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Naming an Internet based business or
start-up can be a daunting task. Do you follow the zany likes of Google and
Yahoo, or do you go the more literal route of Hotels.com and Cars.com? Do you
need to have the exact matching domain name as your brick-and-mortar business?
And just how important is the .com vs. the .net? With so many choices to make
and directions to go, let's start with the basics.
1. Decide if you are building a business or a brand.
I mention this since many online entrepreneurs are focused on short-term goals.
They want to get their site up fast, get ranked high and start making money.
This all sounds good but it leaves a business vulnerable in a number of ways.
Short term thinking usually leads to literal names that will (supposedly) rank
well with the search engines. In addition, literal/functional names are thought
to better inform visitors about what products and services are provided.
While descriptive names do convey a sense of what you do, they fall short in
creating an identity, a sense of how you do what you do. So you end up in a sea
of sound-alike companies. LendingTree.com (a metaphor) is much more memorable
than e-loan.com, loansfast.com or loan-place.com. Amazon.com (another metaphor)
brings richer imagery to mind than BooksAMillion.com.
Unless you own a primary domain name with a lot of natural type-in traffic,
descriptive names usually fall flat in the long run. You may make a decent
living, but it would be difficult to grow a long lasting company called
MensDressShoes.com. It would always sound generic and descriptive and would rely
heavily on the ever-changing algorithms of the search engines. Most descriptive
names rely on web surfers typing the search term into the web address box as a
.com, hoping to find a relevant company. But what if this changes and consumers
turn more and more to using search engines? What if the search engines change
their valuation of having keywords in the domain name? You have then built a
company that relies on the unpredictable nature of Internet search engines to
make you profitable.
Having said all that, even if you wanted a generic short word, it's probably now
beyond most businesses' price range. Diamonds.com recently sold for 7.5 million
dollars. Best advice -- build a brand name and then point generic/descriptive
names to the main website address.
2. Come up with a naming strategy.
Go to a directory such as Yahoo.com or dmoz.org and look up competitors in your
field. Examine the most common naming methods they use (i.e. proper names, key
attributes, metaphors, etc.). If you discover your industry heavily utilizes one
form of naming, avoid it and use another. If half of the companies are using the
evocative theme of discovery (i.e. Internet Explorer, Netscape, Safari, etc.),
then try something different such as an analogy (i.e. Firefox). Map out a list
of your competitors' names and see how your names compare against them. Consider
such naming techniques as:
• Focusing on a key attribute (Priceline.com)
• Focusing on a key attribute (Priceline.com)
• Adding a suffix (Travelocity.com)
• Creating an invented name (Expedia.com)
• Utilizing an evocative word (Orbitz.com)
• Mixing words in new combinations (HotWire.com)
The more strategies you employ, the more naming options you will have at your
disposal. Be careful of misspelled names since they will create one more
obstacle when it comes to finding your domain name. Some companies can manage
this because they have large budgets (i.e. Cingular.com); but as much as
possible, focus on names that can be clearly stated, understood and spelled.
3. Search to see if the names on your list are available.
A great place to start is DomainTools.com. They will not only allow you to look
up a domain name to see if it's available, but they also have a link for domain
suggestions when the desired domain in not available. While these suggestions
are not always the most creative, they may spark some additional ideas. Plus
they show related names that are for sale or at auction on other sites. Another
good site is BuyDomains.com. Unlike DomainTools.com, which simply lists whether
domains are available or not, BuyDomains.com actually owns its own inventory of
over 675,000 names. They will not be available for the $6.95 that GoDaddy.com
would charge for an unregistered name, but they do have a good supply of names
for between $2,000 to $4,000. Considering the importance of a good domain name,
this is relatively inexpensive. In addition to BuyDomains.com, there are sites
such as Afternic.com and Sedo.com that also offer a wide selection of domain
names, many of which are searchable by category.
You can also broaden your opportunities by adding a good prefix or suffix. Avoid
the trite "online" or "cyber" endings. In the case of my naming company, I added
the intensifier "Pure to the light bulb filament "Tungsten" to form the domain
name PureTungsten.com. Other prefixes and suffixes include "My," "Go," "Now,"
and "USA."
4. If you can't get the .com, then move on.
Starting a new business has enough challenges already. So why add to it by
starting with the .net version of your name? I've had a number of naming clients
come to me with this issue. What they thought would be no big deal turned out to
be very painful. Consumers default to the .com address; and without it, you will
be constantly reminding customers to use the .net or .info or .us extension. To
further compound the issue, many important and sensitive emails will end up
going to the .com address. Imagine if a competitive company then buys the .com?
You would now have a sticky situation. Avoid it by getting the .com first and
foremost.
This is also true of the infamous hyphen. Most people will type a name without
the hyphen. So unless you want to constantly explain it, don't rely on customers
to assume your name has a hyphen. If you have a number in your name, try to get
both the spelled out number and the actual number. If you must chose one over
the other, go with the spelled out name since names generally contain letters
vs. numbers (i.e. CapitalOne.com).
5. Be sure to register all the possible typos and misspellings.
Think of all the possible ways your new name could be misspelled (hopefully none
if you've done your work!). Then register these names. This will prevent domain
squatters and link farms from selling your traffic to your competitors. Since
consumers default to the .com name, it's more important that you get common
misspellings than it is to get the .net.
As with any name, you would be wise to check the http://www.uspto.gov database
to see if there are any companies in your goods and services category utilizing
the same or similar name. If that looks clear, you will still need to file a
trademark application, which you can do online, or hire a good trademark
attorney.
This completes your crash course on naming an Internet based business. If the
task becomes overwhelming, you can hire a naming firm; but be prepared to pay
$7,500 to $75,000 to get a good name, tag line, matching domain name and
artwork. If you follow the above guidelines, you should be able to keep yourself
from making any major missteps and be on your way to online success. And in both
the short run and long run, that's the name of the game!
Phil Davis is president and owner of Tungsten
Brand Marketing, a naming firm specializing in brand creation, product naming,
tag line development, corporate identity and comprehensive brand repositioning.
Phil's client list includes PODS, TeamLogicIT and Coghead.com to name a few. His
complete client list and company naming philosophy can be viewed at
http://PureTungsten.com
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