While domain names are not always equivalent with business names, they can be just as important. If your domain name is forgettable, overly complicated, or overly long, your competitors with straightforward, easy-to-remember domain names will have an advantage over you, because name recognition is often equivalent with consumer preference. Two heads may be better than one, but when it comes to domain names, one word is better than two. A multiple-word domain name can be effective (think www.nationalgeographic.com), but fewer words and characters equals fewer potential problems. Keep in mind that domain names display in browser address bars as unbroken strands of lower case letters, and the average English speaker’s eye reads them with certain natural tendencies. One of the keys to choosing an effective domain name is to work with those tendencies, because ignoring them can result in subtle, but annoying, problems.

When choosing your domain name, try to avoid:

1. Overlapping words and/or words within words
What do you see when you glance at “www.atlastinsides.com”? If you see “at last insides,” you’re not alone. And that’s bad news for Atlas Tin Sides. As your eyes move from left to right, they scan for familiar letter combinations. And when they find them, your brain assumes intentionality. Examine “jhdvthejqyf.” Your eyes easily pull “the” from the center because you are so used to seeing that combination of letters when you read. But just as importantly, you are not used to seeing “vthe,” “thej,” or practically any other combination in the sequence. “www.shareware.com” is not problematic because “sha” is not a word, nor is “shar,” nor is “sharew.” Your eyes immediately pick out “share,” making “share ware” an instinctive conclusion. But if you name your store “www.planthere.com,” your customers might plan there before they plant here.

2. Two words joined by a letter pairing that is regularly found within individual words
Our eyes are taught to combine certain two-letter sequences that contribute to a single sound in many printed words (think “ch,” “sh,” “ea,” “st,” “oo”). If the first word in your domain name ends with the first letter in such a pair and the second word begins with its companion letter, your brain will try to read the two words as one, or place the word division elsewhere when that attempt fails. Examine “www.withouse.com.” You likely thought of the words “without” and “those” before you saw “wit house.” And since neither “without” nor “those” occurs in the domain name, it should be clear by now just how powerful familiar letter pairings like “th” can be. Try “www.wit-house.com” or “www.houseofwit.com” instead. “www.comedycentral.com” avoids this problem, partially because the rarity of the “yc” combination in English helps our brains assume a word division between the two letters.

3. Non-word names, or names that combine words with acronyms and/or word abbreviations
“www.b1mqxsys.com” might make sense to customers already familiar with your B-1 Medium Quota Extension System, but to the unfamiliar shopper, your domain name just looks like gibberish. You might as well go with “www.5+^f$7h%.com.” And “www.strincwear.com” might seem fine for a clothing company called “Southern Texas Ranchers, Incorporated,” but your shoppers will likely assume the clothing is made of strinc (whatever that might be), or that some idiot misspelled “string.”

4. Long, unusual words
If your domain name contains a long, technical word or a long name from an unfamiliar etymological background, your customers will instinctively (and unsuccessfully) try to read the word as a combination of shorter words. Always keep your average customer in mind. Most middle class American shoppers are unlikely to know what to make of “www.tervahartialaframes.com.” Now you know why they’re not interested in your frames, Mr. Tervahartiala.

If you’re unsure about whether or not your domain name is too hard on the eyes, ask a friend or two to glance at it and tell you what they see. If it takes them longer than a couple of seconds to read the name correctly and confidently, you might want to consider a new name.

Visit our previous entry Tips for Choosing the Right Domain Name for more tips on choosing the best possible domain name for your online business.

-David Yakubik, Volusion Customer Care Specialist

Technorati Tags: domain name tips, choosing a domain name, get domain name, domain name help, volusion

Bookmark to: