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What domain name should I choose?

by Morten V
33 replies
It's for an ecommerce website. It stands between:

www.xxxitems.com

or

www.xxxstuff.com

xxx = the keyword for the niche.

Need some suggestions.
#choose #domain
  • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
    Neither. Both are terrible and neither is brandable.
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    • Profile picture of the author Morten V
      Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

      Neither. Both are terrible and neither is brandable.
      What would you suggest then? Jump into your opt-in box?
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    • Profile picture of the author writeaway
      Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

      Neither. Both are terrible and neither is brandable.
      Yeah, you're right. Neither are easy to remember. It's not like people will spell out the x's. He's better off with a personal-type brand name.
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  • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
    Some examples....
    • For a site about German Shephards: GSDNation.com
    • For a site about camping: MillerCamping.com
    • For a site about about women's clothing: FashonistaInc.com
    Use a domain that sounds legit and is brandable....
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    • Profile picture of the author Morten V
      Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

      Some examples....
      • For a site about German Shephards: GSDNation.com
      • For a site about camping: MillerCamping.com
      • For a site about about women's clothing: FashonistaInc.com
      Use a domain that sounds legit and is brandable....
      I see your point there.

      What if I said for example: www. CampingForAll.com - still bad?
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  • Profile picture of the author kindsvater
    Go with stuff and it can be completely brandable (of course, we don't know your niche) and memorable. I'd use shepardstuff.com over gsdnation.com every day.

    .

    .
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    • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
      And that would be a mistake. GSD owners don't refer to their German shepherds as "shepherds". They refer to them as GSD's when shorthanding and as "German shepherds" when not shorthanding.

      By using "shepherdstuff.com", you'd already be demonstrating you are out of touch with the GSD community.

      Look around you. How many real businesses and brands use names like "xxxstuff.com"?
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      • Profile picture of the author kindsvater
        Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

        Look around you. How many real businesses and brands use names like "xxxstuff.com"?
        You haven't seen my niche websites, but I have some experience on this issue and using words like 'stuff' which are short and memorable.

        Over 1000 live trademarks and umpteen thousand "stuff" websites are more that sufficient to suggest you're missing something with just that one word, not to mention an almost infinite number of similar words.

        Fact is, there is no single right answer, and suggestions will differ depending on the niche. But I do know a wrong answer - and that is to tell someone never to use a domain with 'stuff' or similar wording.

        Or, come to think of it ... you're right. Please - no one should use any fun, short, or memorable suffixes for a domain. It's a dumb idea. Because we all know that kind of name could never be branded. It's against the rules of branding. Just think of how big Google could have been if it had just called itself Miller Search, or if NetFlix was Miller Movies, or Stub Hub was Miller Tickets, or Buzz Feed was Miller News, or Mail Chimp was Miller Email, or Host Gator was Miller Hosting, etc.

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        • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
          Originally Posted by kindsvater View Post

          You haven't seen my niche websites, but I have some experience on this issue and using words like 'stuff' which are short and memorable.

          Over 1000 live trademarks and umpteen thousand "stuff" websites are more that sufficient to suggest you're missing something with just that one word, not to mention an almost infinite number of similar words.

          Fact is, there is no single right answer, and suggestions will differ depending on the niche. But I do know a wrong answer - and that is to tell someone never to use a domain with 'stuff' or similar wording.

          Or, come to think of it ... you're right. Please - no one should use any fun, short, or memorable suffixes for a domain. It's a dumb idea. Because we all know that kind of name could never be branded. It's against the rules of branding. Just think of how big Google could have been if it had just called itself Miller Search, or if NetFlix was Miller Movies, or Stub Hub was Miller Tickets, or Buzz Feed was Miller News, or Mail Chimp was Miller Email, or Host Gator was Miller Hosting, etc.

          .
          Despite the sightly condescending tone and poor attempt to ridicule my position, virtually everything you just said actually makes my point....

          Google vs Searchstuff.com
          Netflix vs Moviestuff.com
          Buzzfeed vs Newsstuff.com
          Mail Chimp vs Emailstuff.com
          HostGator vs Hostingstuff.com

          If you can't see the difference in brand-ability between the names, you are being intentionally obtuse.

          Also, in your haste to argue with me, you said to never say never. Could you point to the phrase where I said to "never" use the word stuff?
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          • Profile picture of the author PBScott
            Stuff is the better of the two choices.
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  • Profile picture of the author AffEngineer
    Don't think too much about it. Just pick something and go for it!

    Thinking of domain names take way too long sometimes.

    If I were to pick, I'd pick 'stuff' over items. Less sylables, always better
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  • Profile picture of the author videobyemail
    You should try to include 2 or 3 keywords in the domain name that have to do witht he content on yoru site
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    • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
      Originally Posted by videobyemail View Post

      You should try to include 2 or 3 keywords in the domain name that have to do witht he content on yoru site
      No, you shouldn't. That was a strategy 7 years ago. With the rise of social media, you build a brand. Forget the keywords.
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve L
    I'd get away from this always having to stuff a keyword in your business name or domain name. I'd choose both based on how brandable the name is. You want something short, fun, and easy to remember/read/spell. etc.
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  • Profile picture of the author jaintechnosoft
    It is advisable to go with Exact Match Domain (EMD) names as they increase the brand awareness of your business and website.
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    • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
      Originally Posted by jaintechnosoft View Post

      It is advisable to go with Exact Match Domain (EMD) names as they increase the brand awareness of your business and website.
      What are you talking about? How, exactly, does an EMD (a strategy from 7 years ago) do ANYTHING AT ALL for "branding"??
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  • Profile picture of the author Kiranattu
    Stuff is the best choice.. according to me.
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  • Profile picture of the author 60MinuteAffiliate
    I agree that the two options do not sound good.

