Creation

Selecting or changing a domain name (sometimes called a URL for uniform
resource locator) is a critical marketing decision. The problem is more than
just a simple search for availability on NetworkSolutions.com, Register.com,
BuyDomains.com, or another registration site. The following sections give
you the lowdown on how to choose the right name for your site.


A good domain name is

-- Easy to say in person. It’s unwieldy to say “digit” before a number in a
URL, or the word “dash” or “hyphen;” besides, people have a hard time
finding the dash character on a keyboard. Although hyphens are allowed
in domain names, it’s better to avoid them.
-- Easy to understand over the radio or on the phone. Words that include
the ess and eff sounds are often confused when listening, as are certain
consonant pairs like b/p, c/z, or d/t. If you’re selling in other countries,
confusion between English consonants is different, such as b/v in
Spanish or r/l in Japanese.
-- Easy to spell. Using homonyms might be a clever way to get around
a competitor who already owns a name you’d like to have; however,
you’re just as apt to drive traffic to your competitor as to gain some for
yourself. Also, try to avoid foreign words, words that are deliberately
misspelled just because they are available (for example, valu rather than
value), or words that are frequently misspelled.
-- Easy to type. The longer the URL, the more likely a typo. Your domain
name can be as long as 59 characters, but unskilled typists average an
error every 7 keystrokes!
-- Easy to read in print and online ads. You can insert capital letters or
use a different color for compound domain names to make them easier
to read. Be sure your domain name can also be read easily in black and
white, and in a logotype if you design one.
-- Easy to read in the address toolbar. You can’t use colors or capitalization
to distinguish parts of a compound name or acronym in address or search
engine boxes. Depending on the browser fonts set by the user, the letters
m, n, or r next to each other (mrnrnm) are very hard to read, as are the
characters l/i (lilllil), or the similar digit/letter combination of 1/l.
-- Easy to remember. Words or phrases are easier to remember than a
stream of letters in an acronym, unless your target audience already
knows the acronym from extensive branding (for example, AARP). Your
domain name may be, but doesn’t need to be, your domain name may be, but doesn’t need to be, your business name,
unless you enjoy a preexisting brand identity

One of the more complicated URLs I’ve heard is “1uffakind.com.” The interactive
design company that owns the name wants to distinguish itself from
OneofaKind.com, which is owned by a competing company. The name is
memorable enough, but radio ads must spell out the homonym as “the digit
one followed by you-eff-eff-a kind dot com.” That expensive airtime could be
spent on a message rather than on spelling!
Stick with original, top-level domains (TLDs — the primary categories into
which Internet addresses are divided): .com for businesses, .org for nonprofits,
and .net for network providers. Avoid top-level domains like .info,
.biz, odd country TLDs, or any of the new generic TLDs (like .nyc for New
York City) that the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN) opened for discussion in 2008, just to get the name you want. People
won’t remember them and won’t find your site.
If you have an easily misspelled proper noun in your domain name, you might
want to register common misspellings of your name with the same TLD and
redirect them to your primary site.
Don’t bother taking the same name with multiple, top-level domains unless
you think your audience might be confused. You probably won’t want to
spend money branding your URL with both extensions; generally one site
redirects to the other. The only exceptions are geographically limited or
international selling. You might want to register the same domain in different
countries with a large target market, such as members of the European community
or Japan, so you can get into search engines restricted by national
registration.
With more than 162 million domain names registered, finding a name might
seem impossible. Take comfort in knowing that only 70 million or so are
.coms and that many domain names are now expiring or abandoned.
 If your first choice of domain name isn’t available, try the suggestion tool
available on many registration sites. Use those suggestions to brainstorm
more names. Get reactions from friends, customers, clients, and strangers
about your options. If you’re really desperate to get a particular name, go to
the WhoIs database at www.networksolutions.com/whois/index.jsp
or other registrar sites to see who owns the domain name and bid to buy it.
You can also reserve a name in case the current owner decides not to renew

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