Business SEO and social media

28 replies
Hi everyone,

I'm planning on setting up a business and would like some guidance on options for domains, SEO and social media setup...

We're looking to create a Thai restaurant (still deciding on the name) in the UK.

So we're planning a domain with the word Thai and something before it, and registering .co.uk.

[something]thai.co.uk

Would it be best to include the word 'restaurant' after [something]thai? Or would it better to include the location after [something]thai.co.uk? Or both 'restaurant' and [location]? What works best for SEO and marketing? Is it best with industry keyword (restaurant) or location?

If there are other businesses with a similar name how can you use keywords to stand out in search engine results?

And with a UK business, is it best to go with a .co.uk domain or better with .com? Does it make any difference? Or should we register both .co.uk and .com domains that are available?

Thank you!
#business #media #seo #social
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  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    You need to have your business in place - including the name of your restaurant - before trying to make advertising decisions in my opinion. Of course you will be looking into both offline and online advertising potential - but until you have branded your business with a NAME - you can't make good decisions on what 'words' to use in a domain, etc.


    Unless you earn Michelin stars or branch out into franchising - your audience is geographically limited. Best site will be one that gives info on your restaurant, menu, standards, etc. My experience with restaurant sites is that people search for your site by name - to get real info on what you have to offer customers. If you are in a big city you also want to target your 'food category' - in this case 'thai'.



    If there is a restaurant with a similar name - pay attention! At the least could be confusing - at worst - you could be in violation of trademark law.
    Not worth the hassle.
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    • Profile picture of the author webdevd
      Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

      You need to have your business in place - including the name of your restaurant - before trying to make advertising decisions in my opinion. Of course you will be looking into both offline and online advertising potential - but until you have branded your business with a NAME - you can't make good decisions on what 'words' to use in a domain, etc.


      Unless you earn Michelin stars or branch out into franchising - your audience is geographically limited. Best site will be one that gives info on your restaurant, menu, standards, etc. My experience with restaurant sites is that people search for your site by name - to get real info on what you have to offer customers. If you are in a big city you also want to target your 'food category' - in this case 'thai'.



      If there is a restaurant with a similar name - pay attention! At the least could be confusing - at worst - you could be in violation of trademark law.
      Not worth the hassle.
      Thank you Kay King
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      • Profile picture of the author DABK
        Online, people search for
        Thai restaurants + city / neighborhood
        Thai restaurants near me.

        They will talk about your restaurant as
        Lolos.

        The domain name should be short: lolos.co.uk.

        The site's name should be Lolos Thai Restaurant.

        If your menu is not going to be a pdf doc, but text typed onto the web page, Google is going to figure out you are a Thai restaurant just from your dish names.

        Get your location correct; then get citations and reviews; those will help you the most.
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        • Profile picture of the author redexclub
          Originally Posted by DABK View Post

          Online, people search for
          Thai restaurants + city / neighborhood
          Thai restaurants near me.

          They will talk about your restaurant as
          Lolos.

          The domain name should be short: lolos.co.uk.

          The site's name should be Lolos Thai Restaurant.

          If your menu is not going to be a pdf doc, but text typed onto the web page, Google is going to figure out you are a Thai restaurant just from your dish names.

          Get your location correct; then get citations and reviews; those will help you the most.
          I am agree with that.

          You should move with as small url as possible. So that, it will be easy to remember for your customers. If you add your business to Google My Business then the location issue will be fixed.

          All the best!
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          • Profile picture of the author webdevd
            Originally Posted by redexclub View Post

            I am agree with that.

            You should move with as small url as possible. So that, it will be easy to remember for your customers. If you add your business to Google My Business then the location issue will be fixed.

            All the best!
            Thank you redexclub
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        • Profile picture of the author webdevd
          Originally Posted by DABK View Post

          Online, people search for
          Thai restaurants + city / neighborhood
          Thai restaurants near me.

          They will talk about your restaurant as
          Lolos.

