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information Do Companies in China use Hyphenated Domain Names?

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When it comes to the use of hyphens in domain names, there isn't a global convention. A hyphen in a domain is generally not preferred in the U.S. but commonly used in countries like Japan. Bill Hartzer has written about the negative impact of hyphenated domains on search engine ranking.

Naturally, I thought it would be interesting to research whether there are companies in China running their business(es) on hyphenated domain names. I conducted a small survey with the letter-hyphen-letter pattern (L-L) of .cn domain names, which included 676 domain names. I wrote a small program to generate L-L names, and then I visited their websites one by one. For the first lot, I generated a total of 130 names, starting from a-a, a-b, ..., a-z to e-a, e-b, ..., e-z.

What a surprise! I found so many companies already actively using hyphenated domain names that I decided not to check the remaining 546 domain names. Instead, I spent some time looking at some of the websites I found, and I've included four examples to show how Chinese companies use and value their hyphenated domain names.

A-J.cn
Ai Jia is a kitchen cabinet and closet maker founded in 2002. It is one of the pioneers in the "green home" industry. A-J is an abbreviation for the company name, so the domain name is a good match. The website has a modern and sleek design. A Whois search revealed that the domain was registered in 2005, a year later than that of AJ.cn, which is owned by Chinese domain registrar eName. This suggests that the hyphenated name could be a second choice for the company. AJ.cn has a landing page only.

C-C.cn
Cheng Cheng Electric manufactures switch gears and electrical equipment. The company was founded in 1986 and controls a group of subsidiaries. The website is in Chinese and English. The domain name was registered in 2003 and matches the company name. CC.cn appears to be owned by an unrelated person and listed for sale.

C-M.cn
CM is a registered trademark and marketing service to help Internet retailers capitalize on the massively popular WeChat platform in China. The service is run by a company called Qi Bo. C-M.cn was registered in 2005 and CM.cn appears to be owned by an unrelated person. CM.cn shows eName's domain search and sale page.

D-W.cn
Daili Wang is a portal of general agencies run by Tianxin Software. Daili Wang literally means "agency net." The domain name was registered in 2009 and matches the name of the service. DW.cn was registered in 2003; the domain name is owned by a Beijing-based company called Qian Qin but it does not resolve.

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After reviewing these results, we can see that short, hyphenated domain names are viable in China. However, further study is required to find out whether this applies to longer, Pinyin names as well.



This article was inspired by a question from @briguy. Special thanks go to the NamePros editing team for their general help and support.
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
I have few N-N-N.com and L-L-L.com, one L-L.com, one N-L.com, few L-L.us, few L-L.co (C-V, P-R, T-V)... Besides, L-L.com, haven't received any inquiries ever on the rest. These are not items that move themselves ))
any idea about the value or future of LL-8 or LL-N .com
 
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Got GZ-8.com, is it a good bet??
 
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Well 8-8888.Net is at No Reserve Auction on Flippa. :P
 
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any idea about the value or future of LL-8 or LL-N .com

Let's say this way: there are crazier speculations out there... So LL-8 is not too bad, but you are not going to make a fortune on it and you'd need to actively promote it, not one of those names where you could just sit and wait...
 
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Let's say this way: there are crazier speculations out there... So LL-8 is not too bad, but you are not going to make a fortune on it and you'd need to actively promote it, not one of those names where you could just sit and wait...
Thanks for this wonderful info, I am only hoping for a decent $ xxx sell, any idea about the price??
 
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This is good to know. This was my first foray into double hyphened names, so I'm still learning more every day. I've only sold one hyphenated domain outside of NP, and it was a 2 word .co. Doubt these sell much these days.
 
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any nn-n.com/n-nn.com sales?
 
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Got GZ-8.com, is it a good bet??

It was on my list :) I noticed it few days ago but postponed my decision because I am not sure in LL-8.com. However, I believe this is a good domain
 
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It was on my list :) I noticed it few days ago but postponed my decision because I am not sure in LL-8.com. However, I believe this is a good domain
Thanks, it increases the confidence when a Pro like you says it. Could you give me an idea about the price and where to sell it?
 
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I am not sure if it has any reseller value at the moment (maybe $10-$15), but this might change soon. Hold it and monitor LL-8.com sales on Namebio (if there will be such a sales).
You may directly contact Chinese owners of similar domains. I would do that if I took it. Anything above $50 would be great at this moment.
 
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I am not sure if it has any reseller value at the moment (maybe $10-$15), but this might change soon. Hold it and monitor LL-8.com sales on Namebio (if there will be such a sales).
You may directly contact Chinese owners of similar domains. I would do that if I took it. Anything above $50 would be great at this moment.
Great, Thanks a Ton
 
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