Choosing a non-English domain name for your website

[Andy Inman]

This is about a service that I've sometimes wondered about offering and I would love to here experiences from anybody who has actually done this and how they went about it:

Here's a (fake) scenario:

A small Spanish company who market an excellent DTP software package want to choose a domain name in English as part of an attempt to sell into the UK - better image and better SEO. Their company and domain name in Spain is publicarlo where publicar means publish and lo means it - so, a pretty good name. They translate those words into English using Google Translate or whatever and come up with the domain name publishit to use in the UK and are very pleased to discover that the co.uk extension is available (hardly surprising).

See the problem? Similar issues can come up when going from English to other languages. Apart from "bad" words a name may simply be difficult to read, not have the right image, etc. etc. In fact all the issues that you need to think about when choosing a domain name come up, but worse because you can't judge it from the perspective of a person who understands the language and cultural issues of the target country.

I'll stop there. I think it's a rather unique and interesting challenge. Just wondering whether marketing and SEO companies would be interested in using such a service?

 

[Root 66 Woodshop]

what's wrong with a hyphen?

publish-it

Problem solved... where do I send my bill?

 

[The Byre]

I'll stop there. I think it's a rather unique and interesting challenge. Just wondering whether marketing and SEO companies would be interested in using such a service?

I doubt it and for two reasons -

They will only earn money from companies that have a reasonable turnover.

It is easy to find native speakers of target languages just about anywhere that has a large immigrant population, such as Germany, the UK and the US. A larger company just has to employ native speakers of the language of their target country.

Wir sind ein Beispiel: Fast jeder hier spricht Deutsch, wir haben ein Büro in Deutschland und einen deutschen Domainnamen und eine deutsche Website. Also, wie die Erdmännchen es sagen - "Simples!"

Es wird jedoch manchmal lustig, wenn wir deutsche Unternehmen anrufen und sie versuchen, Englisch zu sprechen. Gestern hat jemand von der Bank in Deutschland angerufen und nachdem ich ein paar Minuten lang dem armen Kerl zugehört hatte, sagte ich: "Vielleicht wäre es viel einfacher, wenn wir Deutsch sprechen!"

 

[Andy Inman]

what's wrong with a hyphen?

publish-it

Problem solved... where do I send my bill?

Haha, ok. Without getting much into the topic of whether it's ok or not to use hyphens in domain names, here's what others said:

• Using hyphens makes domain names seem untrustworthy and less credible.
• Hyphenated domains are difficult to remember and talk about. When a user is told about your business or domain name by a friend, for example, the friend will have to belabor the point that the domain name includes hyphens. The recipient is highly likely to forget to use the hyphens when entering your domain name.
• They reflect a brand as incompetent.

• If a user misses even a single hyphen when typing your brand name, they are highly likely to end up on your competitor’s site or web page.

Valid points I think. Taken from an article, I can't post links yet but Googling hyphen-in-domain-names should find it. Besides, that issue, i.e. with names like pen island and experts exchange is just one. There are still potential issues with image, formality, length of names (translated directly the words may be a lot longer) and more.

Thanks for your reply.

 

[Andy Inman]

Hi The Byre and thanks for your input.

I doubt it and for two reasons -

They will only earn money from companies that have a reasonable turnover.

It is easy to find native speakers of target languages just about anywhere that has a large immigrant population, such as Germany, the UK and the US. A larger company just has to employ native speakers of the language of their target country.
"

The first point doesn't bother me so much. Any company that's seriously going to address foreign markets will need to be of a reasonable size anyway.

On the second point, easy to find such people, agreed. To find one that knows about brand image, SEO, domain name availability, not quite so easy. Still, I think you're right, it's not a service that people would think about buying, except perhaps as part of a larger package (maybe web content translation).

Thanks again.

 

[Root 66 Woodshop]

Sorry, but I'd much prefer to hyphen rather than bodge a couple of words together TBH.