          The domain name should be short: lolos.co.uk.

          The site's name should be Lolos Thai Restaurant.

          If your menu is not going to be a pdf doc, but text typed onto the web page, Google is going to figure out you are a Thai restaurant just from your dish names.

          Get your location correct; then get citations and reviews; those will help you the most.
          Thank you DABK

          I appreciate your clear and succinct response.

          You mentioned that people will search for Thai restaurants + [location], so where should we include our location in terms of SEO and such?
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          • Profile picture of the author DABK
            Are you going to have only one location? Then you can use the location in the website name.

            You are over thinking this. What does amazon.com have to do with what it sells? How about Google?

            What makes you different from other Thai restaurants? From other restaurants? Who is your ideal client? What does your restaurant want to be when it grows up?

            Your restaurant website name could be
            Best chicken pad Thai in Madison, WI and it could work wonders if you were un that city and made awesome chicken pad Thai.

            Location can be worked in much better in your address and citations.

            Originally Posted by webdevd View Post

            Thank you DABK


            I appreciate your clear and succinct response.


            You mentioned that people will search for Thai restaurants + [location], so where should we include our location in terms of SEO and such? Would it also be worth registering www.lolosthai[location].co.uk and have that re-direct through to www.lolosthai.co.uk?


            If there's other companies with a similar name (hypothetically say there's another business called Lolo's Thai) how should we differentiate our selves in terms of naming our website and facebook accounts?


            We need to setup our facebook page and vanity URL... would it be a good idea to go with page title: Lolos Thai or Lolos Thai Restaurant or Lolos Thai [location] or Lolos Thai Restaurant [location]? And the same with the vanity URL for Facebook, what might be the best option?


            Thank you so much!
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            • Profile picture of the author webdevd
              Originally Posted by DABK View Post

              Are you going to have only one location? Then you can use the location in the website name.

              You are over thinking this. What does amazon.com have to do with what it sells? How about Google?

              What makes you different from other Thai restaurants? From other restaurants? Who is your ideal client? What does your restaurant want to be when it grows up?

              Your restaurant website name could be
              Best chicken pad Thai in Madison, WI and it could work wonders if you were un that city and made awesome chicken pad Thai.

              Location can be worked in much better in your address and citations.
              Thanks you DABK, I appreciate your support.
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              • Profile picture of the author DABK
                Why are you so stuck on urls? They're not important. L.co.uk would be best. Because it's the shortest. Because it's easy to remember.


                As to the restaurant name: Lolos would be best. Lolos Thai Restaurant 2nd best.



                As to the website name: Best Thai Restaurant in X (where X is the name of your city).


                You are assuming that being the only Thai restaurant in your city makes you stand out. If people over there are like people where I am, that's not going to be the case: they will put you together with Chinese, Vietnamese, etc. and you'll just blend in unless you do something to stand out.


                You create a business facebook page from inside a personal account.


                I suggest you have it facebook.com/Lolos.



                As regards google my business, you cannot connect that to a personal account, it stands on its own. If you're going to have more than one person play with it, it's best to have manager accounts for them, with restrictions. You don't want one of them to say the business closed, for instance.


                You cannot do what you're thinking with Google my business. The business name is going to be the google my business account name.


                PS Right now, you're the only Thai place; what makes you think that will stay so forever?



                Originally Posted by webdevd View Post

                Thanks you DABK, I appreciate your support.

                Yes, we plan to only have one location and serve the local area.

                Would lolosthai.co.uk be better than lolosthairestaurant.co.uk?

                We are the only Thai restaurant in the city so that makes us stand out. We will be in a high-income location with white collar workers. We aim to provide fine dining and authentic Thai food for our clients.

                In terms of naming and marketing the business, would it be best to go with Lolos Thai or Lolos Thai Restaurant or Lolos Thai Restaurant [Location]?

                And we need to setup both a Facebook page and Google My Business...

