I've probably registered a few hundred domain names over the years, both on my own behalf and that of clients. Last week, whilst writing a report for a client, I had to ask myself what it is that makes a good domain name. Apparently, though I haven't had time to test this myself, all 4 letter .com combinations are gone - and certainly everything generic - e.g. business.com, cars.com, shelfstacker.com (I've checked - it's registered).
This is what I came up with: Our top ten* domain rules.
1. Memorable
If the business name is not available (Widgets Ltd = widgets.com), I'd rather have something memorable and related to the business or to what the site does than an unwieldly or confusing name (widgetsofeastkilbride.com). For example; kelkoo.com* - does this have anything to doing with price comparison, or yahoo.co.uk?). OK, kelkoo might mean something in twisted French, and Yahoo may be some kind of greeting, but you take the point.
2. Easy to type, preferably short
Type-in traffic makes a big percentage of a site's traffic, so make it as easy as possible for your visitors to type the domain name in.
3. Low possibility of mishearing & misspelling
Word of mouth is important, so don't use puns or tonguetwisters. It won't be you laughing. Leave the comedy to the comedians.
4. Avoid the use of hyphens, where possible.
If you are advertising the site on the radio, for example, can you really say 'great hypen stuff dot co dot uk'. And is anyone going to remember it?
5. In multi-word domains without hyphens, the separate words should be distinguishable.
Indeed. Expertsexchange.com is my particular favourite.
6. Consistent with the brand
If you are selling summer holidays, something that's consistent with escapism and sunshine.
7. Allows brand extension
buttons.com has just diversified into felt; however, buttons.com is not really suitable for a felt shop. Habedashery.com; however, would be fine for both.
8. Available in both .com & .co.uk
If at all possible, we appreciate that sometimes this can be a struggle. Always try and protect your brand by registering appropriate top level domains (.biz, .info, .eu). And if your business is worldwide, register the country specific extensions too (.fr, .de, .es). You may need an office or agent in that country to register the domain, however.
9. Relevant to the country in which the company operates
.co.uk tends to limit your business to the UK only, unless you are selling something with a true worldwide appeal, or typically British. Customers abroad will appreciate you taking the effort to register a domain name specific to that country, and to have the site translated - by a native speaker - into the target language. Google Translation Tools are a great free tool, but try translating back into English. You won't be pleasantly surprised.
clou.dspotting.co.uk would work. Someone may be amused by our wit and technical prowess. But we wouldn't get any traffic.
11. Avoids potential ‘passing-off’ legislation.
Please don't register a domain similar to your competitors (particularly if they are big corporations with an in house legal department). And don't register domains with your competitiors trademarks in them. At best, you'll have to give up the domain name. At worst, it could be VERY expensive.
* OK, so there were eleven.
Tuesday, 23 October 2007
What makes a good domain name?
Monday, 15 October 2007
branding = logos etc (yeah, right!)
I was at an early morning local networking event the other week and during one chap's 30 second pitch he mentioned that his company (a video production company) also dealt in branding. Suddenly my still half-awake, under-caffeinated, brain perked up. Unfortunately, it transpired that what he actually meant was his company 'did' the odd company logo, website etc.
'Branding' is a term, in my opinion, much overused and abused, particularly in the small business and lower SME sector. When people talk about branding, what they really mean is Corporate Identity, vehicle livery, letterheads etc. Although Corporate ID can be an important part of the overall branding process, the two terms are not synonymous.
Wally Olins (of Wolff-Olins fame) calls branding (and marketing) a 'seduction skill'. It's just one function (and maybe the most important!) of a successful company along with technical skill and financial know-how. Although it may be quite apt, I don't like the word 'seduction' (and in our job words are important); it has negative connotations of subterfuge and lust. At cloudspotting we like to equate branding with trust.
Whatever service we provide - from customer insight, website design and build, to a marketing campaign - it is built to strengthen that bond of trust and reliability between the organisation and its customer and that takes some know-how: understanding the market, the customer and the company, and then knowing the best way to communicate that understanding. Branding, therefore, deals with a bit more than a company's logo.
So how is this trust gained? There are a number of factors why any company is successful depending on the nature of its operation and each should be treated on its own merit but we have come up with ten guiding principles (just common sense really) we believe contribute to a happy and successful enterprise/customer relationship:
- Brand value means company value
- Brand = Trust
- Manage your enterprise around the brand
- Lead from the top
- Listen to your customers
- Listen to your staff
- You are what you do (or perceived to be doing)
- Be consistent and coherent
- Be visible, be active
- Strive for continuous improvement
