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Website Name

calvincalvin subscriber Posts: 14 Bronze Level Member
edited April 2006 in Building A Website That Works
For an online business, it is more effective to have an informative name or a catchy name (that doesn`t necessary make sense)?
Take Yahoo for example, it very well could`ve been called lookforstuffonline.com, but instead, they went with Yahoo.  Why has that been more successful for them?
I want to think of something creative, but I also want my customers to know what my service is when they see my URL. 
What are your thoughts?
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Comments

  • NuevolutionNuevolution subscriber Posts: 30 Bronze Level Member
    Calvin, I don`t think that when yahoo decided to name their company yahoo, they knew it was going to be around this long and be successful. Let`s take another example "NIKE" do you think they thought they where going to be that successful, Of course everyone wants to be successful "The Yahoo" was just their way of branding their theme. Now as far as your online business is concerned, it just comes down to your domain name. The second step is, make it informative so it could become catchy and people will know who you are, the truth of the fact is there is no such a thing as an informative name or a catchy name, catchy name online just means it`s a short domain name like hp.com, that is not only catchy but easy to remember <-- that is your catchy part, the content is what`s going to define whether people come back or now.  Do you have a specific name? worry on the "branding" of your web site, basically your Logo. that`s another way to be catchy. In simple words it all comes down to your Domain name. do you have one yet? if you don`t make a list of what you want your business to be called and search on the WHOIS database to see if the domain name is taken.
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  • calvincalvin subscriber Posts: 14 Bronze Level Member
    I do have an available domain name in mind, but I`m just trying to figure out if this is the best way to go.
    The tricky part of the name is that if most people just hear XXXXX.com, they won`t able able to associate it with my business.  I`m sure in time with the right type of marketing, associating between the name and biz can be achieved.  But in the initial phase, the association will be tough with such a limited marketing budget.
    That`s why I`m just trying to figure out if a more informative name i.e. sellyourstuffonline.com or cleanyourhouse.com (examples) are a better way to go.  With an informative name, you hear name, you know what it is. it`s not confusing.  You don`t get all the people who accidentally go to your site for the wrong reasons.  It may not be as catchy and memorable as a "yahoo," but from a starting off point, it might make more sense.
    What do you guys think?
     
     calvin2006-4-21 14:48:52
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  • NuevolutionNuevolution subscriber Posts: 30 Bronze Level Member
    Calvin,It comes down to your Logo and your domain name. Don`t expect people to know about you over night.  It`s going to take some marketing on your part and alot of repetition. Business Cards, Flyers, Post Cards and anything that you can do to get peoples attention, once they can associate your business with your services, the dot com will just be a way for them to remember you are online.
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  • ChuckChuck subscriber Posts: 6
    That`s why I`m just trying to figure out if a more informative name i.e. sellyourstuffonline.com or cleanyourhouse.com (examples) are a better way to go.  With an informative name, you hear name, you know what it is. it`s not confusing.  You don`t get all the people who accidentally go to your site for the wrong reasons.  It may not be as catchy and memorable as a "yahoo," but from a starting off point, it might make more sense.Such a tough call Calvin -- as with most decisions like this, I think it depends.  There`s instant recognition with an informative name, but it clearly lacks the creativity and flexibility of a more "branded" name like Yahoo or Pepsi or StartupNation (c`mon, I had to do it).As someone who thinks about search issues way too much, I can`t believe I`m saying this, but I would really lean toward the more creative name if you think it`s a winner - there are plenty of low-cost ways to promote your business, and you can`t discount the buzz value and storytelling opportunities inherent in a catchy and unique brand name.  Did you already give a preview of the name - did I miss that?  If not, are you willing to share? 
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  • calvincalvin subscriber Posts: 14 Bronze Level Member
    Calvin,It comes down to your Logo and your domain name. Don`t expect people to know about you over night.  It`s going to take some marketing on your part and alot of repetition. Business Cards, Flyers, Post Cards and anything that you can do to get peoples attention, once they can associate your business with your services, the dot com will just be a way for them to remember you are online.
    I guess I named this thread incorrectly.  I guess I should`ve called it Online Business Name, instead of Website Name.
    My biz will living in the online world only so my domain name is going to be extremely important for identifying what my biz is.  I understand that marketing will be needed to appropriately generate awareness for my biz, but I naming my online biz is the tricky part.
    For example, if I were selling cars, naming my online biz carsalesonline.com makes sense.  The name says it all... I sell cars online.  If I named my online biz wakawakawaka.com... who the heck is going to know that I was selling cars online without the appropriate marketing?
    I ultimately want to create a name that is both catchy, yet informational.  In the initial stages of my biz, it would be extremely helpful if people were able to associate my biz name to the type of service I am providing. 
    Hope that makes sense   Thanks for all your insight!
     