                Am I correct in thinking that in order to create a Facebook business page you need to have that linked to a personal Facebook account?

                What would you suggest for the Facebook page name and (vanity) URL?

                Which would be best between facebook.com/lolosthairestaurant or facebook.com/lolosthai[location]?

                And would it be worth creating a Facebook Business Manager account (https://business.facebook.com/)? We need multiple people to be able to log into the business page and post/maintain.

                And with the Google Business account, should we create that linked to a personal account or should we create a separate account where we enter our details: first name = Lolo's, last name = Thai, for example?
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                • Profile picture of the author webdevd
                  Originally Posted by DABK View Post

                  Why are you so stuck on urls? They're not important. L.co.uk would be best. Because it's the shortest. Because it's easy to remember.


                  As to the restaurant name: Lolos would be best. Lolos Thai Restaurant 2nd best.



                  As to the website name: Best Thai Restaurant in X (where X is the name of your city).


                  You are assuming that being the only Thai restaurant in your city makes you stand out. If people over there are like people where I am, that's not going to be the case: they will put you together with Chinese, Vietnamese, etc. and you'll just blend in unless you do something to stand out.


                  You create a business facebook page from inside a personal account.


                  I suggest you have it facebook.com/Lolos.



                  As regards google my business, you cannot connect that to a personal account, it stands on its own. If you're going to have more than one person play with it, it's best to have manager accounts for them, with restrictions. You don't want one of them to say the business closed, for instance.


                  You cannot do what you're thinking with Google my business. The business name is going to be the google my business account name.


                  PS Right now, you're the only Thai place; what makes you think that will stay so forever?
                  Thank you DABK, I appreciate your patience, this is all very new to me.
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  • Profile picture of the author emran kabir
    that's a great idea.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jeffery
    Originally Posted by webdevd View Post

    Hi everyone,

    I'm planning on setting up a business and would like some guidance on options for domains, SEO and social media setup...

    We're looking to create a Thai restaurant (still deciding on the name) in the
    Is it a restaurant or possibly a bistro (small restaurant), cafe, fast food, etc.?
    LolosThaiRestaurant.co.uk LolosThaiBistro.co.uk LolosThaiFastFood.co.uk etc.

    Google SEO wise, the domain name means nothing. It means everything to people!

    The brand is very important to new restaurant businesses and that starts with semantics and how the public identifies and relates to the brand. Thus, the brand of the restaurant will determine and relate to your customer base. The domain name itself does not establish the brand.

    You select a domain name that people will easily remember. When a restaurant, bistro, cafe, etc. has future plans to expand the brand (multiple establishments) in the same city it is wise to plan ahead.

    Is it also unique to the location such as the only Thai restaurant in a busy part of the city with a lot of restaurants and streets.

    Say you have two restaurants in the same city: LolosThaiOn[1st-street].co.uk and LolosThaiOn[2nd-street].co.uk.
    Note: Some of my clients do it that way based on the social nature of the location, i..e. located in a business district vs. located in a hotel/family/tourist district.

    What types of social people will you be serving such as white/blue collar or both and will you be serving alcohol and last will you offer delivery service.

    Its all relevant to the domain name you choose. Because of that you just need to answer those questions. Help us so we can help you.
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    • Profile picture of the author webdevd
      Originally Posted by Jeffery View Post

      Is it a restaurant or possibly a bistro (small restaurant), cafe, fast food, etc.?
      LolosThaiRestaurant.co.uk LolosThaiBistro.co.uk LolosThaiFastFood.co.uk etc.

      Google SEO wise, the domain name means nothing. It means everything to people!

      The brand is very important to new restaurant businesses and that starts with semantics and how the public identifies and relates to the brand. Thus, the brand of the restaurant will determine and relate to your customer base. The domain name itself does not establish the brand.

      You select a domain name that people will easily remember. When a restaurant, bistro, cafe, etc. has future plans to expand the brand (multiple establishments) in the same city it is wise to plan ahead.

