My Brand domain name is not available at .COM

[Sol2025]

I now have recognized that the chosen domain name for my e-commerce store might have Negative effects on my newly established business:

1. Chosen .NET instead of the more customer trusted .COM
2. Used a hyphen in the domain name.
3. used a keyword which feels lengthening the URL and not adding the brand.

To correct this I am looking to choose a different domain name, and I am stuck between two options namely:

1. Go for a different extension like .CO and secure my exact brand name.
2. Get a domain name having my brand plus a keyword in .COM , in this my domain name will be slightly different from brand name. For an example if my brand is XYZ and my domain name is XYZly.com

Which is commercially the better option, in SEO and customer recognition perspective ?

 

[itsmeiori]

can I know what impacted your choice?
the best choice in my opinion is a rebrand!!

1. Go for a different extension like .CO and secure my exact brand name.
*you will repeat the same mistake!!
2. Get a domain name having my brand plus a keyword in .COM , in this my domain name will be slightly different from brand name. For an example if my brand is XYZ and my domain name is XYZly.com
if your brand name is a dictionary word adding a suffix like Ly, ed.. is nice. it's radically a rebrand IMP.
if your brand is something like invented brand name, will not be as good!!
can I know the situation of your exact .com domain! is it developped, for sale, not in use...
Edit: a ccTLD can also be a smart choice.
thnks (:

 

[bmugford]

It kind of depends on how important your brand is.

If it is newly established, there is probably not much brand equity at the moment.

It also matters more if the brand is consumer facing.

Most companies see the exact match .COM as the top option, for instance Nissan has tried for decades to hijack Nissan.com from the rightful owner, but Nissan seems to still do fine with NissanUSA.com.

If I was in this situation -

1.) If I really liked the brand, I would see if I could purchase the .COM (if possible).

2.) If the .COM is not available, every other option will basically not be as good, but many are still decent.

You can just add a decent generic prefix or suffix in .COM.

It could be something like -

(Brand)(LLC)
(Brand)(Company)
(My)(Brand)
(Brand)(Services)
(Brand(Whatever products you deal in)

and endless other options.

Outside that you have secondary extensions. .NET is widely know in the general public, unlike many new extensions.

I personally don't like .CO because of the closeness to .COM.

3.) Or, you could just rebrand with something else.

Brad

 

[VadimK]

As always in these types of questions, it's next to impossible to say definitely without knowing the name. Could be both.

Indeed ''.com'' is the king and if you manage to do it in 2 words and relatively short - it's one option, as suggested above by Brad.

If the name is short and cool-sounding, up to 6 characters, exact ''.co'' would do well too, imo.
Could be an alternative tld as well - like If the project is on the tech side, ''.io'' is the option as well.

You can shoot the name or PM to participants if you don't want it public, but however you like of course.

 

[phaethon]

Starting a thread about a name without revealing the actual name is weird..

 

[Sol2025]

We have spent some creativity in our Logo and brand name, so we like what we came up with. Rebranding is like ditching these cool elements just to get an exact.com or exact.ext.

What if I keep my brand name intact , and add a suffix to the end in the domain name only.
For example if my brand is Amazon or Shopify, I would add me and becomes AmazonMe.com and ShopifyMe.com.
The length I feel is not a great departure from my brand name for customer memorability and typing the URL in the search engine and revisiting the store again .

What do you think ?
Thank you all , for sharing your valuable insights.

 

[End Game]

We have spent some creativity in our Logo and brand name, so we like what we came up with. Rebranding is like ditching these cool elements just to get an exact.com or exact.ext.

What if I keep my brand name intact , and add a suffix to the end in the domain name only.
For example if my brand is Amazon or Shopify, I would add me and becomes AmazonMe.com and ShopifyMe.com.
The length I feel is not a great departure from my brand name for customer memorability and typing the URL in the search engine and revisiting the store again .

What do you think ?
Thank you all , for sharing your valuable insights.

