How to choose an effective domain name

In planning your online presence, a domain name is one of the most important decisions you will make, particularly if you rely on non-internet promotion to drive traffic to your site. If you expect all of your visitors to come to your site by simply clicking a link from a search engine or from other websites, your domain name can be almost anything. However, if you expect any portion of your audience to manually type the domain name into their browser's address bar, you need to choose a domain name carefully.

Your domain name becomes the "brand name" of your website. Millions of dollars and millions of hours have been spent researching effective branding. Most of the results of that research apply directly to choosing internet domain names. A "good" or effective domain name meets most or all of the following criteria.

Easy to spell and pronounce

You should avoid words that are difficult to spell, or can be spelled more than one way. You should also choose a domain name that allows you to say the name to someone else, who can then easily type the name into a browser. They should not have to ask you to spell it out for them.

Some “good” examples are yahoo.com, cnn.com, infoseek.com, and excite.com. Even the more “unusual” of these domain names can be typed easily and correctly based on the spoken word.

Some domain names that are not as easy to spell are eidos.com, submit-me.net, and hisel.com. In particular, hyphenated domain names are often problematic. The natural tendency is to pronounce the name as if it were not hyphenated. Even if you specifically say “submit hyphen me dot net,” for example, people may forget to insert the hyphen.

Easy to remember

Presumably, you want people to visit your website more than once. Therefore, you should choose a distinctive name that is easy to remember. Many of the other suggestions in this article can help you create a memorable domain name. Avoiding hyphens and irrelevant number combinations in a domain name helps as well.

Evoking positive associations

“Cover Girl” makeup, “Irish Spring” soap, and “Bounty” paper towels evoke positive associations in the consumer's mind, even when those associations have no direct connection to the product. Research has shown that individuals remember information better, and form more positive attitudes when the information is associated with positive, happy images.

Some examples of positive domain names are yahoo.com, islandofgifts.com, alohaprints.com, and webolicious.com.

Reinforcing the site's concept

The visitor should be able to draw some connection between a site's domain name and its content. Consistency between content and name can aid in memory and encourage repeat visits. A domain name that is completely contrary to the site's content can cause dissonance in the visitor's cognitive processes and is likely to result in more negative attitudes being formed. (A notable exception is when the dissonance is used in a humorous or ironic way.)

Some examples of domain names that are relevant to the site's actual content are yourdomainhost.com, 3dfxgames.com, perlarchive.com, etoys.com, blackfilm.com, downloads.com, and shareware.com.

Shorter is better

Usually, shorter domain names are better than longer domain names. Shorter domain names are easier to spell and easier to type. Unfortunately, most of the “good” short names are unavailable. Practically all two-, three-, and four-letter combinations are already registered.

Three-letter names seem to be very appealing, perhaps because so many individuals and companies have names that can be initialized into three-letter combinations. Some people try to compensate for the shortage of these domain names by hyphenating each letter (for example, x-y-z.com). This may not be a good idea, though, for the reasons given above.

The domain name registration system puts a limit on long names. Domain names cannot exceed 63 characters in length. (This does not include the top-level domain, such as .com or .net.). In any event, if you are considering a domain name that is 63 characters long, you may want to reconsider.

Uniqueness

Finding a unique domain name gets harder with each passing day. It seems that all of the really unique names have been taken. However, you do not want a domain name that so closely resembles other domain names that your visitors become confused and type in your competition's URL.

The distinctiveness issue is why so many consumer products companies “create” brand-new words for their brand names—words like Exxon, Xerox, and Citgo. Note also that these distinctive made-up words are easy to pronounce. A domain name like xycjxyk.com is certainly unique, but it is not going to be effective in generating traffic, and no one will be able to remember it.

Say something about the visitor

Along with positively associating the site's concept, good domain names often say something positive or unique about the visitor. This makes the experience and the domain name more personally relevant to the visitor. For example, you can often achieve this effect by directing the domain name specifically toward the visitor with the words “you”, “your”, or some variation.

Some examples of this technique are doityourself.com, lovingyou.com, and myownemail.com.

Avoid linguistic traps

One of the reasons many companies make up new words for their brands is to avoid using a word that has potentially negative connotations in different languages or cultures. One of the more popular marketing-related urban legends involves Chevrolet's attempt to sell the Nova automobile in Spanish-speaking countries. As the story goes, one possible interpretation of Nova in Spanish is “it doesn't go,” which, of course, would be an unfortunate name for an automobile.

