Acronym vs keyword vs brandable domain?

I think it depends on your marketing strategy, and the category of website. Non profit, brand, product, resource, media, etc.

You say the domains you'd like are overpriced. Does that eliminate the exact match? ie If you're selling Cheap Tickets, I assume you've inquired on the exact match for your niche prior to coming to this conclusion. Have you used google keyword analytics to see if it's worth going for exact match, or perhaps MOZ or SEMRush to evaluate keyword competition?

I'm a fan of brandables, and since the definition of a brandable domain is subjective to each individual, there's plenty of trends to chose from. More choices = better pricing given the competitive industry. However, that is subjective to the domain, and broker. In reference to your examples, SnapChat recently rebranded to Snap.com. They intend on being more than just an APP, as they soon will be launching Spectacles.com for their product (Sunglasses with a Camera) Notice, the brand is a 4L dictionary word, that had the reach and foresight to obtain an exact match for their product. Flippa is a pretty cool brandable - does it stand for Flip a domain, or a brandable form of Flipper, ie domain flipper. FWIW, Flipa.com is for sale with an asking price of €150,000. As for AirBnb, that in itself is an acronym for AirBedAndBreakfast.com, they forward that domain to AirBnb. Not knowing the bed and breakfast industry, I'm unsure of what the air stands for. I can say that Bnb.com redirects to BedandBreakfast.com However, prior to looking Bnb.com, I only knew of AirBnb.com due to their market penetration.

As for 4L acronyms, I think short.coms show a strong internet presence, though I think it should be brandable enough (or some relation to) the website niche. I'd venture to say most IMDB users don't know the acronym. They could very well guess the MDB part as it's a movie site, and DB is a well known acronym for database. That said, what is the I? International or Internet? Do some seperate the acronym into two parts - I'M DB? Whatever the case, it has powerful up to date content, that many readily refer to for reviews. A well know domainer uses DSAD.com to redirect to DomainShane.com. Without going to the site, I'd infer it'd be a tough guess to assume AD meant accidental domainer. DS, however, is apart of his rhyming domaing brand, Domain Shane. Personally, I find it easier to remember Domain Shane due to the playful rhyme, than I do DSAD.com.

Should you need a less broad opinion, kindly share more details about your site, and I'm sure some Pros will jump in on the discussion.

Grilled, Thanks for a very informative answer.

Im building a AllMyFaves.com type of site.

And I own the domain:

IBPS.com - could be an acronym for "Internet's Best Possible Sites"


But I too Love brandables before acronyms.

But I've had a hard time finding a good domain for the project.

By the way, AirBnb was named after they rented out an air Madras instead of a real bed in some apartment at the start of their company.
At least that's what I read somewhere

/Tony

I would want an exact keyword domain, vague acronyms will not suffice
~
AirBnb offers a strong hint of what they do

Id say go with exact keyword domain.

Something to share, i hv 1 exact keyword .xyz domain. I set up a website, 57 pages last january .. and leave it alone . Now getting 60k visit and slowly steadily growing. Didnt expect that kinda traffic , i got it for .88 @ namecheap

So. Now ima believer, exact keyword domains is the easiest way to build a web, tho it might be pricey ... especially .com

Didnt promote it. Not even a bot

I've used lean domain search to find some two word .coms

I agree with the others, I find acronyms almost impossible to remember until they’re very well established. (An exception might be if your site is for a region, then NY or something as part of the acronym could work well.) I’d go with keywords.

However, if you are marketing to a specialized group then a brandable name that’s creative could be a very good idea.

You might want to find a naming consultant to help you. There are some people that just have a way of thinking very interesting and fitting names. Just the way you can see certain people really dive into the 'brandable' marketplaces, submit a few names and instantly get sales. You could probably pay someone $50 or $100 to think up some good available names for you, based on your idea.

I know at least one person I could recommend who would be good at this, though you could certainly find other people here at Namepros with that talent as well.

You see it all the time, even with the famous startups going through the YCombinator program. Just because you're good at tech and development, doesn't mean you'll be able to pick a good name.

