discuss What makes for a good brandable domain ? Showcase your brandables here

[oldtimer]

With thousands of startups needing a name for their new company and many more existing businesses also branching out all the time and needing names for their new line of products and services it seems that brandable domains is one of the areas that could be very beneficial to domainers both old and new and deserves to be explored further.

Below are a few points of discussion to get this thread started, if I have left something important out please let me know so that it can be added to them. If you have any tips or advice about brandable domains please feel free to share them with the rest of us.


1-What is a brandable domain.

2-How many different types of brandable domains are there and is one type better than the others.

3-What makes a brandable domain stand out amongst thousands of others.

4-What is the optimum length for a brandable domain, how long can a brandable domain be and still qualify as being a good choice.

5-What types of brandable domains are most desired by startups and existing businesses.

6-What is the best way to find brandable domains.

7-What is the best way to sell brandable domains.


Attention Newbies: It's probably best to first hear what some of the more experienced domainers have to say about this subject before you consider getting any domains, and even then it's probably best to experiment with just a few domains at a time. You should be able to sell one domain and then use the proceeds from that sale to get more domains, if you cannot even sell one domain then you are doing something wrong and need to adjust your strategy. IMO

 

[NameOmnia]

Sorry, nothing special I think. They won't pass the radio test and don't roll off the tongue well. These names are just random 5L.
I think a good brandable should have some qualities like being pronounceable, memorable or convey emotions, or rhyme in some way. Sometimes you can make interesting combinations by merging two keywords but then you are aiming for longer domains.
Really good 5L are long gone.

Well that's your opinion.
Also the majority of buyers are NOT from English speaking country so radio test ( which I think they pass but anyway..) and " they don't roll off the tongue well " are not so important.
Auroi is clearly a french sound and roi means king in french:
iineu is a german sound;
jewld is catchy and jewld.com.au is fully developed....:wave:

I would be really happy to see some of your good 5L.

 

[singam]

The good and pronounceable ones are gone imo. There are a lot better niches worthy of domain investing

 

[NameOmnia]

The good and pronounceable ones are gone imo. There are a lot better niches worthy of domain investing

Could you share your mind please? what niches?

 

[arcturis]

Definitely a good idea to invest in these names. You have to get creative though since, like many have mentioned, most of the good ones are gone. Here's a list of a lot of 5-letter brandables I own and have listed for sale ... have sold several 5-letters for very decent prices, so speaking from experience, these are a good investment.

just curious how u make your logos?

great motivator to see you are doing well plus all your valuable info sure helps out

:D

 

[Domainace]

I wish you would forget about the 5-letter hang-up. End users don't even think about whether it's 5,6,7 or 8 letters - as long as it's a good brand. Only domainers count letters, and that's because it makes some sense with 3 or even 4 letter domains, where there is limited supply.

Just look for good words. I don't focus on brandables because they are too much of a crap shoot - unless you are really, really good at picking winners. The last one I sold was bunbo.com, I think, and that had a couple companies using the name.

Appraisal: I agree that the names above are nothing I would touch. Maybe in some other language than English. I don't think JEWLD is catchy, but maybe it is to some others. I certainly wouldn't be excited that one little family jewel store in Brisbane is using the name on a very simply webpage. They won't be interested in the .com unless they go international - and that doesn't look too likely.

Sean, you've got 9 domain names. You could have used that money to get one that makes sense. Family names are a dime a dozen. Unless it's a common or famous name, you can forget it.

Short brandables are like lottery tickets. Sure, you'll get lucky and have some winners, but most people who focus on these will lose money in the long run. If you really know what sells and what doesn't, go for it - but this is generally a graveyard for inexperienced domainers.

Then again, I wouldn't touch most of Rader's domains either, so maybe you shouldn't listen to me. If he's really making money, maybe you should ask him how he does it

 

[NameOmnia]

Pardon me Domainace; you just said you are not that much into brandables but you are very sure the domains we have are crappy ones...interesting!
As I have always said brandables are really a personal choice. I still think that the shorter the better but I agree with you when you say that buyers are not worried about length as domainers are.

