Yes, they are very good ads, but what a brilliant domain name! Eminently brand-able, no spelling problems, and two 'weird' letters (v and x) that create a memorable impact. But most of all, even though it isn't a keyword, you sure know what the topic is. Not even Amazon.com does that.
I was wondering what domain names others have admired and why, outside the obvious ""awesome-keyword.com" kind of thing.
As usual, no self promotion please. And in a change from our
usual ways, links are not really indicated here - just list any
domain names you admire and talk about why.Thanks - tedster
i.e.
"I'm going to Google this"
sounds better than
"I'm going to Yahoo this" - too much established usage to go against
"I'm going to MSN this" - you've got to be joking
Perhaps Teoma could do it if they became better known but even then I think that one extra syllable does for them.
I still can't imagine saying "I'm going to Kartoo this" though but I can't see why it doesn't sound right. Any ideas? Is it the long vowel on the end?
A pond thing?
I also think kelkoo is quite nice.
There's a story abot the man that coined the word 'googel or googal' as a number and his family are looking at suing Google.
Take Kelkoo, it reminds me of cornflakes but what does it mean. I can see yahoo almost like Eureka .. it works.
Dogpile ... is what it sounds like.
Ebay, how did that come about?
I like a name that relates to the topic of the site and has some personal humor behind it. For example, a guy I once worked with was talking trash to the boss and made a comment that he was not worried about being fired, he would just go work for "Team ______" (fill in the blank with my last name). Needless to say the suggestion that I might go out on my own got me a raise, but the name "Team______.com" kept my interest. (It's still parked)
While writing this post I tried for two more domains that I came up with. One parked with a search portal and the other is 9 years old with a crap layout. Looks like I'm off to snapnames.
a pond thing
Maybe. I hear the word vehicle all the time - and it's most precise for a site that deals in cars, vans, SUVs, trucks and busses.
his family are looking at suing Google
That story hit last year around IPO time, and it always said "may sue" or, as you mentioned, "are looking at", but nothing has happened in that year. I never gave the story a lot of creedence - it just seems daft (like a lot of tech lawsuits do to me.)
A domain I always liked was Infoseek (rest in peace). Nothing flashy, just a straight-ahead workhorse. Something like GoTo.com in that regard. That pioneer has certainly been through the name change with another one probably approaching,
no spelling problems
Only for native English speakers.
German misspellings:
wehix
wehicks
wehigs
wiehix
wiehicks
wiehigs
French misspellings:
ouihix
ouihigs
ouihigs
ouihigues
ouix
ouigs
ouigues
All of these sound exactly or almost exactly like the American/English spelling of vehix!
Only for native English speakers.
Ah, yes. I suppose the multi-lingual issue is one place where Google, Yahoo and Amazon have it made, even though the names are not clear in their meaning. (Well, there is that double "o" thing happening.)
Reminds me of the outdoor footwear company, Teva. It's a Hebrew word that means something like "nature" and it should be pronounced "teh-vah" but most people who know the brand say "tee-vah".
Certain consonants have cross-language problems (f, v, w, g come to mind) but vowels are more troublesome, especially doubled vowels and combinations. "ee" is very different between German or Dutch and English. "oe" is also strange -- and "ie" or "ei" trips up English speakers all the time.
How does the name overture.com sit with non-English folks, I wonder. Easy to spell if you just hear it?
The best names will all be for concepts created for the web, and dependent on it. Existing businesses pretty much go with their existing names. While this is appropriate and helpful, it doesn't have much creativity. IBM.com or NYtimes.com are the best choice for them, but boring.
For protests, whoever came up with [companyname]sucks.com was a genius.
I remember it because the site is valid xhtml strict, and an all css layout with no tables AND workable flash! But that's neither praise nor blame for their choice of domain name. In fact, the name does match their entire marketing campaign. And it's not too bad, either. You may not immediately get "jeans" when you hear it, but you do get clothing. It's also easy to remember and spell (for English speakers at least).
I like working with small domains for big companies - lining them up with this or that aspect of what they do. In real estate, for instance, many of the big firms have satellite domains that are much more web/keyword oriented. But real estate on the web is, well, seriously nuts.
However, many domain names lead to invalid mark-up - even some of mine ;)
vehix.com - unique name & trademark, somewhat suggestive of site content, memorable
cars.com - generic name, not trademarkable (except with ".com"), but tons of type-in potential and SE power (#1 for "cars" most everywhere)
cheapcars.com - weaker from most standpoints, but tells you something about the business (currently parked, btw)
Certainly, some of the most powerful web brands have used either invented words (google.com) or words used out of their normal context (yahoo.com, amazon.com).
It's a little confusing when you first see it in the SERPs, so I clicked on it thinking it was a subdomain of widgeting.com. After a closer look...
googolplex - the highest number there is
How does the name overture.com sit with non-English folks, I wonder. Easy to spell if you just hear it?
The English pronounciation "Ohwatschu" is somewhat difficult for Germans. We usually pronounce it like "Over-tueree" (the "ue" like in the French word "rue"). The good thing though is that the word itself is a valid German word coming from classical orchestra music, and therefore the correct spelling and the correct (germanized) pronounciation is not really a problem. It only becomes a problem if you use the English pronounciation.
@treeline:
I always thought Match.com was clever.
Again, German tongues get mislead to pronounce it like "Matsch" - which means "mud" in German. Also, Germans think foremostely along the lines of tools to light a cigeratte, instead of matching things with each other (or mathcing queries to information).
The pitfalls are many, and the creative solution to a domain name challenge can be buried under something or other. The "e" and "i" prefixes, or "online" suffix are sometimes nifty. eTrade.com comes to mind, along with the previously mentioned, and very clever ePinions.com.
I've been involved in many domain name considerations with clients - sometimes quite agonizing. Some have been triggered when a new company discovers that the domain name they want must also be free!
I worked with one client who had already commited to an offline ad campaign based around a domain they did not own and could not purchase. They just didn't know! But they sure do now, many thousands of lost dollars later.
Ebay, how did that come about?
An auction house often has an "auction bay" - an alcove where related offerings are on display for potential bidders to examine. Not a bad choice of domain name, even if a little outside common knowledge. It sure gave them a good start in the business.
FOS.com.
Goes to prove the rule that we always used when I worked in advertising .."never ever let the suits do the product name" ..what they think is "cute" is just other planetary..
My all time favorites go to Stavros ..he of "EASY" followed by whatever you want..
Ps.I do own a whole bunch of French dot coms for things like "ù^$*you" dot com and "dumbstuff" etc and slang ( argot) words and phrases ( and worse )..at six dollars a time it's just like buying myself a beer ..and either I'll get around to building something with em ...( like adsense vehix ;)..or wait for the offers ..
My second alltime favourite would have to be "Amish dot com" ..there is no way that the Amish could ever sue for the name without being totally un Amish ..the paradox is perfect :)
I can relax now or ponder over Kanoodle!
