Dynadot

Rebranding Website - Round 2

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I still haven't finally decided on my rebranding of DNStore.com. I'm not afraid of rebranding (maybe I should be). Because I'll just point DNStore.com to whatever I choose to rebrand to. Let's start with why I want to rebrand. Several domainers have told me that end-users haven't a clue what DN stands for, and I should probably choose a domain with "domain" in the name and with a 2nd word which suggest selling domains. This sounds all well and good, except there are really none available to register, or are priced too expensively. I've kinda shortlisted 4 domains, which don't actually follow all suggestions which have been made. These are STUB.ORG, STUUB.COM, STUBWEB.COM, NAMETRADER.COM. So let's discuss these 4 domains.

STUB.ORG. I recently purchased this from a very top domainer. It wasn't cheap. How much does it matter that it's not the .COM, which is in use in the entertainment ticketing business? The .NET is for sale for about $25k. I'd like to hear the pros and cons of using STUB.ORG as my domains for sale website, replacing DNStore.com? Pros: It's my name on NP's and an abbreviation of my real name. It's short and to the point. It doesn't address the problem of not including Domain & Sales in the domain name, which started all this searching for a new name. How much does that matter? I think it's very brandable.

STUUB.COM. I purchased this from another domainer about 4 years ago. A true brandable with the same qualities as STUB.ORG, except it is a .COM. If that is important. Does that make it a better choice than STUB.ORG?

STUBWEB.COM. I purchased this in the drops about 4 years ago also. A 2 word brandable, with my keyword+WEB. Several top domainers are using "Domain(s)+Web".com (which obviously are not available). This only partially links the domain to selling domains on the WEB. It's a COM also.

NAMETRADER.COM - I purchased this domain some 15+years ago. This definitely fits the bill of clearly identifying what to expect from the domain. Although it uses the considerably lower form of "NAME" replacing the word "DOMAIN" according to one top domainer, I spoke with. I couldn't find any available domain which implied selling domains with the use of "NAME" available for registration or purchase at a reasonable cost. Not a brandable.

I would stress this is a shortlist. I have several .COM domains with 1 or 2 letters in front of or behind STUB. I have domains like STUBDOMAINS.COM, which might be a good fit/compromise. But I kinda preferred something shorter, and brandable. I have several NGTLDs with the word "DOMAIN(S).+NGTLD. Reasonably good NGTLD's. But I didn't consider them viable, because of thinking about .COM being almost a must. I'm not really sure how many end-users who would know of these NGTLDs, yet. I have and considered several DOMAINSALESxxxx.com but I figured you could die before the completing the domain in your browser :):):)

My personal preference is in the order they are listed. But it is a tight decision between all of them. I'd like to here your comments about each of these names and the one you would choose. And why.

rgds
stu
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
NAMETRADER.COM would be a good brand name, perfectly describing what domainers do.
 
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It's not even a close race for me: you should go with nametrader.com. I can't imagine running a commercial enterprise on the .org TLD.

I agree that essentially no one outside the domaining world will understand the "DN" in DNStore.
 
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I think Name Trader is a really good domain.

When a lot of people talk about domains they say "domain name".

There are a lot of domain related services that use "name": NameFind, NameBio, NameSilo, NameCheap...

Many domainers would associate "name" with domains as well as end users who are buying a name for their business.
 
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I think DN is fine. Here's my take.

1) DN stands for different things, but it is well known for Domain Name. https://www.abbreviations.com/DN

2) Who cares if end users don't know what DN stands for? They'll find out once they get to your site. A lot of sites have brandable domains/names that doesn't explain what it does upfront. For example, if someone never visited NamePros and they saw the name, what type of site do you think they'd think it was? "Name" doesn't automatically equate to Domains. Names could also refer to people, places or things. Us domainers equate "names" to domains because we're so accustomed to seeing domaining sites with the word "name" in it like NamePros, Namecheap, Namesilo, etc..

3) There are well known domain industry brands with "DN" in it. For example:
DNAcademy
DNJournal.com
DNF
DNGear
DNSchool.org
DN.biz
DN [dot] ca

With that said, I would go with DNStore or NameTrader. I do like NameTrader but typically a name with "trader" in it means that its a marketplace for buying/selling/trading something. In your case, you're only selling, so I don't know.
 
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Appreciate all your comments @Atone, @dncafe, @sbweb. To @sbweb, of course I'm buying and selling. How do you get domains to sell without buying names to sell. But it's mostly selling.