      Is it also unique to the location such as the only Thai restaurant in a busy part of the city with a lot of restaurants and streets.

      Say you have two restaurants in the same city: LolosThaiOn[1st-street].co.uk and LolosThaiOn[2nd-street].co.uk.
      Note: Some of my clients do it that way based on the social nature of the location, i..e. located in a business district vs. located in a hotel/family/tourist district.

      What types of social people will you be serving such as white/blue collar or both and will you be serving alcohol and last will you offer delivery service.

      Its all relevant to the domain name you choose. Because of that you just need to answer those questions. Help us so we can help you.
      Thank you Jeffery. I appreciate your questions and support.
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      • Profile picture of the author Jeffery
        Originally Posted by webdevd View Post

        <snip>
        Thank you!
        Your welcome.

        Between DABK, Savidge4 and myself all of your technical and marketing questions have been answered. The main take away is simple: Brand!


        Once you have made your decisions, let us know, and ask for feedback before you finalize.
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        In the minute it took me to write this post.. someone died of Covid 19. RIP.
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        • Profile picture of the author webdevd
          Originally Posted by Jeffery View Post

          Your welcome.

          Between DABK, Savidge4 and myself all of your technical and marketing questions have been answered. The main take away is simple: Brand!

          Once you have made your decisions, let us know, and ask for feedback before you finalize.
          Thank you Jeffery.
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          • Profile picture of the author Jeffery
            Originally Posted by webdevd View Post

            Thank you Jeffery. I would also like to ask you, if I may...

            So our business name is Lolo Thai and our domain is lolothai.co.uk. What would you recommend for our business name and branding in this scenario:
            You are wrong. lolothai.co.uk is not your domain.

            lolothai.co.uk is available
            lolothai.co.uk is not blacklisted
            lolothai.co.uk Internet Archive Wayback Machine No URL has been captured for this domain.

            Originally Posted by webdevd View Post

            - There is another restaurant (many miles away in another county) with the name Lolo Restaurant and domain lolorestaurant.co.uk
            You are wrong. The domain name lolorestaurant.co.uk is not registered.

            lolorestaurant.co.uk is available
            lolorestaurant.co.uk is not blacklisted
            lolorestaurant.co.uk Internet Archive Wayback Machine No URL has been captured for this domain.

            Originally Posted by webdevd View Post

            - And there's another business (again many miles away in another county) with the name Lolo's Thai and domain lolosthai.co.uk. This business is a food truck and not a restaurant.
            You are wrong. The domain name lolosthai.co.uk is not registered.

            lolosthai.co.uk is available
            lolosthai.co.uk is not blacklisted
            lolosthai.co.uk Internet Archive Wayback Machine No URL has been captured for this domain.

            Originally Posted by webdevd View Post

            -And there's also another business (in another country) with the name Lolo Thai Restaurant and domain lolothai.com.
            You are wrong. The domain name lolothai.com is not registered.

            lolothai.com is available
            lolothai.com is not blacklisted
            lolothai.com Internet Archive Wayback Machine No URL has been captured for this domain.

            Because everything you stated and claim to be factual in regards to domain names when in fact everything you stated is not factual it leads me to believe you are not good with facts and details or have a hidden agenda. Which is it?
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            • Profile picture of the author webdevd
              Originally Posted by Jeffery View Post

              You are wrong....

              Thank you Jeffery for your reply.

              When I said 'here's what we've decided...' for business name and URL that didn't mean it had been set up... that was simply our plan. The rest that you quoted was simply a scenario to give an example so I can understand branding and how to differentiate with branding...

              I hope this helps ease your concerns and apologise for any confusion.
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  • Profile picture of the author mcl00ud
    Domain names don't have any impact on SEO at least it's what google say's but this isn't completely true. If your searching for a restaurant or other service if you get a website with a name (domain name) restaurantwiththebestfoodintheuk.com or happyrestaurant.com which one would you click on most would click on the second option because it's shorter, looks more professional and it's less spammy.

