# Question about website/company name: unconventional spelling?



## Clockwise (Apr 12, 2007)

Hello.

I'm just wondering if it might be a bad idea to use unconventional spelling for a company/website. For example, switching the 'S' out and using a 'Z'. The reason I would consider doing this is I like the way it looks better, it pops, and I think the change further reflects my company's message. However, if I were to get a spot on radio, or through word of mouth, people might look up my company/website using the conventional spelling am I right? Therefore losing potential clients.

Any experience/advice regarding this?


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

*Re: Question about website/company name*



> However, if I were to get a spot on radio, or through word of mouth, people might look up my company/website using the conventional spelling am I right? Therefore losing potential clients.


That's correct. You would spend a few extra seconds of your ad spelling out your website name.

In general, it's good to avoid it.

But if you plan on having most of your sales and traffic from online sources, then it becomes less of a problem.


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## paulo (Dec 13, 2006)

If you are worried about customer searching for the correct spelling you can always reserve that domain also and just have the traffic forwarded to your actual site.


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

Clockwise said:


> I'm just wondering if it might be a bad idea to use unconventional spelling for a company/website.


Personally I think other than it being bad for word of mouth, it creates a very poor impression. Whacky spelling was a huge trend in the 90s, but I think people have largely moved on. That said, if you've got your heart set on a re-spelling of a word, if you can register both then there's no reason you can't go ahead and use it. But I definitely wouldn't do it unless you can get the correct and the incorrect spelling.


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## JohnnyMo (Jun 14, 2007)

As another consideration.... depending on the word or combination of words you are trying to use... there is sometimes a benefit in using the misspelling for trademark purposes.... if your "brand" is simply "Common Parlance" or a generic word or phrase... it is oftentimes harder to obtain trademark protection as you cannot typically brand a generic word easily..... that said.... if you have the word spelled phonetically, or with a Z as opposed to S... it may make obtaining a registered mark or the like easier.... 

I would also concur with the sentiments above about reserving all possible spellings of your mark if at all possible and redirecting them to your site.... 

FWIW... I have been through this process to some degree as my site/brand is bOffensive (intentionally misspelled and with incorrect capitalization) as opposed to the general message it coveys "Be Offensive"... I do have both URLs as .coms and pointing to my home page....


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## Clockwise (Apr 12, 2007)

Thank you for the replies. I'll get a little more specific, but not too specific as I do not have this registered as of yet.

My brand is going to be a little rebellious, against the grain in message, yet intelligent. The word that I would be mispelling is Wise. I'd be spelling it Wize, with a certain something before it. The name would be 'blank' Wize. Everything else about it would be proper. I just noticed my name on here is Clockwise... I'm not aiming for clockwize just to be clear.

So my thinking was that 'blank' Wize would point to both intelligence (wise) and rebellion/unconventional (Wize).

However, 'blank' Wise is taken until fall 2007. They don't seem to have a website up. I think it's either a personal website, or a business that isn't happening. Should I hold out until their site expires hoping they don't renew? Or should I try to buy it in the mean time?


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## TripleT (Apr 29, 2007)

> So my thinking was that 'blank' Wize would point to both intelligence (wise) and rebellion/unconventional (Wize).


 
I think it's better to error on the side of caution on this one - the fact that you're asking the question shows you're a little uneasy about it. Unless you definitely want 'wize' and you wouldn't second guess yourself down the road, I think 'wise' is the better choice. You can still get your message across in other ways.


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## Clockwise (Apr 12, 2007)

TripleT said:


> I think it's better to error on the side of caution on this one - the fact that you're asking the question shows you're a little uneasy about it. Unless you definitely want 'wize' and you wouldn't second guess yourself down the road, I think 'wise' is the better choice. You can still get your message across in other ways.


Okay... now how would you handle 'blank' Wise being taken until fall 2007? I could throw a bid at him, but it is very possible that he has no intention of renewing, and might do so just to get more money out of me. Or I could wait it out... but then I risk waiting 4 months only to end up with him renewing it for 3 years.

What is a typical starting bid? It isn't something common... I doubt he'd ever get another bidder aside from myself.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

> Okay... now how would you handle 'blank' Wise being taken until fall 2007?


If you are stuck on that as your brand, I would make the person an offer.

how long as blank wise been registered for? If it has been years, then it's likely that they will keep renewing it.

I wouldn't wait for it to expire if you really want it. You never know who else may be watching the domain. At least 2 people have thought of it so far 



> What is a typical starting bid?


Start low and work your way up 

Send him a quick email to ask if he's possibly interested in selling the domain and if so, how much. That will get you started.


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## TripleT (Apr 29, 2007)

> What is a typical starting bid?


Don't start with a bid - just a note to find out if he will sell.



> Send him a quick email to ask if he's possibly interested in selling the domain and if so, how much. That will get you started.


Yes. If he will give you an opening number, that puts you in a better position. Of course he may not, so then start low. Best of Luck!


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## Clockwise (Apr 12, 2007)

The domain was registered in 2004... so it looks like he might have bought it for 3 years perhaps? He just doesn't seem to be doing anything with it... there's a decent chance that it could just expire. That's my only worry. Whereas if I send him a note he might be like, "Oh geez... forgot I even had the domain!" Then he renews it and I have to fork over money.

