Monday, May 14, 2007

How to Brand When Domain Names Are Scarce

Launching a business has been increasingly complicated by the Internet. You can't just think of a catchy name and see if it is also being used in your city or state; the domain name (or some close derivation) has to be available.

This is why so many companies are launching using made up words such as "blinkx" or "skype" or words from other languages such as "Nau."

Anthony Mitchell at Ecommerce Times has 10 helpful brand hints including several recommendations regarding domain names. He hates using dashes in the middle of a URL, and says that only "dot coms" and "dot nets," can be taken seriously.

Mitchell also warns against violating the rules of grammar or using "i" or "e" before a word. I agree, "i" and "e" seems trite these days since it is assumed that the Internet and ecommerce are part of any business. Replacing "s" with "z" to be hip is quickly entering this realm as well.

Companies should be expected to pay heavily for combinations of common words to get the domain name rights to new brands if they want to be taken seriously.

Posted By John Gartner at 10:48 AM
Permanent Link: How to Brand When Domain Names Are Scarce | Comments (0)

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