Should I start again?

[Blissling]

Hi I hope you can help me? I have a dilemma. I have an online store which as been running for 4 years. Let's say the domain name is vapingelectroniccigarettes.co.uk the vaping.com and vaping.co.UK are taken but have no website on them. As you see I have very long domain name. I can buy the .com but I haven't got the funds at the moment. I am starting to sell my product in Spain now as well as the UK. I have vaping.es
Also the vaping isn't available on Facebook or twitter but I have vapingelectroniccigarettes as my facebook and vaperuk as my twitter. I Also have quite a few affiliates working for my website as well. My question is should I buy the vaping.EU domain or vaping.net and have intenational parts on it say vaping.EU/UK or stick with the domain I have now and have a separate site for Spain? Or should I bite the bullet and relaunch with a Fresh domain name and company and 301 redirect my current domain?

As I want to build a brand I know that getting the top level domain would be better and I could Probably buy the .com in a few months but the co.UK and the twitter Facebook not being available worries me.

Sorry for the long message hope you guys can help

Thank

 

[garptrader]

I guess I would question why you are so fixated on the brand "Vaping" - perhaps a totally different brandable keyword might work even if you have to acquire it in the aftermarket. But I do understand the desire to have the same brand internationally and to own the .COM of your global brand. My view is that if you consider all the costs of running, an online business - marketing, advertising, website development, SEO, legal, etc limiting your domain acquisition budget to $25 is going to hurt your business. If your short-term budget is limited consider offering monthly lease payments to the current registrant of your desired brand.

 

[AndyM]

Hi, and welcome to namepros!

Firstly I would say that your domain name is way tooooooo long and you should definitely think about changing it to something shorter and easier for customers to find you.

I'll pm you with a proposition as I have a domain that is straight to the point in this industry.

 

[doubleU]

You need a shorter domain, I have PM you a short alternative.

 

[Blissling]

Hi thanks for the reply the Vaping is only an example. Not my real domain. My real question is if I should keep my existing site and have a separate domain name for Spain or start again with a different brand and but the .com and corresponding domains.

The buying of the .com can be done but the .co.uk is not available and nor is the twitter or facebook.

I'm just worried that restarting will hinder me as I have put a lot of work into the domain I have already.

I am willing to start again and 301 redirect the name I have now to my new brand if needed.

What would you guys do in my position?

Thanks

 

[AndyM]

Yes. Get a shorter dot com and redirect.

 

[D Haynes]

My advice is to buy vaping.co from me.

 

[Blissling]

wow thanks for all the helpful replies and not trying to sell me domains that are useless.
vaping.co, great name have you seen that the top tld is being used vaping.com! some guys have been helpful here but .top? PLEASE stop trying to peddle your domain names.

 

[McDuke]

wow thanks for all the helpful replies and not trying to sell me domains that are useless.
vaping.co, great name have you seen that the top tld is being used vaping.com! some guys have been helpful here but .top? PLEASE stop trying to peddle your domain names.

I agree you don't need junk thrown your way.

One typically wants to be under the 12 character mark. It makes it easier for people to recommend your site as well as type it in especially with everything moving to mobile. For example, the site I buy ecig products from has a long name as well and when I recommend it to others they end up asking me for the name again.

People do tend to click more than type these days so a longer extension could work depending on the memorability of the name. But...

In my opinion the sooner you re-brand the less it will cost in the long run.

PM me if you're looking for naming help, I don't mind doing a quick search for you.

Good Luck!

 

[DOMAIN ILLUMINATI]

wow thanks for all the helpful replies and not trying to sell me domains that are useless.

No problem, of course, you are welcome.
I recommend to use a name which isn't used in another extension already - otherwise I would use just a generic term as name.

 

[nvdomains]

When a person asked us for an honest advice, you are not only giving him bad advice and also trying to sell your shit..

really sad and bad.

 

[DaveX]

Have you thought about sub-domains for each country?

 

[DaveX]

also, maybe for Facebook, etc you can do vapingdotes or vapingdot??

 

[Blissling]

Thanks for the feedback guys, so torn as to just buy the .com and really get the brand up and running as its doing quiet well at the moment. Or restarting it and making a go of a new company.

Let's say I keep the brand and contact the guy who has the .com, he may sell it paying it off monthly.

If he wants an upfront payment could I just use .eu or .net eg .eu/uk or .eu/es , I do have the .es domain though.

Then buy the .com name once I have more available cash.

Have you thought about sub-domains for each country?

Hi thanks for the help, could you elaborate a little on the sub domain idea please

Thanks

 

[deflee79]

If i had the funds i would aquire the .com . If i wanted to learn about vaping or purchase vaping accessories , i would surely visit vaping.com first.

 

[DaveX]

A subdomain is a second website, with its own unique content, but there is no new domain name. Instead, you use an existing domain name and change the www to another name. The subdomain name looks like forums.domain.com, help.domain.com, help2.domain.com (assuming you already host domain.com).

 

[DNScholar]

Business are born to rebranding so go ahead and rebrand. Longer name is not as bad if you do SEO else get a name upto 15 char.

 

[DomainVP]

Buy the best .COM domain you can afford, and start on a fresh beautiful domain.

Then launch geographic SEO to rank in the countries that you are reaching out to. There is nothing better than good old white hat SEO. It will take a year to get a foothold, but along the way you will make contacts and build a network of friends in the Vape community of each target region.

There have also been some really good results from using Social advertising, but be prepared to spend a little. Recent studies have showed that most clicks on ads are from accidental clicks or bots, but if you use geo-targeting and set your target demographics you will see higher ROI and quality customers come to your site.

There's no shortage of options here...

As for the migration of your site, redirect all traffic from your former website to your new domain (301 as you have mentioned). It's astonishingly simple to move a website to a new domain and still maintain your existing traffic.

It's just reconfiguring (or copying) your CMS and modifying your .htaccess file. It's a simple job that someone can foul up drastically, so don't be fiscally shy when it comes to this migration.

Then put a tiny banner at the top letting people you have a 'new look & new name' for 90 days. So many ways to go about an awareness campaign for this, but that's one way.

Also the vaping isn't available on Facebook or twitter but I have vapingelectroniccigarettes as my facebook and vaperuk as my twitter.

Having brand continuity across facebook and twitter is nice, but not essential to your site. Most people coming to your FB and Twitter will arrive from your website or from a link that a user sharing your content. Focus on promoting your domain within those channels and you won't have to worry if your twitter is VapeDay or VapeNation. You could always spin it to work in your advantage, again... a lot of options here.

Best of luck with your venture

 

[Blissling]

well there seems to be a new deveopment I have found a great short name, to be honest I cant believe it is available The only problem is I can get .com and all other extensions but not .co.uk

What do you guys reckon?

 

[Recons.Com]

I would do this:

1. Keep UK brand/site as is for now
2. Come up with/purchase nice Keyword+Keyword.com or Brandable.com that is relevant and make sure that you get .uk and .es and any other cctlds that you have plans for.
3. Launch the .es version of the new name
4. On your global .com page put info about your international operations and countries where you operate, where you plan to operate and relevant links.