«Everything starts with a name» or «Small word in large business»
New projects appear like mushrooms but only a few can become leaders, and sometimes even without making anything extraordinary, unknown before. And what is the secret? In the name. right chosen name plays a great role in success of the whole project. Do you doubt? Are you aware of «Tokyo tsusin koge kabusiki kaysa». So was the name of a today well-known company «Sony».
10 factors of domain name success:
1. To use key word or dream up a new brand? Commonly used words are easier to remember. Very often users type them in browser’s address bar when choosing product or service they need. For instance, book.ru, design.ru, job.ru, travel.ru. Such a domain is like a shop in downtown: whenever it is people will always visit it. But on the whole, the users appreciate web-site not only for fine domain, but for practicality and usability. That is why search in Internet is associated not with poisk.ru but with nothing designating domains yandex.ru, and google.com; and the news – not with news.ru but with rbc.ru. Future is back of brands. And if you managed to wangle a key word it is the greatest opportunity to draw additional visitors to your brand-project.
2. Small word. Which link is easier to type headhunter.ru or hh.ru? An answer is obvious. An amount of transaction on reacquiring of hh.ru domain was not divulged, but according to estimations the purchase had cost Headhunter about $7 000. Good domain length – till 6 letters. But with each new (excess) letter in web-site name, rises an opportunity that the user will type it incorrectly.
3. All brilliant is simple. The more convenient an address is the more visitors it has. It shall be the name which can be written in English as it is heard, without bitterly specifying that «с» is like «dollar» («s»), «к» is like Russian «с», «ж» is a combination of «zh» but not «j»; «я» is like a combination of «ia» and not «ya». Otherwise your name will be typed by a user in a very fantastic way. In such cases we suggest registering all possible variants of name spelling. After that you can be quiet. And however a user spells, he/she will for sure enter the original company web-site. Otherwise you have all chances to follow
If your “start up” name is much more like a tongue twister, think over simpler variants of its spelling. No wonder that world-wide company PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) fought for a long time with Ultimate Search for short pwc.com. And still it is unknown how this dispute was decided for PwC.
Registration of a list of domains is rather expensive. But don’t forget that today the legal backing of decision of one “domain” dispute is of $3 000.
4. Say “NO” to hyphens! Do not register domain name with a hyphen only by the reason the domain without hyphen is already held. It is rather difficult to remember whether it was a hyphen or not, and if yes in what position it was. So you can present a part of your target group to a business rival. And it is not worth reckoning on mutuality from its party.
5. No to numbers and yes to more sense! Some all4u.ru is not respectable for a serious project. When “Consultant” magazine came across the problem of engagement of all variants of a word “consultant” spelling and its derivatives the editors have chosen c2f.ru (consultant to financier). It is difficult to recon on high attendance of a resource with this name.
6. Domain hack. There were times when such names as gu.ru or inter.net considered to be rather creative. The situation has changed now.
7. Be careful with joining two words. For instance, a domain name penisland.net. And it is divided not into the words you immediately divided it in you brain. Penisland.net (Pen Island) – web site with ball pens. And whorepresents.con – is not web site of prostitutes.
8. Do not register domain name being drunk. In spite of confidence of its name genius. Next morning you can regret about the acquisition.
9. Back to the past. May be somebody has once registered a domain you chose. You can look through its history by means of The WayBack Machine. Possibly the domain has got an interesting past all of a sudden..
10. Naming. If you don’t knot how to stark the work with a name, we suggest you a book of Alex Frankel «Naming». This book will help you for sure. Each chapter tells about the history of famous brands naming. Especially the story of Accenture (name of worldwide consulting holding company) creation astonishes greatly. More than 6000 (!) variants of future name were proposed.
Have in view that you shall take care of virtual property renting earlier than trade mark registration. The forth part of RF Civil Code came into effect on January 1, 2008. according to which the priority of domain towards a trade mark has been established. I.e. if any speedy cybersquatter registers a name chosen by you before registration of it as a trade mark you will be denied in latter. And you’ll remain neither with domain nor with a trade mark.
P.S. Register domain name today. Tomorrow it can be already used.
