Best domain name

[chrislynton]

Hi
I would really appreciate some comments on the choice of domain name for my start-up business 'Smart Giraffe Limited' which is to do with the repair and refurbishment of smart devices (e.g. smart phones, tablets, iPods) here in the UK.
I have registered some domain names and would welcome comments on which domain name would work best for my business.
The domains under consideration are:

1. smart-giraffe.co.uk
2. smartgiraffe.co.uk
3. smartg.co.uk

Some thoughts:
Am I correct in thinking that use of a hyphen is to be avoided?
I appreciate that some people may struggle to spell 'giraffe' correctly which suggests that 3. may be the best choice and it has the additional advantage of being short.

Many thanks
Chris

 

[DU]

Hi
I would really appreciate some comments on the choice of domain name for my start-up business 'Smart Giraffe Limited' which is to do with the repair and refurbishment of smart devices (e.g. smart phones, tablets, iPods) here in the UK.
I have registered some domain names and would welcome comments on which domain name would work best for my business.
The domains under consideration are:

1. smart-giraffe.co.uk
2. smartgiraffe.co.uk
3. smartg.co.uk

Some thoughts:
Am I correct in thinking that use of a hyphen is to be avoided?
I appreciate that some people may struggle to spell 'giraffe' correctly which suggests that 3. may be the best choice and it has the additional advantage of being short.

Many thanks
Chris

Hyphens aren't a big deal.

I would go register now, immediately, asap. 1 & 2 before some smarty pants decides to get in your way.

Take the hyphen and the non-hyphen and park one on the other and you NEVER have to worry what people type in. The only question is which should be primary.

Some may argue that the hyphen is better for SEO etc. and crap like that but I doubt it will matter. I'd go with the ironical "CamelCase" non-hyphen and redirect the hyphen.

Don't bother with Smart G unless you have specific plans.

 

[chrislynton]

Many thanks for the comments, DU, I really appreciated them.
All 3 domains listed are registered to me - sorry that I didn't make this clear.
I have concerns that some potential customers may struggle with remembering how to spell giraffe and as a result I may lose some business hence smartg.co.uk

Regards
Chris

 

[freedom30]

Many thanks for the comments, DU, I really appreciated them.
All 3 domains listed are registered to me - sorry that I didn't make this clear.
I have concerns that some potential customers may struggle with remembering how to spell giraffe and as a result I may lose some business hence smartg.co.uk

Regards
Chris

...then redirect/forward the other two names to the website...

 

[oldtimer]

I have concerns that some potential customers may struggle with remembering how to spell giraffe and as a result I may lose some business hence smartg.co.uk
Chris

Why don't you register all the common misspellings that can occur with your name and redirect them all to your main domain (the full version one). This way people will still come to your website even if they don't know the exact spelling. Even if you have to register 20 or 30 diffrent versions of your domain it might be worth it in the long run if this is your main business. IMO

PS: there are some tools on the internet that show you the common typos that can occur with a certain name.

 

[RazorNF]

establish your presence on smartgiraffe.co.uk

It gets expensive registering every spelling mistake. I don't think it's necessary.

If you are that concerned with losing business to someone then the only two typos I would spend money on is perhaps the versions with the 2 r's and 1 f.

As for the hyphen. I doubt many people naturally type in a url with a hyphen if communicated to over voice like on the radio, unless the announcer actually says "dash".

 

[DomainAgents]

I wouldn't be too worried about the spelling. I think Razor is right about getting the 2 r's and 1 f, but if people google you, google will correct most typos people make.

 

[twomoon]

Why not to choose another animal? Panda, zebra, cow - something that is hard to misspell

As for your question, I vote for smartgiraffe.co.uk

 

[chrislynton]

Thanks to all for the very helpful answers.
I thought I was clever buying smartg.co.uk as it is short and avoids the need for people to spell giraffe. I noticed the domain smartg.com was allocated and it is an American site Smart Girls Productions Inc. - a marketing company for actors. I thought that as they had chosen it it may have some benefit.
Cheers
Chris

 

[DU]

If you are that concerned with losing business to someone then the only two typos I would spend money on is perhaps the versions with the 2 r's and 1 f.

For a startup at regfee... I'd say $40 a year is well worth it.

I would get the hyphen, the non-hyphen in both the 2rs 1f and 2fs 1 r.

Four names should be WELL within anyone's budget. You could even make the redirect be fun for those that can't spell.. put a coupon or something "For trying so hard to find us....."

Good Luck.

 

[samran_expert]

I will go for smartgiraffe.co.uk as well as other two options which will be redirected to main site I vote for smartgiraffe.co.uk so that i will have my all bases covered.

 

[oldtimer]

In my opinion its best to get as many domains that you can afford (and that are needed) to protect your brand especially if you are just starting out, later on you can decide which ones to keep and which ones to drop.

You might also consider getting the plural version of your main domain just to protect your brand (and yes Smart Giraffe is a better brand than the abbreviated version). IMO

PS: before you invest a lot of money registering more domains make sure that there are no existing TM issues that are going to interfere with your business later on. If there are no TMs within your field of operation then get a website up and going quickly to show your first date of use for this brand. IMO

(Not meant as legal advice, you need to do your own research and consult an attorney if necessary)

 

[chrislynton]

Thanks to everybody for the replies.
Regarding the response from Oldtimer:
Does it matter that the company is called Smart Giraffe but the domain name is smartg.co.uk - it's shorter, quicker and easier to write than smartgiraffe.co.uk or should the domain name always be the same as the company name? Would this affect the branding in any way?
I'm taking on board that most think I should go for smartgiraffe.co.uk and this information is tremendously helpful

---------- Post added at 10:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:43 PM ----------

PS There are no TM issues in UK as the name has been successfully registered at Companies House.

 

[DU]

Does it matter that the company is called Smart Giraffe but the domain name is smartg.co.uk - it's shorter, quicker and easier to write than smartgiraffe.co.uk or should the domain name always be the same as the company name? Would this affect the branding in any way?

You are the one that is branding your startup so only you can answer that question on how the branding is affected.

If you market yourself as Smart Giraffe why would you used SmartG? If you market yourself as SmartG why bother with the iraffe? It's your name, you decided on it. If you don't like Smart Giraffe because it's hard to spell or too long then you should change it. If you like the name then use it.

Imho SmartG has no relationship to smart giraffe. If you could get SG.co.uk then sure. Smart G? Why?

Your branding is the answer to the question: "How do I want customers to remember me?" "How do I want people to identify to my product/services?" Your domain name is a very small part of a very large part depending on how much you want it to be. It's ALL up to you.