I've spend the last few hours looking for an alternative to NameTrader.com, and it's VERY difficult to find since DomainTrader.com is in use. I like the Trader element because it highlights I'm selling domain names. Despite it starting out as my least likely choice (not by much). I've come to appreciate the quality of the domain name. All domains with "Sales" are already taken, or too expensive, or too long. So definitely is in the lead at this point. Much to my chagrin of wanting a brandable domain name. I pretty much agree with @forge about the .org. Which leave STUUB.com and STUBWEB.com trailing behind NAMETRADER.com. Still. Nobody has actually made any comments about the possibility of branding STUUB and STUBWEB for selling domains. I'm not looking to be the next Afternic. Only to be a respected brand in my own right. Something which DAN has achieved. Which is also well beyond my expectations :)
 
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My view is similar to @sbweb

First off, I think your current name is a really good one. Short and to the point. True that, the end user doesn't know the abbreviation DN, but at the end of the day it's all a matter of marketing, and how you bring him to your site. It's not like you'll be handing someone a business card with a name but without an explanation, to worry whether or not the person understands. It's all about online marketing.

Now, if you still want to rebrand, then NameTrader.com is definitely the best option. Don't worry about ''domain'' not being there (remember the name of the site we are all at right now).

The problem with Stub and Stuub (apart from .org, which I don't like at all), is that you'll need a huge, enormous amount of time and effort to make this brand widely recognized in our niche that is very specific. Basically you need to bring people to the point when someone says ''Stub'' and all people around like ''oh, that's a name platform''. Again, that's complicated as hell, not worth it at all.

Bottom line - you can rebrand to NameTrader if you like, but keeping DNGear as well, pointing to the same site. Then see how it goes.

Good luck!
 
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Thanks for your comments @VadimK. The point, if the people having pointed this out to me are correct, is that I'm probably having close to zero non-domainers typing in DNStore.com into their browsers. We as domainers think it's a pretty good domain. But I'm basically not catering for domainers. The niche I want to fill is selling domains to end-users, not domainers. I want to choose a domain which is attractive to end-users. You are correct. I want them to think of Stuub or StubWeb as a domain platform. Not overnight, of course. But I don't want zero end-users visiting my website. Whatever the final outcome on domain name might be.

But it's not exactly true that I don't have end-users visiting my website. I do have many end-users visiting my website. They type in a domain name in their browser, and up comes the domain landing page. From there, if they are feeling adventurous, they can then search my domain database for other domains. What else does an end-user want/need? They want to feel comfortable with the domain they are visiting is legit and useful. And then they will remember the domain. As long as it's memorable. Anything else?
 
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I'm not looking to be the next Afternic. Only to be a respected brand in my own right. Something which DAN has achieved. Which is also well beyond my expectations :)
So maybe you should spend a little more & buy a better name like NameTrade? You could offer them $1,000 since the minimum is $750, & take it from there.

imo
 
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So maybe you should spend a little more & buy a better name like NameTrade? You could offer them $1,000 since the minimum is $750, & take it from there.

imo

Hi @Mohammad Shahin. Thank you for posting your thoughts. I don't think NameTrade.com is much of an improvement on NameTrader.com. I would prefer to have "Domain" in the name than "Name", but it's very difficult to get a 10/11 character domain name using 'Domain" in the title, with the other half of the domain being something like Sales/Shop/Store. They have all been taken for 2 decades already. Not just "Domain" but "Name" also. And not for sale. Which was why I was playing around with brandable names like "Stuub" and "StubWeb".
 
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Hi Mohammad. Thank you for posting your thoughts. I don't think NameTrade.com is much of an improvement on NameTrader.com. I would prefer to have "Domain" in the name than "Name", but it's very difficult to get a 10/11 character domain name using 'Domain" in the title, with the other half of the domain being something like Sales/Shop/Store. They have all been taken for 2 decades already.
I think the word "Name" is as good as "domain" when it comes to selling to end users, & so of the options you listed, NameTrader is the nicest, & it is nice actually.. Good luck
 
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I think Name Trader is a really good domain.

When a lot of people talk about domains they say "domain name".

There are a lot of domain related services that use "name": NameFind, NameBio, NameSilo, NameCheap...

Many domainers would associate "name" with domains as well as end users who are buying a name for their business.

Hi @dncafe ,

Yep. I like Name Trader too. Although I'd prefer "Domain" .. something. But nothing jumps out at me.

Most of those domain related services aren't really for end-users except for maybe NameFind

But end-users would prefer to use the correct term "Domain" rather than the nicname of "Name" in most cases. But they are somewhat intertwined. Yes.
 
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Thanks for your comments @VadimK. The point, if the people having pointed this out to me are correct, is that I'm probably having close to zero non-domainers typing in DNStore.com into their browsers. We as domainers think it's a pretty good domain. But I'm basically not catering for domainers. The niche I want to fill is selling domains to end-users, not domainers. I want to choose a domain which is attractive to end-users. You are correct. I want them to think of Stuub or StubWeb as a domain platform. Not overnight, of course. But I don't want zero end-users visiting my website. Whatever the final outcome on domain name might be.

But it's not exactly true that I don't have end-users visiting my website. I do have many end-users visiting my website. They type in a domain name in their browser, and up comes the domain landing page. From there, if they are feeling adventurous, they can then search my domain database for other domains. What else does an end-user want/need? They want to feel comfortable with the domain they are visiting is legit and useful. And then they will remember the domain. As long as it's memorable. Anything else?

