I Don't Get Some of These Appraisals...

[Schmoe]

Hello all. First post here. I'm trying to come up with a new name for my site, and I'm trying to learn what makes a "good" domain name here.

Okay, granted I'm a complete "domain name newbie", but I don't get the rationale behind some of the valuations. It seems that names are valued based on what they could be used for only. For instance, if a name is to be used for a hosting company, it has to be named goodhost.com, or if its for a video store, it has to be named videosonline.com. However, this reasoning doesn't really fit with the truly successful companies on the net.

Most successful net companies have names completely unrelated to their content. Instead, they choose a name just because its "catchy".

No one here seems to value names based on "catchiness"...

I just get that feeling that, ten years ago, some of you would have told the founder of Amazon.com:
"That name is worth the reg fee, maybe you could use it for a site about Brazil or a porn site about tall women, but books????? NO WAY!"

or:
"Yahoo.com? You mean like the cowboy expression? No one is gonna be able to spell that."

or you might have heard the phrase:
"Google? What the hell does that mean?"



As I mentioned, I'm a newb trying to learn a little about this, so can someone explain it to me?

 

[bigboss]

I have two names

rizma.com and topscams.com

rizma.com would be the name based on catchiness

and topscams.com would be based on descriptive words

Which is worth more?

Just the domain names... reg fee +
But developed the sky is the limit

Some names you develop and some you sell

John :p

 

[BarkingSheep]

Nice Thread
Ive been trying to work out how people work out there appraisals, i know when a tld is worth money but how much? No idea!

Im using http://BarkingSheep.com (i actually thought of this during the Foot and Mouth Crisis!!! LOL) for my design work ... and it NEVER fails to make someone laugh when i tell them where to see my work or give them my email add. Really its worth nothing but (IMO) its easy to remember, not hard to spell, and the .com is what everyone thinks of first.

 

[Coastalguy]

BarkingSheep is a good name. Hard to forget (once they find you).

ST

 

[Beachie]

Originally posted by Schmoe
If I were purchasing a tv online, I probably wouldn't buy from a site called "buyatv.com". A name like that just seems kinda cheap and unprofessional to me.

1)If you have alot of money to advertise, choose a name based on catchiness.
2)If you don't have money to advertise, choose based on descriptive words.

You hit the nail on the head

I own Television.org and Televisions.org. They both get traffic because people just type the address in looking for info on TV's - no need to advertise. Ideally they would .com's though

 

[Domainut]

Do you remember when we all thought the leading online bookstore would be called Books.com, the #1 computer seller Computers.com, and the leading online pet store Pets.com? Do you buy your food from Grocery Store(TM), fill up at Gas Station(TM), and then have lunch at Fast Food Restaurant(TM)? Thanks to advances in mass brain-washing, most of us think of brand names when we need to have these needs met. The Internet will increasingly follow the real world, and brand names supercede generic domains in importance.

However, the good news for domain investors is that there will always be new brand names being created, and these new brands will need an Internet presence. If you have a knack for coming up with catchy, succinct, and evocative names, you may hit upon "Centrino", "Froogle", or "The Clapper" before the big boys do. Just don't be too greedy with your asking price: a brandable domain only takes on its value after somebody has burned a few million promoting it. Until that point, the company will opt for another name rather than pay an extortionist price for the .com.


This copied from the sedo website.