23 replies
How much is a domain name a factor to a website? To me, I think on a scale of 1-10, it is AT LEAST an 8.

I wanted to venture out and start a business where I set up prepacked themed websites for local businesses. I will take pics, have a professional wordpress site made, customized, domain registered and hosted.

Anyway, all the domains were taken (we are all too familiar with that problem). After I put in about 40, I came to a conclusion... syncplete.com
Is this a stupid domain name? it is 2 AM and only on 6 hrs of sleep from the night before.
Business model is to connect local business to all facets of social media along with the website.
#domain #names #stupid
  • Profile picture of the author Daniel Evans
    I have a rule of thumb:

    If you picture yourself having to spell it out for someone, it's not very effective.

    Same goes for naming babies. Don't call your son or daughter anything stupid or throw in a fancy letter to a common name just to be different or you (and they) will spend a lifetime spelling things out.


    Daniel
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    • Profile picture of the author sotexis
      I have a domain name XyZyX.nl (XyZyX.com was gone)

      I came to it when I was travelling bij car between L.A. and L.V. Underway you see signs like: Road to XyZyX (a U-turn, thus a way to get in the other direction)"

      I pronouce it as "ksi-siks" and going to use this domain for a future Dutch political movement.

      Funny domains give owners the chance to explain more about their drives in political TV programs and give opponents a change to make funny look-a-likes like "k-see-nix", but they still promote your domain for free.
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      • Profile picture of the author James Gladwell
        Ah, I couldn't help but reply to this... Mostly because of my own ineffective blog domain name!

        Firstly, to reply to your question, I don't think your domain name is stupid, but I do think it doesn't work. It doesn't evoke anything for the person who reads it. Think about the best emotionally interesting domain names, like MassControl.com or FourHourWorkWeek.com or ProBlogger.net.

        Yours doesn't explain what your site is about or what it does.

        With all that said, when I started my internet marketing blog, I chose a rubbish domain name:

        AdventuresinInternetMarketing.net

        It's too long, it contains repeated letters ('inIn' in the middle), it's a .net which doesn't have as much authority as a .com... So many reasons it doesn't work.

        If you're doing offline marketing, Daniel's right, it must be easy and obvious to communicate it verbally.

        If you're doing mostly online marketing (like me) you can get away with a rubbish domain name (like mine!).
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        • Profile picture of the author AmandaT
          Originally Posted by James Gladwell View Post

          Ah, I couldn't help but reply to this... Mostly because of my own ineffective blog domain name!

          Firstly, to reply to your question, I don't think your domain name is stupid, but I do think it doesn't work. It doesn't evoke anything for the person who reads it. Think about the best emotionally interesting domain names, like MassControl.com or FourHourWorkWeek.com or ProBlogger.net.

          Yours doesn't explain what your site is about or what it does.

          With all that said, when I started my internet marketing blog, I chose a rubbish domain name:

          AdventuresinInternetMarketing.net

          It's too long, it contains repeated letters ('inIn' in the middle), it's a .net which doesn't have as much authority as a .com... So many reasons it doesn't work.

          If you're doing offline marketing, Daniel's right, it must be easy and obvious to communicate it verbally.

          If you're doing mostly online marketing (like me) you can get away with a rubbish domain name (like mine!).
          So YOU are the one that took that domain! (First one I looked for when choosing a domain for my IM blog.)
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      • Profile picture of the author wvdploeg
        Originally Posted by sotexis View Post

        I have a domain name XyZyX.nl (XyZyX.com was gone)



        I pronouce it as "ksi-siks" and going to use this domain for a future Dutch political movement.
        Well, Dutch political parties are supposed to have meaningless names Especially if they use the word 'Freedom' (Vrijheid) in it
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    • Profile picture of the author metaarticles
      Originally Posted by Daniel Evans View Post

      I have a rule of thumb:

      If you picture yourself having to spell it out for someone, it's not very effective.

      Same goes for naming babies. Don't call your son or daughter anything stupid or throw in a fancy letter to a common name just to be different or you (and they) will spend a lifetime spelling things out.


      Daniel
      Now that makes it really simple. You hit the nail on the head!
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    • Profile picture of the author GeraldNitram
      Originally Posted by Daniel Evans View Post

      I have a rule of thumb:

      If you picture yourself having to spell it out for someone, it's not very effective.

