Has anyone been lucky with good .com's?
We've had the Gold Rush already. Now it is a matter of mining in areas that have yet to be mined. :)Thats why i sometimes wish I was a bit older ;)
How much do you think the names Google, Yahoo, Twitter... are worth?Are worth? Probably millions! ;) They are exceptions. A good domain can always help.
Maybe they won't get any type-in traffic,...I doubt many domains get type-in traffic anymore. More and more people are learning the difference between URL's and Search Engines.
anyway, with all the softwares and web-services used in acquiring names that are about to expire we need to search and dig much deeper.
Honestly, I have searched almost every stupid combination of 2 relative keywords to my business + included the ones that don't really make sense either and they are all taken!
Get creative with hyphens.
There are even some sites that generate these for you. I remember seeing a site called something like "good Name For a Band" and it was just some english randomizer.
Like:
yellow platypus
or
juicy steamboat
Keep in mind your name doesn't have to have any meaning at all to your industry. In fact the top companies in most industries have names that have nothing to do with their mandate.
Google and Yahoo come to mind.
You can even try spelling out sounds phonetically.
Aiyeee
whomp
cha ching
[edited by: Demaestro at 7:49 pm (utc) on May 14, 2009]
Do you know of any very popular website that uses hyphens in the domain?
Yes. Try www.ama-assn.org (the official site for the American Medical Association!)
also, strolling through Alexa I found a stack of successful hyphenated .com websites, particularly in categories like health and arts.
I can't remember the last time I typed a hyphenated domain name, I can't. Those that have them usually have all permutations and the hyphens occurred naturally or an SEO was involved in the decision to separate the keywords using hyphens and launch with that domain. I would have never done that but there are many around here who would.
Hyphens are the Kiss of Death. They even look like it. Puckered lips and all.
[6]-[/6]
Darn things will always convert in URI Shortening routines too (the hyphen(s) cause it). You can't maintain any domain name brand on networks like Twitter.
Nah, I'd say hyphens are the Kiss of Death in most instances.
[edited by: Webwork at 11:56 am (utc) on May 15, 2009]
[edit reason] Please - NO domain tool links or tool promotions per Domain Forum Charter [/edit]
Is that strictly legal though? It sounds like a measure designed to stifle competition.
Is that strictly legal though?
What would be illegal about it? You'd never get an international agreement about it...never, never, never!
It sounds like a measure designed to stifle competition.
So long as you're not squatting on competitors trademarks etc, where's the problem?
Is one going to be penalised for first mover advantage etc? :-)
As an example, I picked up the German word for "see you soon". A killer 6 letter .com that may or may not see the light of day. I'm still thinking about that one.
german for "see you soon" is "bis bald" = 7 letters ;)
anyhow, the .com for german words is pretty useless in most cases, all the more if you don't own the .de of the same word. you'll get in the same trouble like people who own the .net but not the .com. german words are used almost exclusively with the .de as that tld comes to peoples' minds first of all. and if you own the .de you will want to 301 the .com there.
german for "see you soon" is "bis bald" = 7 letters ;)
I wondered who else would know that unless there is another colloquisim of which I am not aware:-) ... Hmmm... going to get told now eh?
and if you own the .de you will want to 301 the .com there.
Yep, so many do not realise that .com-mon is not that so much used in some countries!
Is it just me or does this conversation seem to come around on a fairly regular basis?
this topic has migrated from two word or two letter to hyphenated to foreign word(s)
My first word was something like: my, your, I , e,
I think that is your problem. Maybe try your keyword with some non-trendy prefix or suffix. Like putting an X or Q in front of the keyword or maybe ending the keyword with "ology" or similar typical suffix. exampleology.com :)
@dailypress Have you considered a premium/aftermarket domain name?
...I think that is your problem. Maybe try your keyword with some non-trendy prefix or suffix. Like putting an X or Q in front of the keyword or maybe ending the keyword with "ology" or similar typical suffix. exampleology.com :)
Yes, I have. However, I am looking for a specific domain combination. I would like a specific keyword in it and I dont think adding suffixes like X will help.
I just got a response to purchase a one made up word .com domain that I think may work for my new business, but I have been playing the (negotiating and delaying in email response game for the past 10 days) which of course I hate playing but it seems as if the seller doesnt mind doing! ;) Wish me luck!
I would post an example here but don't want to break TOS, but I'm pretty sure most people have seen some of the more obvious examples.
When Amazon.com and ebay.com where registered, the owners could easily have registered 100s of names with "books", or "auction" in it, yet they didn't call it "mynextbook.com" or "yetanotherautctionsite.com" (just checked out of curiosity: 1st. one is taken and parked, second one is still out there).
I'm purely speculating here as a user might think that your brand name is more appealing and looks more professional and be drawn to that, but you never know how people think. As with most things, I guess there are pros and cons.
It is of course a lot easier/cheaper to market a new brand these days with various social tools but I still think you need a bit more financial muscle to really get your brand out there in the beginning to compete.
Any other thoughts on this?
I'm purely speculating here as a user might think that your brand name is more appealing and looks more professional and be drawn to that, but you never know how people think. As with most things, I guess there are pros and cons.
I did this. I got the .net keyword domain that perfectly described the product, and also made a trade name domain (made up 6 letter word). The .net domain got to the first page of Google. The trade name never got within 5 pages of #1.
Sales from the keyword domain : $0
Sales from the brand :$10K per month online, $240K per month offline.
It seems that people search for their very particular need, not the generic trade name. These were auto parts so there is some specificity to the applications. The sales were always from long-tail type detail keyword searches with one exceptoin - the best paying keyword was the domain name and its misspellings (lots of misspellings!)
Online revenue got to $.50 per visitor, which I thought was pretty good.
Brands work - yes they take time and yes you need to promote the brand. All things being equal, well nothing ever is equal. I prefer to do branded sites that can be told verbally and understood, in .com - your mileage may vary.