    So in other words a good, short, catchy domain name does play a great role in SEO and on your business. Why do you think some companies pay millions just to buy a good domain name because they know the value of a good brand.

    So i would put lots of thoughts on the domain name i would purchase it's going to be my business name and identity.

    I would go with something brandable and positive like delicioustai.co.uk or happytai.com

    Regarding facebook you have to create a page for your restaurant with the same name has your restaurant and website your not going to have restaurant and website named happy tai and create pages for social media with another name something tai.

    For seo keywords check the keywords your competition are using for paid ads.

    But first of all you have to open your physical restaurant and decide on a name unless your a deliver company like uber eats.

    Hope it helps
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    • Profile picture of the author webdevd
      Originally Posted by mcl00ud View Post

      Domain names don't have any impact on SEO at least it's what google say's but this isn't completely true. If your searching for a restaurant or other service if you get a website with a name (domain name) restaurantwiththebestfoodintheuk.com or happyrestaurant.com which one would you click on most would click on the second option because it's shorter, looks more professional and it's less spammy.

      So in other words a good, short, catchy domain name does play a great role in SEO and on your business. Why do you think some companies pay millions just to buy a good domain name because they know the value of a good brand.

      So i would put lots of thoughts on the domain name i would purchase it's going to be my business name and identity.

      I would go with something brandable and positive like delicioustai.co.uk or happytai.com

      Regarding facebook you have to create a page for your restaurant with the same name has your restaurant and website your not going to have restaurant and website named happy tai and create pages for social media with another name something tai.

      For seo keywords check the keywords your competition are using for paid ads.

      But first of all you have to open your physical restaurant and decide on a name unless your a deliver company like uber eats.

      Hope it helps
      Thank you mcl00ud

      How can I check the SEO keywords that competitors are using for their paid ads?
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  • Profile picture of the author codyhay
    That's a good idea. I guess investing in social media will be fruitful to your business. My advice go for it.
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  • Profile picture of the author warddaniel402
    You select an area name that individuals will effortlessly recollect. At the point when a café, bistro, bistro, and so on has tentative arrangements to extend the brand (different foundations) in a similar city it is insightful to prepare.

    Is it likewise novel to the area, for example, the main Thai eatery in a bustling piece of the city with a great deal of eateries and avenues.

    Let's assume you have two cafés in a similar city: LolosThaiOn[1st-street].co.uk and LolosThaiOn[2nd-street].co.uk.

    Note: Some of my customers do it that route dependent on the social idea of the area, i..e. situated in a business locale versus situated in an inn/family/visitor locale.

    What sorts of social individuals will you serve, for example, white/hands on or both and will you serve liquor and last will you offer conveyance administration.

    Its everything pertinent to the space name you pick. In view of that you simply need to address those inquiries. Help us so we can support you.
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  • Profile picture of the author savidge4
    I think you are thinking ahead of yourself here... You need to be thinking BRAND and not what should my URL look like... the URL means nothing in terms of SEO - and EVERYTHING in terms of branding. lolos.co.uk is by far your strongest option - without question - do not pass go, do not collect $200. If that is not available you then fall to lolos thai.

    You have to remember Google will do a lot of the work for you. I suggest getting the Google "Contribute" app and playing with it a bit. when you ADD a new business with this app to Google Maps.. with a restaurant in particular, it asks what type of food they serve. That little step supersedes any and everything you would do in terms of your URL.

    I am going to suggest you re-read DABK's first post in this thread, and go from there.

    Think BRAND first and everything will work out.
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    Success is an ACT not an idea
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    • Profile picture of the author webdevd
      Originally Posted by savidge4 View Post

      I think you are thinking ahead of yourself here... You need to be thinking BRAND and not what should my URL look like... the URL means nothing in terms of SEO - and EVERYTHING in terms of branding. lolos.co.uk is by far your strongest option - without question - do not pass go, do not collect $200. If that is not available you then fall to lolos thai.

