GoFuckYourself.com - Adult Webmaster Forum - General Rules to Domain Names

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The 13 general DO's and DONT's of domain names. Use them as a checklist
when registering your next domain name.
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1. DO know the domain name format. Domain names can generally be between
2 and 63 characters long (not including the extension), and contain the
characters a-z, 0-9 and '-' (hyphen). Domain names cannot start or end
with '-' (hyphen). Domain names are not case sensitive and should
generally be displayed in all lowercase. You can now also register
multi-lingual domain names.
2. DO know your target audience. Choose domain names that are
appropriate for them. Depending on who you are targeting this could mean
choosing names that sound sincere, cool, current, active, professional,
or that use key words from the industry for example.

3. DO keep domain names short and simple. Generally, the shorter the
domain name the easier it is to remember or write down, and the less
chance of users noting and remembering it incorrectly. Restrict the
domain name to one, two or three words at most. (The one exception to
this is the next tip). All other things being equal, give preference to
words with fewer syllables and words that are easy to pronounce. Short
is good, but don't use difficult to remember acronyms, such as qmxf.

4. DO register a long domain name containing a list of relevant words
for your web site to achieve a higher ranking in some search engines.
Several of the major search engines rank web sites much higher if the
search terms are contained in the domain name. You can use up to 63
characters to create a long domain name with keywords and automatically
redirect visitors to the real web site. Some registrars offer the
redirect service as standard in their price.

5. DO use the appropriate pluralization. For example, newhomes.com is
probably better than newhome.com if the web site is not relating to "a"
particular home.

6. DO use words that can be visualized. Vision is the strongest of human
senses. Even better, use words that involve several of the 5 senses.
This usually involves choosing more common nouns (names or objects),
verbs (actions), and adjectives (descriptions). For example, the word
"fire" is easily imagined. It includes strong cues in four of the five
senses - visual (red and yellow flames), auditory (crackling and other
noises), feeling (heat), and smell (smoke).

7. DO plan for the future. If you are planning on releasing other
products or services from this domain name in the future then don't
limit the relevance to the initial product or service. That being said
Internet marketing experts believe that your web site should have only
one subject or focus. All products or services listed on the web site
should be related. A web site with a broad focus is not as appealing to
someone who is looking for particular information.

8. DO use a domain name search program (such as Mozzle http://www.mozzle.com, or Domain Questor http://www.internet-soft.com)
to generate your domain names. There are some great free and shareware
programs available, and several include advanced word and character
combinations and other features far beyond those that web based services
provide. For example, Mozzle contains an automatic thesaurus, acronyms,
alternative domain name spellings, trademark searches, a pattern search
and so on. Check out a few of these software tools and decide which is
best for you.

9. DO register the domain name in the correct global or country level
domain. For universal appeal use a .com, .org, or .net domain. For local
appeal use an appropriate domain in your country, such as .co.uk
or .org.au. Note that many domains have restrictions on what domain
names can be registered. In some domains you can only use a name that
is derived from a registered business or organization name.

10. DO check that you are not infringing on an existing trademark or
other name that rightfully belongs to another company or individual. An
available domain name does not necessarily give you the right to
register and use it.

11. DON'T use hyphens between words if possible. A domain name with
hyphens is harder to describe when said aloud. It is commonly accepted
that a domain name with multiple words does not include hyphens.

12. DON'T use confusing spelling. If your domain is targeted at a
worldwide audience then stay away from words that are spelt differently
throughout the world, such as words ending in ize(US)/ise(UK). This also
applies to many words that have different meanings throughout the world.
Some common English words are even offensive in other languages.

13. DON'T choose domain names that are very similar to others if
possible. After all, you want customers coming to you, not your
competitors! An exception to this rule is if you register the domain
name of a commonly misspelt word, in the hope of catching additional
customers.

Like any brand name, logo, or trademark, your domain name represents
part of your business identity. Customers will associate it with your
particular product, service, company and so on, if you name it
correctly. Remember that you domain name will probably be used for
several purposes, including your web site, email address, and possibly
an ftp or other server. It will be an integral part of your marketing
campaign.

If your domain name can be easily remembered then you will attract more
customers. People will use your web site or email address to get
immediate and convenient access to the information or service that you
are providing.

Domain names are portable. You can move physical address, change phone
numbers, change Internet service providers, change the company that
hosts your web site, and still keep the same domain name. This provides
an extremely flexible method of keeping in touch with your customers and
users.

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Kevin "Keev"

Domain Name Classifieds http://www.dnclassifieds.com

[This message has been edited by Keev (edited 05-30-2001).]