Creating Your Domain Name - Making it Memorable
(Page 2 of 4 )
If you're trying to come up with a memorable domain name, keep these two points in mind: the name should stick in a person's mind, and it should NOT include elements that will make it hard to remember. That may seem obvious, but putting it into practice is trickier than it appears. You may also find yourself unable to do exactly what you want with your domain name, so it's important to be flexible.
Okay, now that we've covered some of the “forest” aspects of choosing a domain name, it's time to get to the trees. You've already seen that I recommend going with a brand name as opposed to a generic name. That's because the brand name is usually easier to remember, especially if it's evocative of the product. Just ask any crafter: which is easier to remember, Sculpy or polymer clay?
Now I'd like to point out that Sculpy is shorter than polymer clay, which brings up another point: shorter is usually better than longer. You're allowed to register a domain name that is up to 67 characters long, but how many people can remember something that long? There is an exception to this rule: if you would otherwise register a shorter but meaningless set of letters (like cgeoyc.com), spell it out for your visitors instead (CantGetEnoughOfYourCrafts.com).
Please notice that I used camel notation in my example; I capitalized the start of every word even though it was all bunched together. URLs don't have spaces, though you can use hyphens. The question is, should you? There are advantages and disadvantages. Visitors tend to forget hyphens when typing URLs into address bars, and when they recommend sites to friends, they don't include the hyphens. Hyphens are annoying to remember, and you're trying to be memorable. Also, spammy web sites tend to use hyphens in their domain names because it's believed that search engines can better distinguish keywords in URLs if they're separated in this way.
If you use a URL without hyphens, however, you need to be extra careful that it doesn't spell out something you don't intend. Many of the classic examples of this have changed or no longer go to “real” web sites (if they ever did), but you can still find out which agents represent particular celebrities at whorepresents.com, locate a California therapist through therapistfinder.com, and find designers awaiting your latest project at speedofart.com. If you MUST get a URL with that kind of double entendre, make sure that you use camel notation in all of your advertising. This is also a very good idea if you're using a non-hyphenated URL composed of three or more words (or even just two words if you really want to be careful). URL formatting itself is not case sensitive, so it won't make any difference as to how a visitor types it in as long as it's not misspelled and doesn't contain characters that aren't in your URL (such as hyphens).
Some people advocate buying both the hyphenated and non-hyphenated versions of your domain name. Stephanie Frank, founder of the Balanced Wealth Network, suggests that “buying multiple domains and pointing each one of them to a specific, product-related page on your main site can ultimately help you make more sales in the future. Be sure not to point multiple domains at the same page, though – that will get you dropped from most search engines.”
Next: Spelling, TLDs, and Other Controversies >>
More Website Promotion Articles
More By Terri Wells
/ 8 
