Long Domains

[Truthman]

I have been researching long domains recently. I thought it would be interesting to hear of peoples experiences, good or bad with long domains?

From my knowledge, some good things:
-Search engines don't mind length, so they are great for keywords.
-The name can potentially say much more about the company/website.

Some bad:
-Harder to type
-Harder to read
-Harder to remember
-Looks ugly

Also, what are some popular websites you know of that use a long domain? for example:
DemocratAndChronicle.com (20 characters)

Personally, I consider any domain that is 18 characters long or longer as a "Long" domain.

Cheers

 

[Albert]

As long as I can remember I didn't type in a domain that are more than 15 character. Too hard to remember.

Some bad:
too much typo

 

[owntype]

I have two 63 char .com domains, but they are just domains

They got offers, as some ppl are looking for fun.

As for long domain site, there are a lot in U.K but all like alongcompanyname-services/solutions.co.uk, didn't hear any popular site though.

Maybe you want to check www.abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijk.com ?

 

[NameClerk]

I'm a believer in long domains as long as the keywords match up with "long tail" search strings that have decent volume amongst Internet users.

Development is key on these types on names. Truthfully, development is key on all new hand registrations because the premium domains with direct type-in traffic are long gone.

The advantage of "long tail" domains is they're a bit easier to get organic search engine rankings for their targeted keywords than shorter domains that are more generic in nature. From my experience, "long tail" descriptive keywords generally have higher PPC payouts that shorter, generic keywords too. This is probably due to the fact that the visitors are more qualified when they arrive due to the targeted keyword they used to find you.

Of course this all depends on your business model as well. Short generics have more liquidity which makes them much easier to sell. Short generics have plenty of other advantages as well. I prefer the longer ones for mini-site development as I'm not really concerned with flipping the domain for profit. I'm more concerned with getting the site up and ranked with very little upfront investment. I'm not necessarily looking to sell these types of names, especially if they bringing in decent residual income.

That's the approach I took with AvailableDomainNames.com and it's worked out pretty well. Within 60 days I was listed on Google's 1st page for available domain names & the shorter term available domains.

I might lose a few visitors to typos but I've gained many more targeted visitors from Google and other search engines.

-Bill

 

[domaino]

Can I play Devil's Advocate? I have read on a number of forums that domain name do not impact on SE position to any great degree. I've looked into this primarily as a result of snapping up a few hyphen domains but I would imagine the same applies here. Mind you, everyone you speak to seems to have a different take on the matter. I'm not really a developer anyway, I set sites up but all my effort goes into creating content, not the backend design work.

I doubt whether any domain name can be classified as "ugly". Beauty is in the eye of the end-user. We have all seen what some may classify as "truly hideous" domains sell for upwards of $xx,xxx. One of the interesting things about this industry (and in turn, one of the things that makes it so frustrating to work in) is that you can never predict how much a domain will sell for - in fact scratch that, it's more the fact that you will never fail to be surprised. You can see a domain that the average experienced domainer would classify as a "good, solid" domain spend an eternity listed in Sedo without even the slightest hint of a pending offer, while this-is-an-$xx.com domain sells on for upwards of $x,xxx. I'm not suggesting that this is a daily occurence, but it does happen.

But in principle I would say you are right with what you have listed there. If there is such a thing as an "ugly domain" then I would agree long domains would fall into that category. I think in terms of targeting a sale you are definitely looking at an end-user (providing there is no traffic etc).

I have been researching long domains recently. I thought it would be interesting to hear of peoples experiences, good or bad with long domains?

From my knowledge, some good things:
-Search engines don't mind length, so they are great for keywords.
-The name can potentially say much more about the company/website.

Some bad:
-Harder to type
-Harder to read
-Harder to remember
-Looks ugly

 

[Truthman]

I'm a believer in long domains as long as the keywords match up with "long tail" search strings that have decent volume amongst Internet users.

Yeah, I have been realizing the above recently also. A bunch of good long-tail domains for a niche may bring more traffic than a single shorter domain.

I doubt whether any domain name can be classified as "ugly". Beauty is in the eye of the end-user.

Yeah so true! And it is also funny how sometimes domains can look quite ugly in plain text, but can look quite nice in a logo.

 

[xman]

I'm a big fan of short domains but there are lots of long domains that looks really nice.

I own a handful of long domains such as WirelessAreaNetwork dot com

I've been getting offer with this domain but refuse them all since I have development plan for this domain.

 

[napa]

I like long domains up to about 20 characters if with relevant keywords.

 

[domaino]

Some amateur Psychology here but are longer domains really all that more difficult to remember? Bare with me.

We memorise data by condensing it into chunks. For instance, look at these two strings:

"wnrsoemamowpcw"

"hsitsigsetaertehtswbeetiwdrloin"

My challenge to you. Try and memorise the aforementioned strings. I don't know about you, but I would struggle (unless I was consciously revising and reciting them to myself over and over again).

A simpler way (rearrange the letters):

"www namepros com"

"this is the greatest website in the world"

We store things in meaningful chunks. "wnrsoemamowpcw" means absolutely nothing to anyone, "www namepros com" on the other hand has some meaningful association. I would say that the same applies to four, five or six letter .coms. I would struggle more remembering xdsacb.com than I would "this is the greatest website in the world" .com.

The length of the domain isn't necessarily what's important when it comes to storing it in your long-term memory, it's more about how the string is arranged. I wouldn't call this a formula to good domain buying more something you should keep in mind.

Whether a domain is brandable however, is an entirely different matter.

 

[bmugford]

Long Domains are fine as long as they represent a popular searched term. Most 2-3 Word Domains don't have a ton of type in traffic in general. I would prefer to have a 25 letter domain of a popular searched term, than something "Brandable" any day. You will see the difference after you develop the site. Having relevant popular keywords is crucial.

 

[Jingles]

Two names I have that are particulary "long" are OrganicProduceShop and LaptopComputerSystems. I don't classify these names by the number of characters, I classify them by what the average person would classify them as, 3 WORDS.

I just don't agree with the mentality that a string of 3 or even 4 words is too much for the average Joe to remember....I mean we've all been doing it since, when? The age of 3? 4?

 

[bmugford]

I have a 28 Letter 3 Word Domain that has a Word Tracker of 75, 93 PPC Sponsors, and $10+ Clicks.

PPC Ads # 93
Max PPC Bid $14.7
MAX PPC Income/day $73.5
Overture/mo 2642
Wordtracker/day 75

People are willing to search for exactly what they are looking for, no matter how long the term.

Keyword domains have value regardless of length, especially for development.

Brad

Two names I have that are particulary "long" are OrganicProduceShop and LaptopComputerSystems. I don't classify these names by the number of characters, I classify them by what the average person would classify them as, 3 WORDS.

I just don't agree with the mentality that a string of 3 or even 4 words is too much for the average Joe to remember....I mean we've all been doing it since, when? The age of 3? 4?