I'm a brandable guy, so that's what I would go with. The best thing about brandables is like Grilled said, they're subjective, so you can use them however you like. You're not tied down to "cheaptickets.com", which limits your market and usage. Meaning you wouldn't use "cheaptickets.com" to sell underwear or socks, you'd sell cheap tickets. The only challenge with brandables is marketing. But if you do that correctly, you create something that is 100% unique, which is a very good thing when it comes to people remembering you and your brand/site/product/ect.

sharkpower said:

Keyword?

Click to expand...

++ for the keyword domain. In my experience, much easier to optimize.

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

So, to my BIG question:

Can I use the domain StartFav.com?
(I own StartFave.com too just to redirect to StartFav.com).

Is that a good enough domain or should I keep looking?

It's short (just 8 letters) and it is somewhat brandable as the word "fav" is short for "favorite".

But, there is an ongoing discussion online whether to use "fav" or "fave".

Some people use "fav" and others use "fave".

I dont want to confuse my users by including a word that can be spelled in two ways.

Hmmm im really stuck at this issue.

I really really need a short domain that contains the word "start".
Like maximum 8 letters short.

Fav is more common in the US, imo.

I'd go with Fav as well (over Fave).

I prefer FAV over FAVE, but it's good to own both since there can be confusion.

But, I want to know if there is a better domain out there ..

Too bad some of the names that includes the word "start" that I have been inquiring about has had a too high asking price.

But, could a domain like StartFav.com work?

I want to know the downsides of chosing this name, if there is any?

I think it could. Also, mavorites.com is available (combination of My and Favorites). That would be a good brandable.

It is not one over the other, all of them are options and in each specific case one could be better than the other.

My favorite hockey blog is RussianMachineNeverBreaks. While they also use acronym RMNB, they never cared to get rmnb.com and operate from russianmachineneverbreaks.com

Works for them I guess.

One of the top media outlets of the world, Guardian, does not own Guardian.com and operates from TheGuardian.com. Although, I suspect, they wish they'd own the former and would pay 6 or 7 digits, if it weren't used by an actual business.

SnapChat started with brandable, but also went for snap.com as soon as they could. FaceBook paid a lot to get their acronym of FB.

The ultimate strategy would be covering all the basis eventually, but start with something and see if you manage to succeed.

Thanks for your thoughts Recons,

But I don't want to start out with a domain that was my fifth or sixth choice.

I do want to get it right from the beginning.

And, I wouldnt want to launch the website on for example Start.com
In that case, you dont get the personal touch of the brand.

I'd like to have a keyword or brandable, but I still want to know if there is a better brand than StartFav out there.
And I know there is ...

So, just to dive deeper into this subject,

I have inquired on the following domains:


AnyStart.com
Startable.com
Starto.com
Starty.com
AltStart.com
StartPop.com
AllStart.com

Would be really helpful if anyone could list their top 3 choices amung the domains above?

Im counting syllables when I chose a domain, but there are of course exceptions.

These are my top three:

1) Starto.com
2) Startable.com
3) AllStart.com

Thanks Billy,

Should I stick to my handreg Startfav.com or should I buy AllStart.com for 5k?

I think thats a lot to ask for that name but if it's the right choice, I'll have to sell something in order to cover up the expense.

I've never heard of allmyfaves.com before, but I did visit the link and it looks like a website that lists the website owner's favorite websites. I believe I have a domain that might be suitable for your needs. it's WebFavorites.com. I don't usually lists my domains in threads but I just thought that the domain I have is a great fit for what you're looking for.

sharkpower said:

So, just to dive deeper into this subject,

I have inquired on the following domains:


AnyStart.com
Startable.com
Starto.com
Starty.com
AltStart.com
StartPop.com
AllStart.com

Would be really helpful if anyone could list their top 3 choices amung the domains above?

Im counting syllables when I chose a domain, but there are of course exceptions.

Click to expand...

Starty .....without doubt

Maybe you could ask for the price for starta...

Recons, do you mean starta.com?