      You have to remember Google will do a lot of the work for you. I suggest getting the Google "Contribute" app and playing with it a bit. when you ADD a new business with this app to Google Maps.. with a restaurant in particular, it asks what type of food they serve. That little step supersedes any and everything you would do in terms of your URL.

      I am going to suggest you re-read DABK's first post in this thread, and go from there.

      Think BRAND first and everything will work out.
      Thank you savdige4
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      • Profile picture of the author savidge4
        Originally Posted by webdevd View Post

        Which might be best? One has the industry keyword (restaurant) whereas the other has the location. What's best for marketing?
        A quick exercise in understanding Google... Where ever you live ( town ) do a search for say " Plumbers " on your phone. THEN, drive 2 towns over and on your phone do the same search. what Happens? The results change based on your location.

        So which is better for marketing?

        But lets get right down to brass tacks here... bottom line again - the shorter the better. Can you spell " Restaurant " without spell check? I bet most cant -- does Facebook search have spell check? the answer is no.

        So lets take this even a step further... you open the first store and it goes nuts.. 2 hour wait night after night... what happens next? You open a 2nd store correct? lolothai ( web url, LinkedIn ) allows for that. lolothai<location> ( facebook Instagram Twitter ) allows for that.

        Like I said before, BRAND first and you cant go wrong.
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        Success is an ACT not an idea
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        • Profile picture of the author webdevd
          Originally Posted by savidge4 View Post

          A quick exercise in understanding Google... Where ever you live ( town ) do a search for say " Plumbers " on your phone. THEN, drive 2 towns over and on your phone do the same search. what Happens? The results change based on your location.

          So which is better for marketing?

          But lets get right down to brass tacks here... bottom line again - the shorter the better. Can you spell " Restaurant " without spell check? I bet most cant -- does Facebook search have spell check? the answer is no.

          So lets take this even a step further... you open the first store and it goes nuts.. 2 hour wait night after night... what happens next? You open a 2nd store correct? lolothai ( web url, LinkedIn ) allows for that. lolothai<location> ( facebook Instagram Twitter ) allows for that.

          Like I said before, BRAND first and you cant go wrong.
          Thank you savidge4, I really appreciate your clear questions and answers.
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        • Profile picture of the author webdevd
          [DELETED]
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          • Profile picture of the author Frank Donovan
            Originally Posted by webdevd View Post

            So we are considering our business name as Lolo Thai and our domain as lolothai.co.uk. As an example, what would you recommend for our business name and branding in this hypotehtical scenario:

            - There is another restaurant with the name Lolo Restaurant and domain lolorestaurant.co.uk

            - There's another business with the name Lolo's Thai and domain lolosthai.co.uk.

            - And there's another business with the name Lolo Thai Restaurant and domain lolothai.com.

            How would you adjust the business name and branding (online and offline) to compete and differentiate with those other businesses? Would you change the name to Lolo Thai Restaurant or Lolo Thai [Location] or Lolo Thai Restaurant [Location] for example?

            And in terms of choosing a Facebook (vanity) URL, facebook.com/lolothai is already taken. What might be the next best option? lolothairestaurant or lolothai[location] or something else?
            I honestly don't know why you're wasting your time on these questions.

            Now that we know your whole business is hypothetical, the obvious thing to do is start with a name that isn't already taken that you can brand from scratch.
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  • Profile picture of the author Frank Donovan
    As Jeffery pointed out, there are some puzzling questions being asked here.

    I'd also be interested to know why the OP is fixating on these points without having started a business yet. And why someone posting from Sweden is talking about a .co.uk domain in the first place.

    What aren't we being told?
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  • Profile picture of the author webdevd
    Thanks everyone for contributing to this thread... your guidance is much appreciated.

    I have no further questions for this open thread.
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