A lot of domainers also focus too much on the English side of history while forgetting that the world is made of many many languages, that Spanish is the first language in the world, that Chinese are buying more and more brandables, that Europe has 740 ML people while US has 300 ML., that 325 ML speak English as their first language and 100 ML speak German for example, that the majority of brandable domains that have been sold have a latin, greek, spanish-italian root....
So, yeh..maybe my domains are good for other languages thank God. And also, I think English speaking people should open their mind a bit more or this time they will be the ones missing out some great opportunities...

 

[urlurl]

there is a wide range of quality in names from: Excellent to Very bad

Excellent: usually dictionary words with a brandable feel to it (craving, candy, smooth, etc)

Very Good: Marginal dictionary words and 2 short complimenting names (ipod, ebay, brandable, etc.)

Good: Quality spin on words or word combos with meanings (digg, groupon, snapchat, youtube, etc)

Ok: made up words or combos with the possible meanings. (twitter, Skype, etc)

Marginal: pronounceable random letter (sedo, google, etc.)

Poor: random letters, barely pronounceable no meaning. ( suxpu, cudox, etc.)

Very Poor: non pronounceable random letters (btowb, stnpr, lardc, etc.)




This does not value names, just gives me an idea of how fast a name will sell.

Good luck and may your names be brandabler

 

[VisionEdger]

Pardon me Domainace; you just said you are not that much into brandables but you are very sure the domains we have are crappy ones...interesting!
As I have always said brandables are really a personal choice. I still think that the shorter the better but I agree with you when you say that buyers are not worried about length as domainers are.

A lot of domainers also focus too much on the English side of history while forgetting that the world is made of many many languages, that Spanish is the first language in the world, that Chinese are buying more and more brandables, that Europe has 740 ML people while US has 300 ML., that 325 ML speak English as their first language and 100 ML speak German for example, that the majority of brandable domains that have been sold have a latin, greek, spanish-italian root....
So, yeh..maybe my domains are good for other languages thank God. And also, I think English speaking people should open their mind a bit more or this time they will be the ones missing out some great opportunities...

English NOT Spanish is the most used language, period... obviously u r biased against English by your tone.
language racism as well doesnt surprise me at all..


:bah::imho:
:sold:

 

[iowadawg]

FLAYX in the .com is my 5 letter domain.

Just have to find a buyer.

 

[urlurl]

English NOT Spanish is the most used language, period... obviously u r biased against English by your tone.
language racism as well doesnt surprise me at all..


:bah::imho:
:sold:

actually, Spanish (5.8%) is second to Chinese at 14.1%

 

[NameOmnia]

English NOT Spanish is the most used language, period... obviously u r biased against English by your tone.
language racism as well doesnt surprise me at all..


:bah::imho:
:sold:

LOL....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_number_of_native_speakers

I was simply trying to point out that the market is much bigger than the one that involves only English speaking countries; also people who speak English as a second language normally tend to read and pronounce names ( domains ) the way is more familiar to them = their mother language; so what might not sound amazing in English can be great in another language. I was just trying to explain this and it seems to me the racist here is you, not me.

---------- Post added at 11:34 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:33 AM ----------

actually, Spanish (5.8%) is second to Chinese at 14.1%

Thanks UrlUrl;

 

[NameOmnia]

 

[VisionEdger]

yea sure trendy smiley and this sums it all up right here folks

the king or possibly queen of languages( not English btw obviously)

right out of that genius brain another mind blowing brandable the world awaits for:

JUNQE


:lol::lol::zzz:

 

[NameOmnia]

 

[Domainace]

Pardon me Domainace; you just said you are not that much into brandables but you are very sure the domains we have are crappy ones...interesting!

Please don't put words into my mouth. I didn't say they were crappy -- those are your words. I said I wouldn't touch them, which I wouldn't. If you're making good money on those kinds of domains, then I'm deeply impressed and I defer to your expertise.

More languages are great - just about everything means something in some language or dialect. You can't miss:santa:

 

[forge]

Domainace, why not run fativa.com in a no-reserve Sedo auction for example. Maybe it's not worth your time. Also being that it's so close to Sativa, a name guaranteed to get a lot more exposure.

I just regged a 6L two COMMON English word name (won't reveal it, too superstitious), so there's proof it still can be done. That said, in general I try to severely limit registering these type names.

 

[Domainace]

Awww... twist my arm. I just renewed it in a moment of weakness. It did garner $4 in parking on 800+ visits, so maybe there's hope.

