www.wherewords.com
where words come from
SMART ANSWERS by Karen E. Klein
"I am naming a web startup company, but I'm struggling since so many dot-com
domains are taken. I feel that an easy-to-find dot-com domain is critical to the
success of my new business, and I also need to have a simple, yet unique name.
I want to be "Google-able" but also to ensure that I can identify media coverage
as it appears and not be confused with other businesses."
-- M. S., Waltham, Mass
You're right, it is getting more difficult to create business names that are free
of trademark conflicts and also available as web site domains, especially in
the computer and consulting industries. "The problem is that everyone wants the online equivalent of beachfront property, but it's a little too late in the internet land grab to have such high expectations for an exclusive domain," says Steve Cecil, a business-naming expert with Wherewords in San Carlos, California. "All the common-usage dictionary words have already been registered."
But don't despair. Branding and naming experts suggest that you worry less about your domain name and more about finding the right name for the company itself. Your domain name can be any number of slight variations on your company name, or it can even be another string of words entirely. If it's properly optimized for the major search engines, and you're delivering good value to your coustomers, your business can still find success.
"Finding a good domain name is helpful, but it wont make or break or business," says Michael Weiss, partner at Imagistic.com, a Southern California software and services firm. "Being able to have santabarbaraloans.com would be great for your branding and name recognition, there's no doubt about it," he says. "But sbloans.com is not bad, and neither is sbmrtge.com."
Cecil agrees, "If you can't afford to buy the beachfront property, another option might be ocean-view property instead," he notes. "Space.com, tube.com and snap.com were not available -- but myspace.com, youtube.com and snapfish.com were. Google (GOOG), Cingular and Joost were devised because googol.com, singular.com and juiced.com were already registered. Skype (EBAY), Zillow and Kazaa, on the other hand, are fanciful neologisms, which can be imbued with any meaning in the way an empty bottle can be filled with any liquid."
"Most important," Weiss concludes, "your domain name should be short, memorable, not easily mistaken for another popular domain, and tough to misspell."
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