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Judging a Domain Name

by internetz
6 replies
Hey Marketers!

I just picked up a domain name, and then thought to myself... is this even any good?! Okay... so I didn't quite think about it like that actually. Turns out I really like it, and am curious about how YOU judge a domain name as an Internet Marketer.

Lets assume that this domain name was chosen based on its brandability. When coming up with a site that will be a "general" affiliate website, what are the criteria you go by? How would you determine that you have a good domain name?

Hoping to go past the surface on this one... so I'm going to throw out:
1. be short and memorable
2. don't violate a trademark
3. get a .com (unless you're targeting a specific area)

Okay, your turn!
#domain #judging
  • Profile picture of the author Tom Addams
    I rarely buy domains without existing market value; I always consider the day when I decide to sell up. Of course, I could buy a name for branding purposes, with no current market value, and spend 10 years and $10 million branding the sucker, and then of course it would have had market value added to it. But, instead, I usually opt for existing market value.

    That being said, I can tell you what makes a good name for branding purposes:

    - Short
    - Catchy
    - Memorable
    - Easy to Spell
    - Easy to pronounce
    - No Numbers
    - No Hyphens
    - .Com
    - No Trademark Violation
    - Conveys The Message
    - Creates Positive Emotions
    - No Acronyms
    - Spelled the Same in Every Country
    - Aesthetics
    - Plural
    - The Way it Sounds
    - Connotations Must Be Positive & Support Message
    - Unique
    - Other Extensions Available
    - Unusual - If I plan to buy traffic & spend on building the brand
    - Understandable - If I plan to build traffic and brand from free traffic platforms.

    Tom
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    • Profile picture of the author sebast
      Hello,

      With the two of you everything has been said but well here is my list :

      -timeless
      -easy to say
      -you should be able to understand what's behind the site.
      -unique
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    • Profile picture of the author DenEdBiz
      Originally Posted by Get Rich Methods View Post

      That being said, I can tell you what makes a good name for branding purposes:

      - Short
      - Catchy
      - Memorable
      - Easy to Spell
      - Easy to pronounce
      - No Numbers
      - No Hyphens
      - .Com
      - No Trademark Violation
      - Conveys The Message
      - Creates Positive Emotions
      - No Acronyms
      - Spelled the Same in Every Country
      - Aesthetics
      - Plural
      - The Way it Sounds
      - Connotations Must Be Positive & Support Message
      - Unique
      - Other Extensions Available
      - Unusual - If I plan to buy traffic & spend on building the brand
      - Understandable - If I plan to build traffic and brand from free traffic platforms.

      Tom
      This is a really good list and even a few points here I had not considered before.

      I have registered a few different domains in my day and have always steered towards url's with the search term or relevant word within.

      If all of the exact words are taken then I will add a related word before or after the main word.
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    • Profile picture of the author Delboy Trotter
      Originally Posted by Get Rich Methods View Post

      I rarely buy domains without existing market value; I always consider the day when I decide to sell up. Of course, I could buy a name for branding purposes, with no current market value, and spend 10 years and $10 million branding the sucker, and then of course it would have had market value added to it. But, instead, I usually opt for existing market value.

      That being said, I can tell you what makes a good name for branding purposes:

      - Short
      - Catchy
      - Memorable
      - Easy to Spell
      - Easy to pronounce
      - No Numbers
      - No Hyphens
      - .Com
      - No Trademark Violation
      - Conveys The Message
      - Creates Positive Emotions
      - No Acronyms
      - Spelled the Same in Every Country
      - Aesthetics
      - Plural
      - The Way it Sounds
      - Connotations Must Be Positive & Support Message
      - Unique
      - Other Extensions Available
      - Unusual - If I plan to buy traffic & spend on building the brand
      - Understandable - If I plan to build traffic and brand from free traffic platforms.

      Tom
      Nothing more to add. Complete list
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  • Profile picture of the author somedevil
    I'd also check if it was pre-owned and what kind of links point back to it if any. Just to make sure it's a clean domain.
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  • Profile picture of the author AlexSchneider
    I would add that it really depends on what you want to do with that domain.

    If you want to do affiliate marketing - how do you drive traffic to that site/blog posts?

    If you use PPC it really doesn´t matter how you name your site.

    EMDs (Exact Match Domains) are not really honored by Google in the way as it was in the good golden days.

    So I would use something that you can tell someone over the phone and they do not get it wrong.

    If you plan to sell your business later on you should not use your name in your domain name.

    And do not overthink this.

    Take care
    Alex
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