Our company name's website has been hyphenated since it's creation over 20 years ago... and we've never had an issue with people thinking our brand was incompetent, we've never had anyone think that we were untrustworthy in our industry... in fact, the complete opposite considering our industry.

Hardly valid points... but then again, things are only valid if "you" think they are valid... if it matters to you...

it doesn't matter to me, nor the company that I work for... therefore it's never going to be a valid point as it's quite incorrect and we don't think it's valid.

 

[fisicx]

I’ve been using hyphens in domain names for years and never had a problem.

In fact the actual domain name is far less important than people think. A good example is B&Q whose domain is diy.com

 

[Andy Inman]

Our company name's website has been hyphenated since it's creation over 20 years ago... and we've never had an issue with people thinking our brand was incompetent, we've never had anyone think that we were untrustworthy in our industry... in fact, the complete opposite considering our industry.

Just on that part - has somebody else got the same name without the hyphen, and does that affect you at all?

On the rest, accepted, especially that the domain name isn't really that important. For native English speakers, a hyphen is acceptable. Not so true in some other languages, relevant to my original post.

Thanks for your input.

 

[ecommerce84]

Do many businesses translate their business name when opening abroad?

In your example, if I ran publicarlo in Spain and was looking to branch into the UK I’d register and market as publicarlo.co.uk to keep the branding consistent (and in this example I quite like the name!).

 

[Root 66 Woodshop]

nope... there is no other company with the same name in our industry

Just on that part - has somebody else got the same name without the hyphen, and does that affect you at all?

On the rest, accepted, especially that the domain name isn't really that important. For native English speakers, a hyphen is acceptable. Not so true in some other languages, relevant to my original post.

Thanks for your input.

In answer to this question... for the past 30+ years, there has been no company in our industry with the same name... however, after checking out this morning I have found a company down south with the same company name, albeit spelt the English way rather than the American way... furthermore... they are not a registered company with companies house yet claim to be VAT registered yet their website does not state their companies address or VAT number...

I doubt that there would be anything we could do about that, but quite interesting to say the least.

 

[MLN]

On the second point, easy to find such people, agreed. To find one that knows about brand image, SEO, domain name availability, not quite so easy. Still, I think you're right, it's not a service that people would think about buying, except perhaps as part of a larger package (maybe web content translation).

Indeed. Most larger corporations would work with a translator in the right field of expertise before they branch into a new market. At that point, I suspect someone would point out that publicarmierda is not a good idea...

 

[Lizzyohara]

Keep your domain name short and snappy and linked to your business!!

 

[Newchodge]

I doubt it and for two reasons -

They will only earn money from companies that have a reasonable turnover.

It is easy to find native speakers of target languages just about anywhere that has a large immigrant population, such as Germany, the UK and the US. A larger company just has to employ native speakers of the language of their target country.

Wir sind ein Beispiel: Fast jeder hier spricht Deutsch, wir haben ein Büro in Deutschland und einen deutschen Domainnamen und eine deutsche Website. Also, wie die Erdmännchen es sagen - "Simples!"

Es wird jedoch manchmal lustig, wenn wir deutsche Unternehmen anrufen und sie versuchen, Englisch zu sprechen. Gestern hat jemand von der Bank in Deutschland angerufen und nachdem ich ein paar Minuten lang dem armen Kerl zugehört hatte, sagte ich: "Vielleicht wäre es viel einfacher, wenn wir Deutsch sprechen!"

Happens all the time. It is amusing to see/hear the reaction of a French or Spanish person when I drop into their language. The Brits just aren't known for multi lingualism, but most europeans would simply contact an english speaking friend to question the translation.

OP you haven't suggested how your service would work. Would you have native seakers of every potential target language, who also understand the original language? Bit like a translation service. If not, how would you provide the service and why couldn't a translation service do it?

 

[fisicx]

...and linked to your business!!

Not always a good idea. If you get harrogatehairdressing.uk and decide you want to do nails as well the domain name no longer works. Get something more generic and you can use it for what ever you want.