What makes A Good, Bad or Great Domain Name?

To understand what goes into selecting a Great Domain Name it is helpful to understand what makes a really bad one. Domain Names need to be easy to remember and entry correctly. Don't underestimate "word of mouth" as a route to a site. Even placed ads need to easy recognition and retention.

In addition Domain Names need to be portable. Top level Domain Names can be moved to a different IP with out the loss of traffic. The recommendations are written with commercial sites in mind. All the names used, as bad examples are believed to be fictitious, and are used as examples only. Some sites are listed as follows "http://www.megaisp.net/~normsgetrichquick/buynow.html". While it is a valid address, Norm has two problems. When he leaves Mega ISP his address will change and the URL is too long and complex to remember. It also tells the world that Norm hasn't even registered a permanent Domain Name, which undermines his credibility. Even if he pays his provider for a third level (sub)domain name & ends up with the address of "http://www.normsgetrichquick.megaisp.net/", he still has only slightly improved his URL. The correct business like way to list a company on the Internet is "http://www.yourcompany.com". A Domain Name is portable you can move it to any ISP and there will be no loss of traffic, (if done correctly) old links will still work, ads and collateral materials will still be valid.

Some Domain Names are better than others are. Some companies have excellent name recognition. Sony, Disney, CNN, ABC, to name just a few. Most businesses are not so fortunate. A Domain Name does not have to be a company name; it can be a product, product category or location. The common refrain right now is that all the good Domain Names are gone. Yes, many are already in use. But, we find great new ones everyday. While it is sometimes very expensive, existing Domain Names can be purchased. Many URLs are being held just so they can be sold.

What makes a Great Domain Name? It needs to be easy to remember, and enter correctly. A name with spelling different from pronunciation can lead to frustration and a loss of traffic. If you have a restaurant called "the lunch boxx" register a URL of "lunchbox.com" as well as "thelunchboxx.com" and have your ISP point both of them at your site. Then track the traffic from both names and see what happens.

We try to use Domains that are seven letters or less to make them quick and easy to enter as well as fit them on collateral ad materials latter. Our company name and URL is a good example of the use of acronyms. Entering "raylitmanphotographics.com" instead of "rlpg.com" would be harder to remember, take longer and be more prone to mistakes. Companies spend large ad budgets on name recognition and some are rethinking that with the Internet in mind. Keep in mind that the Internet reaches the entire world. Many companies will gladly sell to all that will place an order.

If your company is confined to location related business your Domain Name can help. Try a state or location tag if needed. A production company might use
"video-arizona.com" to indicate they don't tape weddings in Ohio. If you have a name that doesn't indicate what or where you do business, try a creative Domain Name solution. The Dorado Company sells gems and is located in Arizona hence "azgem.com". Some locations and city names are more confusing than others are.

Stay away from complex spellings. Make a sample and have several people try to read it... "http://www.albuquerquenorwegianelkhoundgroomingparlor.com" no matter how correct or descriptive that name is, it is also a good example of a "bad" URL. In some cases a "-" will improve readability and allow use of a name that is already in use. When Western Plastics, Inc. wanted to register they found an unrelated non-competitive firm was using it. They now use "western-plastics.com" quite successfully. We do caution that if another competitive firm is using "lowcostcpus.com" it would be a bad idea to use "low-cost-cpus.com". It will just send business to your competition.

A Great Domain Name... Keep it short, easy to remember accurately, and promote it.

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