Urban legends aside, the point is to “step back” from the domain names you are considering and look at them from as many possible viewpoints as possible. When you combine multiple words into one name, check to see how many other, unintended words might be derived from the name. Look for any possible unwanted double-entendres that may be hiding in the combination. Always consider your target audience and that audience's likely interpretation of your domain name.

Conclusion

Selecting the right domain name has never been easy, and it gets more difficult as the number of registered domains increases. However, it remains one of the most important decisions you can make for your website.

A good process is to select a number of possible names, and then ask for comments from disinterested third parties. Play the word association game to discover what associations the name invokes, and to uncover any unintended meanings or difficulties. Ask your testers to spell the names to see if they meet the easy-to-spell criteria. Also, ask them what type of content they would expect to find on such a website.

The domain name choice you make now can have large impact later on. So think about it carefully, and do some research. A little work now can pay big dividends in the future.

Protecting your domain from expiration

We sometimes receive frantic support calls about a website that “is completely down.” We do a little checking and discover that the website is fine, but the domain name registration has expired. In some cases, the registration expired so long ago that the registration has been completely deleted (and in one case, re-registered by a porn site).

This problem is almost always caused by invalid contact e-mail addresses in the domain name record. Most registration agencies send renewal notices by e-mail to the billing contact or administrative contact associated with the domain name. If those e-mail addresses are no longer valid, you can't receive the renewal notice, your domain registration expires, and your domain name is “turned off”. In some cases, you may even lose your rights to the domain name entirely.

To avoid this scenario, you should check your website frequently, even if you haven't made any recent changes. Check the information associated with your domain name to make sure that all of the information is still valid. If it is not still valid, update it. You can view your domain name record by using the WHOIS lookup functionality of almost any domain registrar.

Avoiding bogus domain renewal scams

Some domain registrars may target unsuspecting domain owners with domain expiration notices that are disguised as renewal invoices or official government notices. These fake “invoices”, which can arrive by postal mail or e-mail, are actually solicitations to transfer your domain away from your current registrar. This almost always results in a significantly higher cost, with no additional benefit.

Pay close attention to any domain renewal notices or invoices you may receive, and check to make sure that they are from your domain's actual registrar.

Domain Expiration

Whether or not you can reactivate an expired domain depends primarily on how long ago the domain expired.

For example, if a domain expires because of an unpaid invoice or other possible reasons, Hostyfile can normally renew it for the usual price with our domain registrar (eNom) if we are notified within the first 0 to 30 days after expiration. However, eNom does not guarantee this 30-day reactivation period.

After this 30-day reactivation period, eNom may discontinue domain name registration services at any time without notice. eNom may, but is not obligated to, participate in a process typically called the “Redemption Grace Period” (“RGP”). During the RGP period, you can still renew the domain by paying an additional fee. If the RGP is available, it typically ends between 30 and 42 days after the end of the reactivation period for domain name services. The RGP fee amount varies (a few uncommon TLDs have a slightly higher fee than common TLDs). The RGP fee does not include any regular registration fees that may also be due.

If the domain expired between 30 and 42 days ago, you can choose to renew it with the RGP fee in addition to your regular domain renewal fee, or you can wait until the domain becomes fully available again and then just renew it for the regular domain fee. However, if you wait until the domain becomes available again (typically after the 42-day window), there is a chance that someone else could register it.

Transferring a domain

If you already have a domain name registered with another web hosting company or domain registrar, you can transfer it to Hostyfile. When you transfer a domain, its billing and administration also move to Hostyfile.

Ensuring a smooth transfer

You can start the domain transfer process when you first sign up as an Hostyfile customer, or at a later time as an existing customer. In either case, to make sure the transfer process goes as smoothly as possible:

• The domain must be unlocked. If you need assistance unlocking your domain, contact the domain's current registrar.
• The domain's contact information must be current. A domain name record contains an Administrative Contact and a Technical Contact. Both of these contacts can be the same person, but at least one of them should be you. When a domain transfer request is initiated, the Administrative Contact and Technical Contact are notified by e-mail.

When you initiate the domain transfer process, Hostyfile sends a domain transfer request to the domain's Administrative and Technical contacts. The amount of time to complete the domain transfer depends in large part on how quickly these contacts approve the transfer request. If the Administrative or Technical contact approves the authorization promptly, the domain may be transferred in as little as 2 to 4 days.