Domain Name Information

10 Things to Ponder when Picking Your .com


1. Proper names VS Common Names. First of all there are two different kinds of names, proper names (unique words, person, place), or common names (things like cars or cheese.) The types of names that will have good lasting effect on the internet are proper names. Think of some of the biggest sites on the internet, such as yahoo or google, why are they the most popular search engines in the world and not searchengine.com? Simple, the average consumer will group names of things with there .com names. If the names are too similar they get lost in the mix. That is why no one names there car dealership cars. Sure cars are what they sell, but image the conversation, Frank asks "what dealership did you buy your car from?" Jim replies "cars" as you can image it would get really confusing. A lot of dealerships use proper names such as XYZ Motors. That is why a lot of sites such as cars.com aren't doing as well as say vehix.com.

2. Real world Brands. The most successful brands on the internet are not "real world" brands. That is why amazon.com does over three times as much business as Waldenbooks.com or Borders.com combined. Internet branding is something completely new. In my opinion, the sites that are going to last on the internet are the ones with proper names. Proper names can be anything, names, and unique words. Use your imagination just as long as it is catchy and unique. It was a good idea to put www.what you are selling here.com back when the internet was young. People used the URL as a directory tool. This is a dying fad.

3. KISS Method. Keep It Simple Stupid. The best sites out there have simple easy to remember names. Alexa.com Excite.com you don't see many popular names like incrdiblesearchingpower.com

4. Shorter means better. If there is a shorter way to use your name do it. There is a reason cnet.com isn't computernet.com and schawb.com isn't charlesschwab.com. The less I have to type in the search box the happier I am.

5. Spelling 101. Make your .com easy to spell. Back when your product was mailed by the postal service spelling wasn't as important. You could get away with misspelled words and it would still be delivered. But now you have to enter your .com name exactly right for it to work.

6. What is in a name? Words that are better for search engine names and brand names all together have less total letters. That is why Datsun which has 6 letters to make there name changed to Nissan which has 4. As general rule brand names do better with the lower this number is. Such as Yahoo it takes 4. Google, it takes 4.

7. Abbreviate. Take a look at America Online. They didn't make there site www.americanonline.com they made it AOL. Other abbreviated names include, MSN and Cnet. This goes with the keeping it shorter rule but it is another possible helper.

8. Name it after a person. In 1987, PC's Limited changed its name to Dell Computer Corporation. In 2003, the company became Dell, Inc. Dell, Inc. became the most profitable PC manufacturer in the world. Dell sounds a lot better than PC's Limited.

9. Hidden meanings. Most names have hidden meanings such as Amazon which is the largest River on earth, is the largest book store on earth. I recommend you take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_company_name_etymologies

10. Run names by friends and relatives. They can be your best source for ideas, and best of all they will tell you if something sounds good to them or not. Ultimately what ever .com you choose it has to sound good to you!

I decided to pursue my passion, internet marketing. I have spent countless hours reading books, and listening to lectures. I finally decided to take the plunge. I created http://www.awesome-possum.com June of 2005. I hope in time to be a webmaster and internet marketer full time. I hope this article was helpful and informative. Email me webmaster@awesome-possum.com anytime. I am always happy to help.

Thanks Ryan Churchill


MORE RESOURCES:

Nominet registers over 7 million .uk domain names
Telecom Paper (subscription), Netherlands - 11 hours ago
UK domain name registry Nominet has announced that there are now over 7 million .uk domain names, with one million .uk domain names added since July 2007. ...


Social Site - Social Network. Social Domain Names at 200Best.com
Emediawire (press release), WA - Aug 28, 2008
These Social Domain Names are high quality rare dot com. David Anderson from 200Best.com explains "The popularity of social sites is soaring. ...


Domain Name Wire

Moniker Offers $7.49 .Mobi Domain Names
Domain Name Wire, TX - Aug 27, 2008
If you want to get your hands on any unregistered .mobi domain names, now may be a good time. Moniker just announced $7.49 per year pricing on new .mobi ...


JIPO moves to block sale by US-based company of athletes' domain names
Jamaica Observer, Jamaica - Aug 24, 2008
Domain names of Jamaican gold medal Olympians are being pedalled on the Internet and the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office JIPO - the government ...


OFFLINE: your_domain-bulgaria.com
Sofia Echo, Bulgaria - 13 hours ago
Over the years, a constant source of fun and teasing for me has been the type of domain names that Bulgarian companies and organisations have a tendency to ...


Creative Thinking: Replycycle for Parked Domain Names
Domain Name Wire, TX - Aug 26, 2008
If you think your parked domain names don’t receive e-mails, think again. Some of my domain names that aren’t parked but don’t have content receive multiple ...


Where to Find Free Domain Names
3x24 - Your Newspaper and News Magazine, Germany - Aug 25, 2008
There are some facts you should know about what is involved and what should be looked for in considering the offers of free domain names. ...


Fake charities spawn new warnings
Calgary Herald,  Canada - Aug 28, 2008
They're trying to predict when the next big natural disaster will hit, and are scooping up domain names that sound like charitable donation sites dedicated ...


Boosting numbers in .ke domain names
Business Daily Africa, Kenya - Aug 19, 2008
August 20, 2008: Internet domain names have increasingly become part of our daily lives, but the uptake of the .ke (dot ke) is still lagging behind. ...


Unlimited-Space to give away 1000 internet domain names this Thursday
Seeking Media (press release), Australia - Aug 24, 2008
Australian website hosting company and domain provider Unlimited-Space.com is set to take the internet world by storm by giving away 1000 domain names and ...

Domain-Names - Google News

home | site map
© 2006