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Ask HN: Good or bad idea? Using a domain that starts with 'the'.

6 points by potatofish ↗ HN
My biggest fear is people will fail to use 'the' when typing in the domain, and end up at the other website, which has a similar focus. Yet at the same time, the other website is not likely to gain much traction for all sorts of reasons that are irrelevant.<p>So keep looking for a better domain? Use the root word but with a different domain type (.us, .me, etc.), or go with 'the'<domain_name>.com ?

9 comments

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stratospark
thefacebook.com

Do well enough and you can buy the domain you really want...

potatofish
Well I get all that, but when thefacebook.com was starting up, did facebook.com have a site with a similar goal? Or was it something else entirely unrelated? I guess that's the crux of what I'm getting at here.
foxtrot
tread carefully, if that all seperates you from a competitor is "the" you could find your self in a not so fun situation.

When it comes to domains it is very hard to find a suitable one that has not already been taken, as someone who has been in the domain industry for several years I would say:

Keep the domain as simple as possible Try to avoid words that are hard to spell Try to avoid words that can be spelt different ways "Right" "Write" etc.

Those should be taken with a pinch of salt as its just not that simple, however when I come across domains just as "yachtrendezvoustahiti.com" you have to wonder if something simpler could have been found.

kimfuh
I'd change the name rather than drive traffic to my competitor by accident.
exline
Since domain.com is in the same market as you then I would find a different domain. If they were in a completely different market, then I would not be as concerned.

Even though you think the other website will not gain much traction, you will be driving traffic to them. If someone hears about you and goes to domain.com and sees a product in the same market, they may very well assume that it is you. Nothing good can come from this. Either they don't like what the see and leave or they buy from the competition. Why take that risk.

potatofish
So is the consensus that it's ok if the other domain name does not engage in the same market, but not a good idea if it does? I also have the chance to do the former, and it's starting to appeal to me.