Picking a Good Domain for a Forum?

[GoKaizen]

I've noticed a lot of forums are "Category" with "Forum." Such as DNF or something like that. While descriptive and stating what your website is for, I don't really feel that the word "Forum" isn't that catchy of a word. NamePros is a great domain IMO!

What do people think is a good way to pick a domain for a forum? Do you think it's better to search for a catchy domain or if available go with with "forum" and the niche word you are trying to target?

 

[lothos]

DNF just sounds generic, IMHO. I prefer a catchy name like Namepros, wickedfire, etc. I have Domainary.com that I've been playing around with different forum software on, I think it's a great name but I might be a little biased

 

[IntrepidPoster]

In my opinion, [topic]Forum may be generic, but it works well. Originality is important, but 100% originality may not be the best in all cases. People look for new things, but they also want familiarity.

 

[FPForum]

Get creative..You don't necessarily have to use the word "forum"...There are plenty of other words that target the same niche..board, chat, hangout, bb..etc.

Going with something more brandable like "namepros" is never a bad idea either..It makes you standout more and it makes your site easier to remember IMHO. But, expect it to probably take a little bit more time to establish yourself. Search engine rankings can be harder to attain without those keywords in your domain.

 

[Trader]

...

 

[GoKaizen]

Get creative..You don't necessarily have to use the word "forum"...There are plenty of other words that target the same niche..board, chat, hangout, bb..etc.

The niche I am targeting has over 14,000 GAKT monthly searches and the "Category" and "Forum" .COM domain have not been taken. Also the word starts with "F", so forum goes with it better then other words. IMO the domain is ripe for development!

I might want to expand the website later to include a store, blog, etc. so going with Forum might not be a good long term thinking.

Originality is important, but 100% originality may not be the best in all cases. People look for new things, but they also want familiarity.

I think catchy and fun domains can work if you have a lot of marketing muscle behind you, but I agree about familiarity. A lot of sites I don't click on because the domain looks too weird.

 

[Sabre]

With forums, the easiest way to think of it is like this.

The chance of your forum being truly successful is low, at best. To establish a successful forum from scratch, choosing between a brandable and keyword domain is the least of your concerns. At the end of the day, forums are near impossible to get going without an adequate marketing budget these days, so whether its CarForums.com or GearShifters.com doesn't really matter. For that reason, I tend to prefer brandable forum domains over keyword forum domains as they are;

a) cheaper to pick up
b) often easier to market
c) solve any 'confusion' between other forums e.g. Xforums.com and Xforum.com

All :imho of course.

 

[rngrdanny22]

I see pros to both keyword and brandable. I really think it depends on the niche.

I personally prefer for the domain name to be very descriptive of what the site is about. So, IMO, I would choose <keyword>forum.com or <keyword>forums.com as my domain of choice. They are extremely descriptive of what the site is about and what the users should expect upon visiting the site.

However, using a <keyword>forum.com can make it a little difficult to develop anything other than just a forum. For more than a forum, I think a brandable name would be best (if you wanted to add a store, merchandise, blog, etc).

 

[IntrepidPoster]

I agree that if you want to expand your site, it might not be a great idea to use forums in the domain. You might want to use a subdomain though, like forums.[domainName].tld.

 

[rngrdanny22]

I agree that if you want to expand your site, it might not be a great idea to use forums in the domain. You might want to use a subdomain though, like forums.[domainName].tld.

That is another way to do it, but IMO you would need to promote the site more than if you had a <keyword>forum.com name.

Especially if your domain name gets few type-ins per month.

 

[IntrepidPoster]

Good point. It might make the transition to a multifaceted site easier though.

 

[GoKaizen]

I agree that if you want to expand your site, it might not be a great idea to use forums in the domain. You might want to use a subdomain though, like forums.[domainName].tld.

I did consider that. I own the plural version of the word in NET and ORG but someone else owns the COM. The singular version of the term has all gtlds taken, which gets a lot more searches.

I would really prefer a COM and a singular tld if I was going to go the subdomain route.

I personally prefer for the domain name to be very descriptive of what the site is about. So, IMO, I would choose <keyword>forum.com or <keyword>forums.com as my domain of choice. They are extremely descriptive of what the site is about and what the users should expect upon visiting the site.

True, it's good for users to know what the site is before they even visit.

 

[IntrepidPoster]

Right. The .com is probably the best. Between the .org and the .net, I think that the .net would be the better choice.

 

[GoKaizen]

I agree, the NET would be the better choice.

 

[InvisionTech]

Establish a brand, not a forum then you have more flexibility where the website can go. If I type wordforum dotcom, I am expecting a FORUM, not a portal. If forum is just one part of the greater site, it has more chances.

domainname/forum or forums as subdir or subdomain

 

[cdboard]

I did consider that. I own the plural version of the word in NET and ORG but someone else owns the COM. The singular version of the term has all gtlds taken, which gets a lot more searches.

so, you own the singular COM, the plural NET, and the plural ORG?

do you own the singular NET and singular ORG?

 

[GoKaizen]

do you own the singular NET and singular ORG?

No, unfortunately I don't. All of the desirable singular tld's are taken.

 

[Domainer123]

One of the best names I have come across is websitebabble.com, personally I think its really clever.

 

[GoKaizen]

Establish a brand, not a forum then you have more flexibility where the website can go.

Great advice!

 

[iowadawg]

Like this name I like:
ExpertsHere

The .com is taken, but all other tlds are available.