      Same goes for naming babies. Don't call your son or daughter anything stupid or throw in a fancy letter to a common name just to be different or you (and they) will spend a lifetime spelling things out.


      Daniel
      Good one, Daniel! I have to agree with this reply here. The name that you thought of is not stupid, by the way. It's actually cool. It's just that, just like what Daniel said, you'll have to spell it to people if you're going to say it personally.
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  • Profile picture of the author UMS
    Originally Posted by everydayreviews View Post

    After I put in about 40, I came to a conclusion... syncplete.com
    Is this a stupid domain name? it is 2 AM and only on 6 hrs of sleep from the night before.
    I wouldn't call it stupid as such, but it's not a name that rolls off the tongue easily as Daniel pointed out, you would have to continually spell it.
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  • Profile picture of the author ashloren
    www.brandedsite.com is available.
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  • Profile picture of the author megawarrior
    I wouldn't go for a domain name that could easily be mispelled, since you can just as easily lose the traffic when mispellings occur.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dimitris Skiadas
    For me, there are no stupid website domain names.
    For me there are domain names that a person is very unlikely to remember, in order to visit it.
    The sound that a cow makes(mooooo) is totally funny, right? Would you ever call your website like that? I know a company here in Greece that has done it.And it is really easy to remember, right??

    Dimitris
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  • Profile picture of the author charlesburke
    So what sense do the names amazon, ebay, yahoo and google make? Where's the keyword in each of those names? I'm not sure it matters if you're going to build a real business. If, however, you're going to build up a relatively small, niche type site, then yeah, the keyword-rich names can make a difference.
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  • Profile picture of the author everydayreviews
    well guys, I went ahead and created a website for a new business. I know you guys advised not using that domain name, but I used it anyway... made a video as well.
    its going to be for local businesses. Going to go around and hand a card to all business owners. let me know what you think: Syncplete Media | Get your business synced
    btw, I never thought in a million years I would be doing this. seems unreal and probably a 99% chance it'll fail
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  • Profile picture of the author paul_1
    Congratulations!!! Welcome Syncplete.com...
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  • Profile picture of the author graphitewf
    please sleep on it for atleast two days ... I waste 1 for every 10 I buy because I cannot believe I purchased the name!

    oops didnt see you bought it, good job with the nova theme
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  • Profile picture of the author icegin
    I agree with Daniel. It seems to me that a domain name is only important to the extent that it is easily recognisable and memorable -- if people have to think too much about how to spell out a domain title, that's a problem.

    It looks like a good site but don't put yourself off by thinking that you'll probably fail. Just do some research, experiment and put in the effort -- you may be surprised by the results you get
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  • Profile picture of the author Jonathan Joseph
    Hi there,

    I'd suggest a domain name that:

    1) Can be memorized.

    2) Is easy to spell.

    3) Has a promise or benefit in it.

    4) Perhaps has your niche keyword in it.

    5) With only letters, no numbers.

    You have a few of the top five choices above. Perhaps think about the rest, and try to get more sleep. Easier said than done, I know.
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    Jon

    "Success comes when people act together; failure tends to happen alone." -- Deepak Chopra

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  • Profile picture of the author Bujuk
    All depend on your intention. For a business the name need to reflect the business itself. This is part of the branding effort. And very important. It can be catchy or meaningful.
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
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    Originally Posted by everydayreviews View Post

    I came to a conclusion... syncplete.com
    Is this a stupid domain name? it is 2 AM and only on 6 hrs of sleep from the night before.
    Business model is to connect local business to all facets of social media along with the website.
    The name doesn't say anything about the kind of business it is. It doesn't roll off the tongue easily. I would go back to the drawing board.
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    • Profile picture of the author ShaneGorry
      google.com yahoo.com twitter.com all these sound stupid to me. Did when I first heard of them, still do today. But they are memorable. And They are easy to spell.
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    • Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

      The name doesn't say anything about the kind of business it is. It doesn't roll off the tongue easily. I would go back to the drawing board.
      Too late. He fell in love with it.

      We have a natural bias towards our own ideas and it often steers us wrong.

      OP: What is a sync plate anyway? Get used to hearing that question.

      fLufF
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  • Profile picture of the author carlrinde
    syncplete, that name really sounds funny to me but could be the attracting factor to your site. You should however be optimistic that it will work and it will not fail. Goodluck
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  • Profile picture of the author tenji
    I don't think it's crazy, but it's definitely an interesting experience, guys.
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