How to Choose Domain Names - Linguistic Design and Nomenclature

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Basically, you must consider how much you can spend and what are your plans to get traffic for the website. If you want to own www.MadeOnlyInUsa.com, you need to shell out $2, 488 and buy it through www.buydomains.com. Is it practical? Certainly, not if you are just starting the business. In fact, you can register a domain through GoDaddy.com for only $9.99. Granted, you are looking for a premium website that will translate big returns in the future, the difference is still impractical and the website's premium domain does not necessarily mean heavy traffic.

How do you plan to get traffic for the website? The domain can be discoverable or brandable. Discoverable domains are more descriptive of the niche or the company's services, like www.opencart.com. Discoverable domains rely on organic search results for traffic to the website. When you search for shopping carts, www.opencart.comappears on the first search result page because of the 'cart' term relevance to the search phrase.

To get a good discoverable domain, you must think of a phrase or word that's not yet thought by others. Take notice of www.twitter.com. The company started out last 2006, but never before had anybody thought of the word 'Twitter', which means 'to utter a succession of light chirping or tremulous sounds'. Thinking out of the box provides Twitter.com a good advantage to discover an English word that best suits the service of the website. There are still hundreds of main and derivative words that are not yet registered that can turn the tables right for you.

The second type of domain is brandable. Brandable domains are empty vessels that businesses can fill. Unlike discoverable domains that may have a similarity on spelling and sound with existing websites, brandable domains are purely imagination and creativity at work. Simply, brandable domains are unique. In its form, it is necessary for the brandable domain to be memorable and maintains indirect connection with the target audience. www.flickr.comis a tweaked word for 'flicker', which means 'to appear briefly' suggesting visual appearance as in pictures and videos. Although 'flickr' is new and distinctive, it still maintains connect with the target audience to convey the niche or service of the website.

Across all types of websites, content is king to rank up in search engines, however, for brandable domains, content is a priority to get organic traffic. Good contents increase the relevance of the website to search terms. Brandable domains also rely on paid listing or advertising to gain market momentum. Prominent mentions can introduce the brandable domain to the public. When brandable domains gain public knowledge, it can be easily remembered and sifted from other websites.

To guide your linguistic design on domain names, let's try some nomenclature techniques:

Made-Up Words. The marketplace Etsy.com is a classic example of made-up domains that have gained popularity. Made-up domains are not lexical words, not even a phrase. You just combine consonants and vowels to create a new word that sounds good and memorable.

Examples: www.creason.com, www.florieg.com, www.emple.com

Compound Words. If you love watching videos at www.YouTube.comand reading statuses on www.FaceBook.com, you may have thought youtube and facebook are English words, but they aren't. Youtube.com is a compound word of You and Tube, while Facebook.com is from Face and Book. The idea of coming up with a domain from compound words is avoiding messy and awkward results. Don't use www.hardwood.comfor a wood construction supply website, for it may have other connotations.

Blend. Have you thought of a phrase that has been taken already? Well, you can blend a word to make a new one, but be sure to keep the connection. For instance, www.hearstruck.comis a blend of www.lovestruck.com, or www.gooberbutter.comfor www.peanutbutter.com.


Tweaked Spelling. Tweaking word spelling is another technique to come up with a good domain name. The file sharing website www.imesh.comis a good example for this technique. You have the liberty of tweaking the word, but be sure it will not go against the basic tips provided above.

Coming up with an effective and result-driven domain name should be carefully thought. As the first step of the website design, a good domain can be likened to the pillar of the house. When the domain is weak, everything is frail. In building a strong website, don't mess up with domain names.