Stephen Spencer gives us “11 steps to buying a domain name that doesn’t suck” on the Cnet News blog yesterday. I agree that these are all important factors to consider when purchasing a domain name, and I would like to add a few additional factors that people should consider:
– Potential to Confuse Users – If you buy a domain name that has a number, some people might type in the actual number while others spell it out. Tickets4Less.com is an example. I bet some people type in TicketsForLess.com as a habit, so if you buy one you should buy the other.
Your Company Name – Although this is similar to one of the factors in Spencer’s article, the most relevant domain name to your business is the .com of your company’s name. If your business is Nashua Web Designers, you should first try to buy NashuaWebDesigners.com. Oftentimes generic domain names like this are already taken, but there is a good chance the name of your business is available, and that’s what your customers will want.
Shorter Version of your Company’s Name – With a company like Barnes & Noble, customers often refer to it as BN. The company was smart and owns both BN.com and BarnesAndNoble.com.
Eliot,
I just posted a public service article on my blog that should be of interest to newbie and semi-newbie domainers. Other than the typical Google ads that many of us have on our blogs, I’m not selling anything, but just offering a cautionary tale for prospective domain buyers when they buy and bid on domains: to make sure they know what they are buying.
Some letters look like other letters, etc. I got caught in this situation, so I decided to tell my story, even though I feel foolish and the outcome was favorable.
😉
Go to http://www.WorVV.com (which redirects to my Ms Domainer blog), a domain that will become clear once you read my story.
If you feel that my story is important, please feel free to republish all or part of my post on your blog. Just attribute it to Ms Domainer.
I am sending this to several blogs that I read on a regular basis.
Best Wishes,
Ms Domainer