I think perhaps I'll wait a couple of months since my business won't be registered until the fall anyway. It will give me time to think of other possible names, and I can monitor his 'website' to see if he does anything with it.

Great advice, thanks!


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## TripleT (Apr 29, 2007)

I think if you go to godaddy.com, you can "reserve" a domain name that's already taken for a small amount of money. Then if it's not renewed, you get the first shot at it. I'm not 100% positive on that, but you might want to check it out.


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## Clockwise (Apr 12, 2007)

TripleT said:


> I think if you go to godaddy.com, you can "reserve" a domain name that's already taken for a small amount of money. Then if it's not renewed, you get the first shot at it. I'm not 100% positive on that, but you might want to check it out.


You're right I remember reading something about that. I'll have to look into that too.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

> The domain was registered in 2004... so it looks like he might have bought it for 3 years perhaps? He just doesn't seem to be doing anything with it... there's a decent chance that it could just expire


I don't think there's a chance that it will expire if it's been registered since 2004.

3 years is an odd number to pre-register a name for. It's usually just one year or 2 years.

Although the person doesn't *seem* to be using it, they probably have plans for it or may be using it for a purpose you don't see (like email).

At this point, your best chance it to either buy the domain, or move on to something else (or live with *just* the unconvetional spelling). If you go with just the unconventional spelling, it puts them in a better position later on once your brand is established.

This related thread on another forum should give you some insight as well: Sitting on domain names


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## Clockwise (Apr 12, 2007)

Rodney said:


> I don't think there's a chance that it will expire if it's been registered since 2004.
> 
> 3 years is an odd number to pre-register a name for. It's usually just one year or 2 years.
> 
> ...


Thanks Rodney.

I just sent an email asking if this domain is for sale, and asked for a price. I'm not willing to spend a fortune as this website is definitely not a prime domain. The 'blank' before Wise are certain innitials. We'll see. If he doesn't come back with a number I'm comfortable with, it's back to the drawing board I guess.

Great help everyone! Thanks.


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

Clockwise said:


> The 'blank' before Wise are certain innitials.


Did you check that against the name of the registrant? Could it possibly be a personal name?


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## Clockwise (Apr 12, 2007)

Solmu said:


> Did you check that against the name of the registrant? Could it possibly be a personal name?


Yeah it is based on his personal name. That's why I say I doubt he has a bunch of people waiting for this domain. It's odd that he has this domain. His full name is actually available.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

Clockwise said:


> Yeah it is based on his personal name. That's why I say I doubt he has a bunch of people waiting for this domain. It's odd that he has this domain. His full name is actually available.


If it's his personal name then I highly doubt that he'll be letting it go. Most likely he's using it for email or he registered it because we wanted that particular combination for future use.

Not too odd at all.


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

Rodney said:


> If it's his personal name then I highly doubt that he'll be letting it go. [...] Not too odd at all.


I agree. No amount of money (no sane amount anyway) would get me to relinquish a personal name domain.

If it's a pun on his name or something, maybe. Or maybe you'll be lucky and he's just not attached to it. But if he goes by Mr. ABC Wise professionally, and has abcwise.com registered... I wouldn't like your chances (though it doesn't hurt to ask).


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## Clockwise (Apr 12, 2007)

Solmu said:


> I agree. No amount of money (no sane amount anyway) would get me to relinquish a personal name domain.
> 
> If it's a pun on his name or something, maybe. Or maybe you'll be lucky and he's just not attached to it. But if he goes by Mr. ABC Wise professionally, and has abcwise.com registered... I wouldn't like your chances (though it doesn't hurt to ask).


Yeah I made an inquiry... still no response. The domain is his first innitial and then his last name. Back to the drawing board I guess. I must say though after 2 months of thinking this name is the one that stuck and really popped for me. I am slightly disapointed to say the least. However, this is business, and in business setbacks will always be aplenty lol.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

> The domain is his first innitial and then his last name.


That makes it a 5 letter .com domain with a dictionary word at the end. 

For an informed seller, you could expect to pay 4 figures for a name like that (if not more).


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## ubermarketing (May 23, 2007)

You might also consider a pay per click campaign on google and yahoo for the 'blank' wise spelling. That way if you use the wize name, you can catch the traffic searching for the mispelled site. Many internet users search for sites even if they know the domain name.


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## paulo (Dec 13, 2006)

Clockwise said:


> The domain was registered in 2004... so it looks like he might have bought it for 3 years perhaps? He just doesn't seem to be doing anything with it... there's a decent chance that it could just expire. That's my only worry. Whereas if I send him a note he might be like, "Oh geez... forgot I even had the domain!" Then he renews it and I have to fork over money.
> 
> I think perhaps I'll wait a couple of months since my business won't be registered until the fall anyway. It will give me time to think of other possible names, and I can monitor his 'website' to see if he does anything with it.
> 
> Great advice, thanks!


Even after the domain expires it doesn't mean its available at that moment, I think the current registrant has 30-60 days to re-register.

If it was me, I would hold off contacting the registered owner in hopes that he lets the registration go, but at the same time I would spend the money to "reserve" the domain if its not re-registered and be in line to register it.


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