closed As it seems that hyphenated domains are the next big growth area .......

[DomainPairs]

I thought I'd use any-domain.com (Any hyphen domain of course) as a site to list my hyphenated names. As the new vibrant web entrepreneurs come to the net, they are looking for names and all those dry old concatenations that are locked up in name banks don't rock any more. Take a name like thee.com - a 4 letter word without much magic or sales potential. Add a hyphen and what have you got - the-E.com , a great new Internet magazine?

So do you think I'm right to use any-domain.com to take me into this brave new world.

 

[Anthony Ng]

I don't know how they speak English back in INGland (speak with a cockney accent, LOL!), I've only been to London twice and haven't really watched any British television for quite a while since Prime Suspect. But over here, when you say the domain name out loud, any-domain.com will be "any dash domain dot com" or "any hyphen domain dot com". Not particularly articulative. And unlike the Chinese who prefer to spell out the domain names (e.g. "J-U-N-E dot com" instead of "June dot com"), one of the most important factor when pricing a domain name is its flow of sound. Hey, am I talking about poetry?

 

[DomainPairs]

I'm afraid I'm not a cockney.

My understanding is that a hyphen is a symbol used to join two words together. Dash means to shatter to pieces, to confound or numerous other things. It can be used in writing where it is used to mark a break in sense and usually has a blank character before and after. However it wasn't my intention to start another didactic thread, or another comment on the English/American rift.

I think that hyphenated names are the great undeveloped terrain at the moment. Maybe in a few years you will be saying "any domain without the hyphen". Surfers are people and people are used to reading words with delimiters, why should domain names be different now that a delimiter is permitted?

 

[Desi]

Originally posted by DomainPairs
I think that hyphenated names are the great undeveloped terrain at the moment. Maybe in a few years you will be saying "any domain without the hyphen". Surfers are people and people are used to reading words with delimiters, why should domain names be different now that a delimiter is permitted?

Just a couple of hunches DomainPairs, one that you're proibably sitting on a heap of "hyphenated" names and second that most/all of these are .coms !! You see, the workings of human mind are very complex but often quite intersting. One of the things it does for its beholder is to portray things, situations, possibilities, etc. as if they're being seen in the light of "objective" facts without ever letting it be known that the picture is actually deeply colored with sub (un) concious hopes, desires and dreams. Good Luck with your "objective" analysis and predictions!

 

[Biggie]

When you get your-site up, let me know. I got a few-domains
to list.

 

[DomainPairs]

I used to have quite a few hyphenated names. In fact that is the reason I used the name Domain Pairs. I looked for pairs of names for clients with and without the magic "-". The idea was to use one as a primary domain and have the other on a different ip address linking to it. Not many people agreed with me, so I've let a lot of the "pairs" drop.

The two things that triggered this post were the attack on the-E.com and my spotting any-domains.com, and I thought what a waste.

I reg'd www.barn-owls.com for an Ebay trader, and I think this is a great name for her. What a shame if traditional attitudes discouraged her from using it.

 

[schmidte]

Thanks Domain Pairs for using my www.The-E.com I'm still licking my wounds from that thread...........I still like it though.....

But since then, I've been doing alittle research on hyphenated names. And this is what I've come up with so far.

1. Some web marketing sites reccommend you register both the unhyphenated and hyphenated names (if possible). The unhyphenated name is easier to remember and convey to someone and the hyphenated because this makes the keywords clear to search engines because the words are separated. Some claim that the hyphenated names have actually had a higher SE rank.


Here's an excerpt from:YOU SNOOZE -- YOU LOSE, by Patrick Anderson - Author of Right On The Money

"He goes on to mention examples like phone-phones.com and mobile-cellular.com, then notes that "After some experimentation the hyphenated domains did slightly better in search results than the non hyphenated ones. The hyphen seems to act as a delimiter."

2. They (hyphenated) are often easier on the eyes (that often play tricks): for example, life-with-art.com is clear. lifewithart.com could appear to be Life With Hart.

3. Hyphenated names broaden your choice. For example, fishinglures.com may be taken but fishing-lures.com may still be available. This is good if you want a .com instead of another extension.

4.BUT, hypens are not easy to clarify over the telephone, nor do people instinctively search for hyphenated names.


BOTTOM LINE:
I think it all comes down to personal preference AND how much effort you wat to put into promoting it. It's probably true that the resale value is low, but that shouldn't be the reason not to use one.

I would venture to say that even if some of the HYPHEN and E HATERS had the oppotunity to snag e-trade or e-business or any-other high profile E-domain-name they would.

