I’ve probably had the conversation 100 times with newer domain investors about brands. I start by saying that its not true in every single case but in most, a singular word is a better brand. A plural becomes more about that product. Ponytail.com is a good brand (owned by a beauty supply company and hair drying maker Conair) but ponytails is a fetish site about girls (maybe guys) with ponytails. Ok, its not really a fetish site, its actually for sale at Afternic, but you get the point, its a much harder name to build around. I realize someone could come up with examples that are the opposite but for every one I can give 10 that are better as singular. The same goes for tenses of verbs. There are several tenses of every verb with some being very good and some that aren’t. I see so many people buying and selling names that are “bad” forms of very good verbs. Drive.com is obviously a great brand. Driving.com, not so bad. Drove.com? It will sell because it is short and a known word, but nowhere near the value of the other two. Knowing the differences above will save or make you tens of thousands of dollars.
On the buy side I work with most customers that don’t have big budgets. In this case I try to stay short and add a descriptive word that describes what they do. Great examples would be a company like Main Street Produce. (I did not work with them). They didn’t want to spend the big money on MainStreet.com so buying Mai StreetProduce.com is absolutely the way to go. It says exactly what they do and although a little longer, its not that hard. Domain Investors will tell you that you should have MainStreet.com It would be nice but you don’t HAVE to have the shortest, category killer name. That is a luxury and an advantage, but not a must. A must is a name they won’t forget. That’s all a brand is. A name they won’t forget.
And finally. Mr. Bolt is a fast man…..a very fast man. Amazing to watch last night. Watching track and field in the Olympics is the highlight of my summer. Here is today’s list. Click for current prices
FitExpress.com App name or gym that everyone pays for the first three month of the year and then never goes. 26 bidders
PayrollChecks.com Nice marketing name for a company that does third party payroll. 15 years old
DeskV.com No bidders. Seen much worse names on BB
XBrokerage.com Same here. $12 for this or you could wait and pay $500 for X.brokerage
HonkeyDonkey.com Not sure it has any value but you certainly will remember it
MentalBreak.com Only one bidder now but that is certainly going to change
CoolPalm.com Sweaty Palm just doesn’t have the same ring. No bidders
RetailResearch.com Nice data collection name
CDebt.com Solid debt name for $12
Ricoro.com No bidders. Looks like its a last name
Kiplo.com Probably my favorite brandable on the board today
Safona.com Another one of those $12 names that you can throw up and play the numbers game
MorningBefore.com This is going to become valuable after my new pill comes out. You take it the morning before you go out drinking and it makes you so sick you can’t go out and get drunk and pregnant.
WashNPlay.com Used to be a bathtub toy site
Swore.com Here is one of those past tense verbs
TrueDrop.com Drop names are pretty popular in our industry. Even though most don’t get put to use
Danush.com Opening bid is a little higher but easy to say and remember
Snipler.com One bid at $12
E-Coins.com Getting great bids despite the dash
PCD.biz I’m on the buy side of consonant LLL.bizs
420HomeGrow.com Everyone love canna names. OK one bidder does
Disintegrated.com You know the word but can you spell it? Six bidders think you can
CoralRoom.com When I think of coral I think of a dying reef and getting cut to hell. Has some bids
DroneBowl.com Competitive droning
99222.cc
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FLIPPA and SEDO
IllinoisRealEstate.com 20 years old and no bidders for some reason.
OODS.com Nice letters. All comes down to reserve as usual
TwistedFeather.com Sounds like an IPA so I like it. Snapnames name.
NAMEJET
AHPH.com I like it because it has a reasonable reserve
YogaTraining.com Good name but probably won’t meet reserve
Salade.com Salad in French and probably a few other languages as well
DefamationCase.com Legal names always seem to do well. Back injuries and car injuries are the gold mines though. 11 bids
AutomaticTask.com AutoTask is taken so this is the next best name. 14 bidders
TheRealMcCoy.com And idiom meaning “the real thing”
GSIH.com H of Holdings and other things that start with H
DIYForms.com Closes today. Online form depository
DiversityPlan.com Closes today as well. Liked before, still like it
MicroMatters.com Everyone likes things small and efficient. 29 bidders
MathNerds.com I don’t think math nerds mind being called math nerds. I’ll ask next time. Got one in my family although she calls herself a mathlete
98675.com I have heard from some 5N.com owners that offers are actually starting to come in again
MORE Short Brand Dot Coms at Catchy.com
Have a name at auction and need more exposure? Send me an email. I Charge $10 per name per day. We may be able to help. If you have an auction you want to promote, email us for details.*All names chosen by me, Shane . (ie you click through and purchase a name you like) or an occasional paid listing. Everything I say is based on my own research or is opinion. Do your own due diligence. That means look it up yourself if you don’t think the stats or my opinion is correct. I hand choose my names but I am paid to make this list by both the auction houses, individuals that are auctioning names, and Godaddy affiliate links. Keep that in mind and only buy names that YOU think are good
Mr. Bolt is an amazing athlete. As for the silver it should have gone to that little dynamo from Canada. Once a dope always a dope when it comes to Olympics imho. Once you are found to dope you should not be able to participate in the Olympics again. Ruins the efforts of the athletes that take the honest route.
” Domain Investors will tell you that you should have MainStreet.com It would be nice but you don’t HAVE to have the shortest, category killer name. That is a luxury and an advantage, but not a must. A must is a name they won’t forget. That’s all a brand is. A name they won’t forget.”
Spot on analysis, some love to go on that everyone should do that when the cost might be prohibitive, the name could be is use too, so you have to have another plan and MainStreetProduce.com fits perfect.
Nice banners 🙂
MainStreetProduce taken since 2000.
However, MainStProduce is not reg’d.
That is what the store owner’s kids would notice.
I realize you were just using that domain as a hypothetical example.