A domain name is an important part of web design and overall marketing strategy. A domain name plays an important role in identifying a company, brand name, or website on the Internet and when done correctly, generates interest. A well-derived domain name is simple to remember and easy to find. Coming up with an effective domain name requires strategic thinking and planning, and possibly even linguistic creativity.
It is important to ensure that your domain name reflects the name and reputation of your business accurately. For information on cultivating a positive reputation and authenticity read Internet Reputation: Building Trust and Demonstrating Authority.
The Basics of Domain Name Generation
There are some basics to consider before diving in and creating your domain name. Ideally you want your domain name to be or have:
- Short
- Catchy and memorable
- Easy to pronounce
- Easy to spell
- Not too similar to competing domain names
- Not a violation of a trademark
- Not vulgar
- Clarity of meaning
Clarity of meaning is notable, as sometimes the creation of a name may be intended to be understood in one way, but can be seen to suggest another pronunciation or meaning. The meaning of your company name or the catchy domain name when made into one word can connote another, sometimes offensive idea.
For example: A fictitious business could be Sam Tupid Sales. A domain name rarely uses hyphens as they are sometimes difficult to remember, so a common method is to combine several words or names together into one word (samtupidsales.com). Another common tactic is to shorten long domain names to help ease the act of remembering or typing it. A good tactic is to abbreviate the first name of a business, in this case the name Sam. What you get is stupidsales.com, which the business can read as (s)am(tupidsales).com, but a lot others are seeing stupid sales dot com. Avoiding these errors in judgment can help maintain the reputation of your business and its perception on the Internet.
Are you willing spend a lot for your name?
As part of strategically developing the name, remember that single word/term domain names, such as backpacks.com or noodle.com, almost do not exist anymore with a unique .com extension; they have been registered already by businesses or have been bought by third party resellers. It can also be difficult to find single word names for other less popular, but relevant, extensions as .net, .org, and even .tv. In either scenario, the owner of the name could ask for a large price if you inquire about purchase of the name.
If you are not willing to spend a lot for your name, the next step is to determine how you will drive traffic to your site. There are two schools of thought on this subject: Discoverable and Brandable name generation strategies.
The Discoverable Name Generation Strategy
Discoverable domain names are based on the idea that the name can be found by a visitor who does not know your site or company, but is conducting searches based on keywords or phrases related to a specific topic, product, service, or niche. They type that word in the search or navigation bar and your site is revealed on the search list. A discoverable name normally describes what you are known for and therefore should reflect that idea. Examples of such names are: podcast.com, newsserve.com, or even goodbutler.com. These names portray what the site is before the home page is even seen.
The Brandable Name Generation Strategy
Brandable domain names establish a unique word that is then associated with a company to create a memorable branding of the idea in a consumer’s mind. It extends the branding and identity the company already has with its traditional marketing (logo, stationary, name, commercials, brochures) into the name of its Internet presence. Therefore people who already know the name of the website can use search or direct means to visit it. Some brandable names, like Twitter.com, provide a unique string which can be transferred from user’s memory to the internet media for quick searches. Examples of such names are: squidoo.com, webocity.com, ameggido.com, and twistmister.com.
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