PS: Could someone explain "DeLimiter" to me.

FYI:
As of 31 Dec. 2002 there are:
798,447 names registered with e- in them
179,154 names registered with i- in them
10,981 names registered with double hyphen
504,465 names registered with s- in them

 

[DomainPairs]

A delimiter is a character that marks the end of a string, like the dot at the end of a sentence. Part of the problem with spoken domain names with hyphens is that they are new(ish) and looked down on. Surfers therefore don't encounter so many, and of course the "old" sites don't use them. As they become more popular, they will be more easily recognised and therefore more valuable.

I liked the-E.com as an internet news site. This trades on the old e concept as well. "e" and "i" prefixes I always though of as gimmicky and I'm glad they are fading out. Ebay is now a word in it's own right and has lost it's link with the old "e" concept.

 

[Duke]

Originally posted by DomainPairs
do you think I'm right to use any-domain.com to take me into this brave new world.

It depends on whether or not bankruptcy is part of the plan for your brave new world.

Since hyphenated names have extremely low or non-existent resale value I think you are wasting your time putting up a sales site for hyphenated names. People may register them once in awhile for their own development projects but very few people are paying anything for them on the aftermarket.

 

[mole]

For the last time, hyphens may be good for search-engines since they parse key words, but very poor for secondary market resale.

 

[DomainPairs]

They are only poor because they are not fashionable at the moment. There have been a lot worse fashions in the past "e"s and "i"s for example. I'd rather spec. on hyphens than on .ws or .biz (ne resale) for example.

Anyway I've categorised my domains into about 6 different sites, so it makes sense to have another one for unfashionable hyphens.

I do agree that you have to be careful with hyphens though, DN-forum doesn't work in my opinion. What would you do with another of my names though - carscare.com. Is it CatsCare or CatScare. Maybe a hyphen would be useful here.

 

[Anthony Ng]

>DomainPairs: What would you do with another of my names though - carscare.com. Is it CatsCare or CatScare. Maybe a hyphen would be useful here.

Actually, this is exactly why a name professional is needed. The confusion of catscare.com makes it a less valuable name than say catcare.com.

 

[DomainPairs]

What's domain professional got to do with it. The "professionals" are recommending .ws etc. and rubbishing hyphens, they also went heavily into "e"s.

I resent the implied slight and I actually think you are wrong over hyphens, but time will tell. In the meantime it's fun to debate the possibilities. Hyphens are being traded and they will increase in value as the net expands. Some names have massive potential as had the Ebay name. I think that the-E.com that was rubbished is one of those. In fact I nearly registered the-O.com but I decided I've got enough adult names.

Having said all that, I freely admit that I am an amateur. I'm here to learn, to have some fun, and enjoy a treasure hunt and intellectual challenge. I also enjoy making a bit of money out of it.

So lets look at the professional approach. I bought catscare.com off a drop because I thought that with capitals it would be a fun addition to a name list and maybe I'd get $25-$50 for it. Everybody knows catcare.com is better, but it's established and not for sale. My point is that cat-care.com is probably better than catscare.com.

 

[CoolHost.com]

"For the last time, hyphens may be good for search-engines since they parse key words, but very poor for secondary market resale."

What Mole said! Period. Sorry.
Good Luck.

 

[DomainPairs]

For what will undoubtedly not be the last time, names are now of lesser importance to search engines due to the purchase of misleading portal sites.

Users are buying hyphenated names, and as they become more popular their values will increase. Never forget it is the customer that places the final value on a name by buying it.

I am amazed that everyone rubbishes them. I thought we were here to sell names, not to make sure they stay unreg'd.

 

[CoolHost.com]

"I am amazed that everyone rubbishes them. I thought we were here to sell names, not to make sure they stay unreg'd."

Good Luck, Domainpairs!

 

[Drewbert]

>"I am amazed that everyone rubbishes them. I thought we were here to sell names, not to make sure they stay unreg'd."

Depends, are you comfortable selling snake oil, or would you rather sell useful domains at fair prices?

 

[Tee]

I think hyphenated names have their place. Especially in sets where you get the plurals and related phrases with the goal of working the search engines. If you have a good set it might be very resellable to people who do this. If you have the non hyphened version as well then of course that's really much better.

I have about 5 hyphenated names which as a set are pretty good. And combined with their non hyphened cousins - even better.

 

[GiantDomains]

Originally posted by DomainPairs
Re: As it seems that hyphenated domains are the next big growth area .......

Where did you hear this :weird: Don't go broke on false prophets.

 

[Tee]

The next big growth area is the new media - whatever that is...