.info vs. .com with hyphen.

Discussion in 'Domain Names' started by AlexTuesday, Oct 4, 2014.

  1. #1
    I really just need a second opinion on this. I'm making a fairly simple site - just information on a topic (in this case, gender and sexuality minorities - think LGBT). I've just been calling it Gender & Sex for the moment, because a) can't come up with a better name and b) that's pretty much the gist of the whole site. Don't have a problem with the website, just have a problem with which domain name to buy. Out of these, which is best?

    gendersex.com is taken. It isn't being used, I just can't buy the domain unless I shell out several hundred bucks I don't have.

    gender-sex.com is not taken. But everyone seems to be saying hyphens are a no go.

    gendersex.info is not taken. The whole site is information, so it's a good match. But people are also saying that .info doesn't rank well.

    gendersex.ca is another possible idea. I am Canadian, but the website specifically focuses on western culture, and has information for Canada, USA, UK and other similar countries available on it. If it's not specifically Canadian, should I not?

    gendersex.org is not taken, but I'm not an organization. All other gender-sex TLDs seem to be available as well.

    Wouldn't mind some second opinions on which domain to go with. (Or any alternate suggestions).
     
    AlexTuesday, Oct 4, 2014 IP
  2. sarahk

    sarahk iTamer Staff

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    #2
    I really don't like the name gendersex - no matter what you do with it. If you anticipate repeat visitors and the opportunity to establish a brand then I'd try and find a name that is a play on words or something like that.

    Maybe I spend too much time here but if I was googling for lgbt info and I saw gender-sex.com or gendersex.info I would expect a made-for-adsense site and I would go to the next in the results. I'd also be anxious about liking a page on the site or pasting a link into an email no matter how helpful it might be.
     
    sarahk, Oct 4, 2014 IP
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  3. AlexTuesday

    AlexTuesday Greenhorn

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    #3
    I'm not really focusing on establishing a brand, but yeah, I guess I can see your point.

    Any alternate suggestions? I'm really stumped for names, they are not my strong point.
     
    AlexTuesday, Oct 4, 2014 IP
  4. sarahk

    sarahk iTamer Staff

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    #4
    gendsex.com is available
    gendex.ca
    genderchat.ca
    genderhelp.ca
    switchingsides.ca

    it all depends on your niche within the LGBT area.
     
    sarahk, Oct 4, 2014 IP
  5. AlexTuesday

    AlexTuesday Greenhorn

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    #5
    My content isn't exclusively LGBT, though that does cover about 80% of what I've got. It's mostly Gender and Sexuality Minority info, (GSM), which does include things like polyamory, etc. GSMhelp is available in almost everything but .com and .org. gsminfo is almost entirely taken.
     
    AlexTuesday, Oct 4, 2014 IP
  6. sarahk

    sarahk iTamer Staff

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    #6
    awegsm.com is available
     
    sarahk, Oct 4, 2014 IP
  7. AlexTuesday

    AlexTuesday Greenhorn

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    #7
    I feel like that's a bit too difficult to tell people off the bat. I intent for it to be a bit more of a reference / show other people if they don't know what you're talking about sort of site.
     
    AlexTuesday, Oct 4, 2014 IP
  8. Poupoupidou

    Poupoupidou Member

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    #8
    Search engines do not have a preference between .com, .info, .org or .ca. They are treated equally. But, users tend to remember .com and domain names without hyphens more easily. If you are not Canadian only, then don't go for .ca. If you are not an organisation, I would not go for .org for SEO reasons only, because it would be misleading to users.

    So, between gendersex.info and gender-sex.com, I would go for gender-sex.com. IMHO, there is more benefit in a .com than no hyphen in your case.
     
    Poupoupidou, Oct 5, 2014 IP
  9. uand.eye

    uand.eye Active Member

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    #9
    I call bullshit on most of the answers you get to this question. There is no evidence to show that people struggle with hyphenated domains. It's true that.com has been the internet standard for a very long time, but other TLDs can be just as effective and in some cases more memorable.

    I had a hyphenated .info domain ranking in the top 3 on Google and Bing, and it got lots of visitors and social shares. Bottom line it's the quality of the site that gets you ranked,not the TLD.

    You should think about the name and maybe get some advice from friends before your stuck with something that sounds spammy.

    Take some time,maybe use a thesaurus to find related words that could work better together. There are online name generators, most aren't very good, but they may put you on the right track.
     
    uand.eye, Oct 5, 2014 IP
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  10. AlexTuesday

    AlexTuesday Greenhorn

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    #10
    Thanks of your input. I am leaning towards gender-sex.com, one reason because it is easier to say. Saying "gender dash sex dot com" out loud would probably be easier then "gender sex dot info" or something to that nature.
     
    AlexTuesday, Oct 5, 2014 IP
  11. sweetpea69

    sweetpea69 Active Member

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    #11
    Honestly, "Gender-Sex" is not inviting at allllll.... aren't there any slang words or something you can come up with that would be far more brandable....inviting? If you know your stuff...it shouldn't be thatttt hard.
     
    sweetpea69, Oct 5, 2014 IP
  12. sarahk

    sarahk iTamer Staff

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    #12
    I could have lived with spelling out awe G.S.M. to people and let them work out the play on words. I'd be using my personal email when people ask me for it in shops and stuff rather than use gender-sex.com :)
     
    sarahk, Oct 5, 2014 IP
  13. sweetpea69

    sweetpea69 Active Member

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    #13
    Gender-Sex sounds like a boring class I slept through in school hahaaa.
     
    sweetpea69, Oct 5, 2014 IP
  14. sarahk

    sarahk iTamer Staff

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    #14
    There's always things like aboutGSM but I suspect the obvious ones will have been snapped up by domainers long ago - not helped by GSM being a telco abbreviation
     
    sarahk, Oct 5, 2014 IP
  15. sweetpea69

    sweetpea69 Active Member

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    #15
    Yeah..."about"...they're gone...
     
    sweetpea69, Oct 5, 2014 IP
  16. AlexTuesday

    AlexTuesday Greenhorn

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    #16
    Thanks for the feedback. Names are nooooot my strongpoint at all. I can write about 50+ sexuality definitions, read up on XXXY syndrome for fun or tell you the best way to hook up with polyamorous couples, but I still suck at naming.

    Aboutgsm.info is free (as is .net) but the info part seems sort of redunent after 'about'... what about gsmadvice.com?
     
    AlexTuesday, Oct 5, 2014 IP
  17. sweetpea69

    sweetpea69 Active Member

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    #17
    Whatever you feel will "call" more people to your site. I'm not an expert on the topic...so if you think that domain will do it..than go with it. It's not set in stone. You can always change it ;)
     
    sweetpea69, Oct 5, 2014 IP
  18. AlexTuesday

    AlexTuesday Greenhorn

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    #18
    It's difficult to say what would call people. Almost all the sites that tackle similar info are either a) organizations or community specific websites, in which case they use their organization's name, or b) quirky bloggers who come up with catching play-on-word titles. The occasional wiki, but in most cases, they're just using free services, so they just pick the most relevent name plus .wikia.com or whatever. So I'm entering vaguely unknown territory. But it is true, it isn't set in stone.
     
    AlexTuesday, Oct 5, 2014 IP
  19. sweetpea69

    sweetpea69 Active Member

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    #19
    Post/PM me a link to your site. I'll take a look.
     
    sweetpea69, Oct 5, 2014 IP
  20. sarahk

    sarahk iTamer Staff

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    #20
    gsmadvice.com seems like a winner
     
    sarahk, Oct 5, 2014 IP