

Personally I would imagine that it would not matter that much these days, as people have become so used to just typing a web address into the address bar.

Whats your views?....

I suppose it depends on what you are buying. I think it's a pychological issue but in the back of my head, I'd be thinking that if it a .ie domain, then there is an address in Ireland I can go to if there is a problem or a phone number but I wouldn't expect that with a .com address. I know that this is purely in my head!

Darragh29

Darragh29 wrote: »

I suppose it depends on what you are buying. I think it's a pychological issue but in the back of my head, I'd be thinking that if it a .ie domain, then there is an address in Ireland I can go to if there is a problem or a phone number but I wouldn't expect that with a .com address. I know that this is purely in my head!

No that's a good point as I'm kind of the same. I'd think with .ie that someone is closer for me to deal with and that it's less likely to go wrong.

But then again, if i see a .ie website with prices, i'll automatically assume I can get cheaper on a .com website instead and will search on .coms!

lanod2407

Research shows that people prefer to have a local site suffix - so I'd recommend that you have a .ie if trading in Ireland, and also make sure that it's available in other planned countries, and for the .com ideally.

If the .com or .ie is gone ....... then picture people trying to find your site and finding another business on the .com or .ie - definitely not what you want.

A great name is only great if you can use it everywhere you need to, including onlin; and if it "translates" well in other countries. .... when Americans go on holiday they store their money and passports in their 'fanny-pack' ............ we don't!!!!

Trojan

.ie vs .com

If your target visitors are from Ireland, a .ie is sufficient, and good for increasing trust (Irish people know it’s not easy to get .ie)

If a good percentage of your target visitors are from outside Ireland then go with .com

If all of your customers are from outside Ireland then definitely go with .com

Clytus

...what about .eu?

Joseph

.eu is nice, but not well known so when people see it their not sure about it

lanod2407

Agree - not as well established and therefore not as strong