I perfectly understand you want an end user, but it's a big misconception to think that people do type something in URL when they search for a domain name, and that your goal is to make sure name is more popular so more people type it in. That's not how SEO works.
Just put yourself on ''Average Joe'' place, a person who knows nothing about all our platforms, just looking to name his business. He is not gonna type anything into the URL. He would put in google searches like ''get domain'' or ''buy domain'' or ''brand domain name''. Then he'll be clicking on the first couple pages of the names that popup. Your goal is to be on those two pages, that's it. That's very hard.
But that was precisely to the point of not worrying too much that people ''don't type in DN'', they won't be typing in anything else either...
Hey, go to SpyFu.com and play with keywords and see what people are typing, check search volume. Then you should throw some SEO heavily and for a long time on the most popular combinations for the domain. That's how you bring an end user to your platform.

The toughest part of selling on your own platform in our business is that it's extremely hard to attract the end user to our platform, because he is interested in the name, not a platform he is buying with. But then once you manage to attract him, he buys, and then he is gone, and you need another end user.
Amazon or Booking - you buy once, and you hooked with them, the same people will be buying over and over. So, the same end user is hooked, while we (in domaining) have to get another end user every time to generate a sale. This is the most complicated part of selling on your own platform.
 
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Let's start with why I want to rebrand. Several domainers have told me that end-users haven't a clue what DN stands for, and I should probably choose a domain with "domain" in the name and with a 2nd word which suggest selling domains.
Hi Stub

do those domainers who gave that advice have websites of their own?
if so, what domains do they use?
what percent of "end-user" sales come from their websites?
what is quality of their names versus yours?
are all of your domains pointed to dnstore.com?
have you sold any domains via dnstore.com?
how trustworthy will a redirect to a new domain, be perceived by visitors?

there is a lot about domaining that end-users don't know...and to me, that's a good thing.

imo....
 
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I agree with @sbweb that DNStore suits its purpose fairly well. It's fine as a brandable name and is already somewhat established. I did find it interesting that @VadimK did confuse it with DNGear, however.

DNStore is short, easy to remember.
 
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I agree with @sbweb that DNStore suits its purpose fairly well. It's fine as a brandable name and is already somewhat established. I did find it interesting that @VadimK did confuse it with DNGear, however.

DNStore is short, easy to remember.

Ha-ha, true, I just noticed myself, my bad. (y)(y)
Indeed, I meant DNStore.com. It's just DNGear is lately quite popular in threads, so, accidentally typed in this one.
 
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NameTrader.com, beautiful name.
 
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Don't have much to add, late to the party. As the guys above said, really into n/a/m/e t/r/a/d/e/r...good one @stub. Such a domain could apply to more industries than just domaining (car plates, and other "name things" that can be bought / sold), ultimate name
 
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NameTrader is a fine name so is DNStore, but let me be honest with you if your site is going to look the same it will not matter much. I would suggest a website makeover, spend more on the front end. As a layman, I do not trust your site.
 
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Hi Stub

do those domainers who gave that advice have websites of their own?
Yes of course
if so, what domains do they use?
DomainsWeb.com is one example
what percent of "end-user" sales come from their websites?
No idea
what is quality of their names versus yours?
Because they are well established their quality is better than mine
are all of your domains pointed to dnstore.com?
I think I have about 6 domains in some stage of development. Otherwise, yes.
have you sold any domains via dnstore.com?
Yes. Of course. It's highly flexible of course. But I'm selling approx 15-20 domains a year. A few go off to Afternic where they pay Afternics commission of +20%
how trustworthy will a redirect to a new domain, be perceived by visitors?
That will be explained on the index page of the new domain. I don't see it as a big problem. I could be wrong of course.
there is a lot about domaining that end-users don't know...and to me, that's a good thing.
Yup!
 
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NameTrader is a fine name so is DNStore, but let me be honest with you if your site is going to look the same it will not matter much. I would suggest a website makeover, spend more on the front end. As a layman, I do not trust your site.

I'm planning a lite makeover, all on the front-end. I would be very interest to hear why you don't trust my website? Is it because it too barren. Or something else?
 
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Nametr... Is nice. As is your current domain. St.. .org is sweet as hell. At least you own domains with potential :)

NT would be my vote if you 100% want to rebrand.

Content is king, don't worry too much if all your options are good/decent. It's not gonna make too much of a difference.
 
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Name is a good choice in a brand, as is the word brand. It should definitely be a dot com. Otherwise you lose credibility. With a few exceptions.

You should get unmarried from the word stub in your new brand. Get outside of your box. Find a name that is catchy, brandable, and that will resonate with people. It doesn't need to contain dn, name, domain, etc. in it. It can be a completely invented name. Think of Sedo, Squadhelp, Dan, Porkbun, GoDaddy. None of those brands have anything about domains in their name but are successful.
 
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