Why is it bad to have a number in your domain?

[lpstong]

Why is it bad to have a number in your domain? I was told that having numbers in a domain wasnt all that great to have. I know maybe the guy is wrong. Because I have seen many domains with numbers. But just curious on to know what is the big deal about having numbers in the domain name?

 

[boomers]

The main issue is when the number is substituting a letter... for example
www.hello.com is obviously alot better than www.h3llo.com or www.hell0.com

Personally I think the main reason is its easy to lose visitors... if your site is hell0.com then you could easily lose visitors to hello.com

Just a personal opinion

 

[lpstong]

Hmmmmmm........ Ok thanks............ So something like 2addhere would lose alot of visitors than?

 

[b.a]

depends on domain. Sometimes the numbrs is good, for short names, example 2co.com

 

[lpstong]

I also know that the paid posting service www.inb0x.com has a number it and does quite well and remembered.

I guess it just really depends. But quite didnt understand why a number is such an issue. Especially if i understand right that 1 - 10 are all registered like 1.com thru 10.com .

 

[Kenny]

One of the biggest problems with numbers in your name is the confusion when verbaly communicating and word of mouth trafficing.

Example:
3BrothersPizza.com
ThreeBrothersPizza.com

Radio Ad, "The number 3 Brothers Pizza dot com."

Most people will type in Three if not made aware that it is a number.

As to the use of numb3rs to sub, well thats just even more confusion and while their are a few examples to the contrary, this is a tough row to hoe in terms of marketing your site.

Hope this helped.

Peace,
Cyberian

 

[panospheric]

Numbers that have significance

Some numbers have a definite meaning behind them that everyone recognizes. Numbers like 24-7 for instance. Or the newly emerging 360 that signifies a virtual reality panoramic display or view (and 3D, too). It can depend, as said, on the domain. I've seen the number 2 for "to" used effectively to be a catchy and memorable phrase. By no means rule them out as worthless if they can be clearly connected to a concept.

 

[meljr]

Numbers in a name are interesting to me. My main web site is http://www.22Kazoos.com
I am not really worried that someone will come up with a site called 21kazoos, or 19Kazoos. Somehow 22kazoos just seems right to me. 22 kinds of rhyms with kazoo, so I like that. Plus I think the name is easy to remember. I think a name like 7kazoos, would be dum. The domain name fivethings.com just sold for $850 on afternic, so go figure.

meljr

 

[weblord]

it's ok to have numbers if it's part of the name but not to substitute letter, it can't be read by search engine.

 

[dotnom]

I don't advice using any number as a letter substitute or at the middle of two phrases
Common numbers that were used so far :
- prefix 2 (to), 4 (for)
- suffix 360, 365, 247

The newest and rapidly grown is the 360 suffix number

 

[Halobitt]

2 words: Memorability and Typability (if indeed that is a word).
While 22kazoos might feel right to one person, 42kazoos might seem equally as right to someone else, we all have favourite numbers or number associations in our heads.
Obviously some numbers are more memorable than others, and are prominent in popular culture eg. 39 steps(book, film), 69 (yinyang symbol or something else :p).

And when typing for me anyway, I tend to think of the numbers as being separate from the letters on the keyboard, making it more awkward to type.

 

[armstrong]

In general, numbers just make your domain that much more difficult to recall, to say over the phone or radio, etc. However, once you get your name out there, it might actually help imprint your brand on the market's psyche.

I'm currently developing a domain in this category - AL3RT.COM - for a webased notification service. Sometimes, number domains can be very brandable.

 

[spaggle]

g33k9.com = bad
geek9.com = good
geeknine.com = good

Hopefully that helps.

 

[lpstong]

Thanks for your input and thoughts. I was just asking because I just got a name 2addhere.info and was told it was pretty useless for anything.

 

[spaggle]

Thanks for your input and thoughts. I was just asking because I just got a name 2addhere.info and was told it was pretty useless for anything.

No you're being more specific and we can help you out better. The domain is worth the reg fee. Here's why:

- It's hard to remember. '2 Add Here' doesn't bring anything to mind. It hasn't be branded. Domains that would have been worth a tad more: 2add.info, 2submit.info, etc.
- It's a .info. Combine that with the above and you are left with a domain that isn't worth much.

But don't give up hope. You can still brand the name and increase its value.

 

[Phronesis]

You can brand a lot of things to increase their value. But probably the main reason that pro domainers would say numbers are bad is because "premium" generic domains are those that receive direct navigation (type-in traffic). Anyone can drive traffic to a website with a horrible domain name through various means but premium names will get type-in traffic (ex. my mother in law wanted to check movie times the other day so she typed in movietheaters.com not even knowing if it was a website or not). Very few domains with letters and numbers will get this kind of premium traffic and as a result, those domains that do get it are valued much more highly.

 

[gingeman]

Don't despair, I have many better names than the one i will use for my biggest online venture. By day (I am a vampire at night) I run a door handle retail shop, and I am having a new online shop built for an extension of the business. Despite soo many people in the domainer's world despising numbers in a domain i will run the main site on the domain shop4handles dot com as i think it is going to be highly brandable. However, i must note, that as a precautionary matter, I have also registered shopforhandles dot com to use as a redirect. That way, however people type it, they should arrive at my site.