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  • NuevolutionNuevolution subscriber Posts: 30 Bronze Level Member
    I agree with Chuck, go with something creative and simple.Don`t over do it. Secondly, once you have your name out there, you don`t have control over if people go there for the right or wrong reasons. Remember, most people do stumble on to other`s web sites by mistake. If you want that from happening be careful on your Keywords and your Content for example, the word hare and hair.. some one might be looking into getting hair treatment miss spell something, and wham... the search engine returns "Buy Hare`s on-line"Don`t worry about who goes to your web site or who doesn`t.. Worry, on if it does happen, make sure you have good content for them to stay there and read more about your business, perhaps looking for hair and end up bringing home a hare to wife and kids...
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  • calvincalvin subscriber Posts: 14 Bronze Level Member
    That`s why I`m just trying to figure out if a more informative name i.e. sellyourstuffonline.com or cleanyourhouse.com (examples) are a better way to go.  With an informative name, you hear name, you know what it is. it`s not confusing.  You don`t get all the people who accidentally go to your site for the wrong reasons.  It may not be as catchy and memorable as a "yahoo," but from a starting off point, it might make more sense.Such a tough call Calvin -- as with most decisions like this, I think it depends.  There`s instant recognition with an informative name, but it clearly lacks the creativity and flexibility of a more "branded" name like Yahoo or Pepsi or StartupNation (c`mon, I had to do it).As someone who thinks about search issues way too much, I can`t believe I`m saying this, but I would really lean toward the more creative name if you think it`s a winner - there are plenty of low-cost ways to promote your business, and you can`t discount the buzz value and storytelling opportunities inherent in a catchy and unique brand name.  Did you already give a preview of the name - did I miss that?  If not, are you willing to share? 
     
    On the contrary Chuck, I think StartupNation is both catchy and informative.  People can pretty much figure out StartupNation is about without prior knowledge.  Who came up with the name anyways?
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  • PetersonLimitedPetersonLimited subscriber Posts: 0
    I back up Nuevolution & Chuck`s answers from personal experience.  I sell collegiate merchandise on CarolinaGamecocks.com (that`s University of South Carolina Gamecocks for those not from the south).  The name alone gets hundreds of hits per month out of football season and thousands in season.  That traffic has all been accidental and didn`t do much but eat up my bandwidth with minimal sales.  There`s also very little creativity I can put behind a name that simply represents the school.  I now working on transitioning to a more unique site, most likely to be RivalryOfTheSouth.com to promote Carolina & Clemson merchandise.  This will open up the door to creativity since I`m no longer glued to just the name of the school whos products I sell.  This will also open the door to sell merchandise of other rivalry`s as well, like Georgia & Florida.  A suggestion though, go ahead and buy a few of those self explanatory names and forward their traffic to the short, creative business name. For example, I own 13 URLs that all point to one site. In short... Go creative, get imaginative, be memorable.  There`s a million "Isellcars.com" "Buysoap.com" or "HomesForSale.com" out there.  There`s only one Yahoo, only one Ebay, only one Hotmail.  
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  • TrueGRITSTrueGRITS subscriber Posts: 3
    Calvin, I`m trying to make the same decision.  I posted somewhere below on a similar topic.  Do I go with the fun, catchy name that says absolutely nothing about my business, but maybe gives a hint (More Than The Drawl Y`all), or do I go with something practical and commonplace (The Southern Gift)?  After a few days of bouncing ideas around on here and with family and friends, I think I`ve come up with something in the middle, where I can easily think of branding to coordinate and reinforce the name, but it`s still catchy.  Since you haven`t told us your industry, I can`t offer specific ideas, but I wish you luck!
    Diana
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  • NuevolutionNuevolution subscriber Posts: 30 Bronze Level Member
    Exactly, I don`t think You`ve told us your industry. Keep this in mind though Calvin, Although a catchy name is easier to remember, that doesn`t guarantee that you are going to get the hits you are expecting. It all comes down to your branding and marketing effort. Once you have branded your business (business cards, banners, signs and whatever media you use to get the message accross) people will be able to associate you, your business, and web site. As far as content goes, Calvin; the content you post on the internet will only be relevant for search engine optimization. The more relevant the information is to the search the most-likely you are going to appear on the customer`s search (it also has to do with how much you spend on Programs such as Adwords(google) or Overture(yahoo). Also, the more relevant the information is to what the customer is seeking the most-likely it will be they will purchase from you.My advise is, if you want to get the best of both worlds go with a catchy name and be as informative as you can be. Create a hybrid = catchy and informative. and go from there. If you don`t see results, then change your tactics and go with a different approach.
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