That's what I mean - these things are like candy. They will never be my bread and butter, but they are fun to gamble on sometimes. Which is why I don't focus on them.

 

[forge]

Awww... twist my arm. I just renewed it in a moment of weakness. It did garner $4 in parking on 800+ visits, so maybe there's hope.

That's what I mean - these things are like candy. They will never be my bread and butter, but they are fun to gamble on sometimes. Which is why I don't focus on them.

Haha, I like it! Where there's hope, there's kenobi!

Good luck, eh?!

 

[NameOmnia]

Awww... twist my arm. I just renewed it in a moment of weakness. It did garner $4 in parking on 800+ visits, so maybe there's hope.

That's what I mean - these things are like candy. They will never be my bread and butter, but they are fun to gamble on sometimes. Which is why I don't focus on them.

AHAHAHAHAHA...I knew you couldn't resist!!!!!

Maybe in one year you will sell it for a lot of money!

Could you tell me where you parked your domain and what keyword you are using? Thank

P.S. I apologize if I misunderstood your words...:red:

 

[BrandChimp]

Some of my brandables

Vioos
Olime
Truggle
Ezolo
Flowoo
Cozom
Pumpk
Blackiso (iso disc)

And.. Vij.com but its not for sale

 

[ecuadorbusiness]

I wish you would forget about the 5-letter hang-up. End users don't even think about whether it's 5,6,7 or 8 letters - as long as it's a good brand. Only domainers count letters, and that's because it makes some sense with 3 or even 4 letter domains, where there is limited supply.

Just look for good words. I don't focus on brandables because they are too much of a crap shoot - unless you are really, really good at picking winners. The last one I sold was bunbo.com, I think, and that had a couple companies using the name.

Appraisal: I agree that the names above are nothing I would touch. Maybe in some other language than English. I don't think JEWLD is catchy, but maybe it is to some others. I certainly wouldn't be excited that one little family jewel store in Brisbane is using the name on a very simply webpage. They won't be interested in the .com unless they go international - and that doesn't look too likely.

Sean, you've got 9 domain names. You could have used that money to get one that makes sense. Family names are a dime a dozen. Unless it's a common or famous name, you can forget it. I am in the process of dropping Fativa.com for example. It's a nice sounding name, but I think it was a mistake to register it. Still, I would take that over the names listed here.

Short brandables are like lottery tickets. Sure, you'll get lucky and have some winners, but most people who focus on these will lose money in the long run. If you really know what sells and what doesn't, go for it - but this is generally a graveyard for inexperienced domainers.

Then again, I wouldn't touch most of Rader's domains either, so maybe you shouldn't listen to me. If he's really making money, maybe you should ask him how he does it

I personally cannot totally agree with you since as a rule of thumb when it comes to domains the shorter the better. Let's take only as example Facebook.com , it is a nice 8 letters domain, easy to remember and easy to pronounce, it is even easier to remember due to the extensive advertising campaign for not only every possible media but mouth to mouth and person to peson recommendation. Facebook is an icon of our century pop culture. Then why would they pay 8,5 millions five years later on 2010 to secure FB.com? That is not a little money, but Facebook.com secured FB.com as they were getting 6 letters minus ensuring people to type in the site right away as soon as possible (especially those who get online using mobile gadgets), 6 letters made a difference of 8,5 millions to Facebook.com, why would not do a difference for another top company?
I agree with you in the fact that you do not need a short name to become it an icon as long as you have enough money to convert multilifesoftware.com (available for anyone who wants to reg it XD) in the next top operative system. However saying size does not matter is something questionable although saying size matters is not necessarily a totally true either. Your decision. XD

 

[urlurl]

That is true - but its better to get a good 6 - 7 letter name than it is to buy a low quality 5 L

Quality is key (#1) the short length of the name is just a bonus.

what would you rather have

5L - decen

6L - decent

 

[techie474]

I have becoz.com since 2010 but received not even a single offer. Who has never used becoz instead of because?

 

[Kate]

"becoz" is slang, doesn't sound professional and is not very suitable for business purposes. Plus, it's vague as a stand-alone keyword :talk: :imho:

 

[urlurl]

I have becoz.com since 2010 but received not even a single offer. Who has never used becoz instead of because?

what would an enduser use it for?