    In this day and age it's a lot about branding and also sounding reputable.

    Let's say your site is about camping - and I'm not saying any of these domains are available - but it's to give you ideas

    everythingcamping.com

    campingworld.com

    ilovecamping.com

    campingwarehouse.com

    outdoorcampstore.com

    longlivecamping.com

    campingforseniors.com

    Just to give you an idea.

    Good luck with your search.

    Have a blissful day.

    Colleen
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  • Profile picture of the author copycash
    I have a way to find domains and it is real simple. I have a word of the day from dictionary.com and I get a word every day. Most are nothing, but when a word comes up that might work, I then go to the Synonyms and Antonyms and see if there is a good sound or words together...like stuff could be gear
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  • Profile picture of the author copycash
    www.xxxgear.com www.xxxessentials.com. You can dig as deep as you want and find words that relate to what your niche is. This really helps find words that could mean stuff or items, finding the right words can be a task, but it's better than any other way I've tried. It also makes for a great brandable name. Now names like reddit, instagram,yelp, and all the weird names like that come from creativity and they do come along, but to stay level in ecom, the method described would be best. It works for me and maybe give it a try. Hope this helps...oh and it increase your vocabulary too..
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  • Profile picture of the author john01a
    Unless you're only expecting to get traffic from search engines... rather go for a name that's easy on the eyes and easy to remember, than making sure your name includes keywords.

    And, if you are only expecting traffic from search engines, then use the one that'll get more searches.

    But, focusing on creating a memorable brand name is better, even if it doesn't have a single keyword init, is much better than a name stuffed with keywords.

    Out of the eCommerce sites, or any sites for that matter, that come to mind right away, none have keywords in them... there name even has nothing to do with what they're about. But their names are catchy and easy to remember.
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  • Profile picture of the author AffiliatePrograms
    Lol, now someone is posting in this duplicate thread.

    This thread is a duplicate, here's the other one:

    http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...l#post10625710
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  • Profile picture of the author forexauditor
    Whatever it is, it should be as per the content and SEO strategies for good ranking.
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    • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
      Originally Posted by forexauditor View Post

      Whatever it is, it should be as per the content and SEO strategies for good ranking.
      What SEO strategies were these names based on?
      • Google
      • Netflix
      • CNET
      • Buzzfeed
      • TigerDirect
      • Amazon
      • eBay
      • CNN
      • FoxNews
      • MSNBC
      • Reuters
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      • Profile picture of the author forexauditor
        Originally Posted by wolfmmiii View Post

        What SEO strategies were these names based on?
        • Google
        • Netflix
        • CNET
        • Buzzfeed
        • TigerDirect
        • Amazon
        • eBay
        • CNN
        • FoxNews
        • MSNBC
        • Reuters
        If you have enough money to promote your brand with so called "special names", then SEO does not matter. Just wanted to say that domian name also plays important role while doing SEO.
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        • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
          Originally Posted by forexauditor View Post

          domian name also plays important role while doing SEO.
          Not nearly as much as it did 7 years ago. And you don't need lots of money to promote a brand. With a budget of $5/day, you can add upwards of 2000-4000 Facebook fans per month. With that kind of fan base, traffic generation and brand awareness is a piece of cake as long as you provide what your fans are looking for.

          Using EMDs and keyword domains are crutches for the lazy marketer... And they don't even work like they used to.
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  • Profile picture of the author Morten V
    Thanks for all the replies, it was really helpful. I went for a pure branding name and not a keyword name. As said earlier with the rise of social media brand awareness is more important than keyword names.
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  • Profile picture of the author PolicyMaker
    I would also recommend to go for a Branded names instead of keyword...in case if you are planning to build an authority site...
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    • Profile picture of the author wolfmmiii
      Originally Posted by PolicyMaker View Post

      in case if you are planning to build an authority site...
      If you are trying to build a sustainable business, this should "always" be the plan.
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  • Profile picture of the author discrat
    Yeah I think wolf has some valid points. EMD was all the rave when I first started in 2008. Not so much anymore especially since Organic traffic is so fickle these days with all the Google Updates.

    I would think of a name that is unique and yes even brandable.

    Of course NEVER say NEVER. You could still have some KYs in a domain and just use prefixes or suffixes to make it unique as well


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  • Profile picture of the author Dano101
    In all honesty.

    You make a name for the name. But that name aint nothing until you promote the brand and crap out of it.

    Example. Wtf is Pepsi. The person who named that soda felt that name should do it.

    But everyone else at the time said wtf. Lol. Wtf is a Pepsi.

    But then Pepsi took over things and now everyone knows Pepsi without them having to make another commercial for the next 50 years.

    So pick whatever name you like. But just make sure that you do your due diligence to make sure that the name is implanted in everyone's mind by the time you finish campaigning like Julius Caesar. Lol


    Take no prisoners and make that money. Lol

    Good luck.
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  • Profile picture of the author agarwalsumit317
    both are bad. don't ever use a xxx kinda word for you ecommerce type website. think something else
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  • Profile picture of the author Profit Traveler
    Banned
    GOOGLE is still one of the goofiest crazy sounding names ever. So who can preach on what is a loser? What is your site about? Searching...oh Google its perfect. What the?!

    My best advice..make it memorable, no dashes or numbers as substitute for words like Good4Biz and .com always top choice.

    And yes Google fits that description. But still!

    You want to be able to say your domain on a crowded elevator to someone and everyone that hears it goes and looks it up later out of curiosity.

    I remember creating a domain in Credit niche years ago..very very very competitive but I just came up with WhoNeedsCredit.com and WhoWantsCredit.com
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