If you can’t buy the .com, I’d rebrand and go with a new, one word .com.

As Rick says, as your company grows, the owner of the current .com will get a huge percentage of your traffic. Almost every TV commercial I’ve seen the past six months is a .com.

 

[Sol2025]

As always in these types of questions, it's next to impossible to say definitely without knowing the name. Could be both.

Indeed ''.com'' is the king and if you manage to do it in 2 words and relatively short - it's one option, as suggested above by Brad.

If the name is short and cool-sounding, up to 6 characters, exact ''.co'' would do well too, imo.
Could be an alternative tld as well - like If the project is on the tech side, ''.io'' is the option as well.

You can shoot the name or PM to participants if you don't want it public, but however you like of course.

The project is a WooCommerce store for personal products. It is already live with .NET domain . I feel if I choose

Starting a thread about a name without revealing the actual name is weird..

argon-online.net

 

[VadimK]

Offer hundred bucks to argon(co) and see the reaction.

 

[Saldin]

Try the .co

 

[dirk]

Rebrand now. That domain is an abomination.

 

[bmugford]

Rebrand now. That domain is an abomination.

Yeah, it's not good.

That type of domain is likely to hurt business IMO.

The .com without a hyphen is for sale for $2,495. That's not a big expense if you are serious about business.

Outside that, I am confident I could find many better options for cheap.

Brad

 

[dirk]

Yeah, it's not good.

That type of domain is likely to hurt business IMO.

The .com without a hyphen is for sale for $2,495. That's not a big expense if you are serious about business.

Outside that, I am confident I could find many better options for cheap.

Brad

There's some in .com at reg fee... If you're into it, EM (argon) in .ws.

Anything is better than using a hyphenated .net.

 

[bmugford]

If the brand is "Argon Online", then the .COM is available for a reasonable price. IMO.

If the brand is "Argon", then Argon+Word.com makes sense. It would not have to be "online".

I was able to find a few decent options available to hand register. I don't want to post any in the thread in case someone registers them.

I would personally go with a two word .COM over "Argon" in some obscure extension.

Brad

 

[bmugford]

I DMed the OP a couple options, that I think would be better.

Brad

 

[itsmeiori]

you have to add :
using a typo domain!!
Argan!

 

[SuperBrand]

I will go with .NET if .com not available

 

[Exot]

I think Argon + 3-4 letter KW .com is the way to go in this case for branding if OP is set on the main term "Argon"

There are many hand reg's available - dm'd OP some options

 

[AEProgram]

Aim for a .com, you got some really great advice in this thread, hope your business does great

 

[enterscope]

PM me the brand name and I'll look at some available options for you and give my opinion free of charge.

Like others mentioned, it really depends on the industry and other factors.

Personally, I would avoid revealing the brand or domain in this public forum which is why I suggest private message.

 

[ploskov]

Mark Zuckerberg was disappointed with Threads.net - > bought a com domain Threads.com

Instagr.am - moved to Instagram.com
Linked.in - moved to LinkedIn.com

Always go with a com domain.

I think it's OK to buy dotcom for mid - high $X,XXX.

You can't create a great business on crap domain, example: RTINGS.COM (misspelled).

 

[Gabriel360]

OP's exact business name is available in that same extension without the hyphen.

Which means OP registered the hyphenated version while ignoring the non-hyphenated one.

OP isn't great with domain names.

 

[Sol2025]

Have to drop the word online, anyways it was just to find a domain as argon was not available even in .NET

The change is driven primarily to get a .COM for customer trust , and more memorable for store revisits.

Also Hyphens are a no go.

 

[DomainNature]

Try combine your brand in COM with such words.
organic/s
natural/s
extract/s
original/s
product/s
green
bio or eco
Most companies prefer with plural for some reason, the English speaking people know why for sure, but I can't get it.

 

[aidotnow]

Consider a .now domain as .now is a call to action and there are plenty of dictionary or short two word combinations available. Yes .com is king, but .now may be an interesting play.