Creative Domain Names: Some Clever Alternative Methods
WE Look at some alternative ways of getting that domain you wanted
The web’s been around for quite some time if you really think about it, the first domain name Symbolics.com was registered on 15th March 1985, yes, some 23 Years ago! That means that any idea you have for a domain name today has been through someone else mind up to 23 years before you. Part of any brand these days is a good domain name, and if you have the money to spend on a one word domain then by all means go for it.
But not everybody has a huge pile of cash then can spend on buying a domain name. There are no doubt huge advantages of having a simple easy one word “.com” domain. There’s a lot of generic traffic from people just typing in your domain name rather than searching Google for example, and Search engines prefer a one word TLD in most cases. The rest of us however need to find a way of making our domain stand out without throwing loads of cash at it. There are a few ways around this.
Domain Hacks
A method made hugely popular by del.icio.us, which made great use of the .us domain extension. This method basically means using a domain extension which could be included in a domain name. You could even use sub domains. This give you a lot of freedom in many ways. There are a lot of combinations of ways you could mix sub domains and domain extensions to get a desired word, this is one of the reasons this method is growing in popularity.
Here are a few of my favourite Domain Hacks:
01. blo.gs
02. sear.ch
03. b.uy
04. tel.ly
05. beach.es
06. justcurio.us
07. designm.ag
08. podca.st
09. foot.ie ( Footie is a slang word for football in the UK)
10. ta.gs
11. lu.st
12. ma.tt
13. sco.tt
14. win.gs
15. mov.ie
Slogan Domains
Now this one is not recommended as a method for choosing a domain for your company, but if you have a special event or product to promote this could prove a valuable addition to your existing website & domain. It’s becoming more popular today for large companies to set up Mini-Sites to promote a product or special offer. Companies will register their own domain based around this promotion to help generate interest. Usually the domains registered will be the slogan / tagline of the product, because in a lot of cases thats what people will remember, especially if you’re watching it on a TV advert.
Slogan Domain Examples:
01. impossibleisnothing.com (Adidas)
02. wheredoyouwanttogotoday.com (Microsoft)
03. oceanicflight815.com (Lost TV series)
04. maxyourlife.co.uk (Pepsi Max UK)
05. spreadfirefox.com (FireFox)
06. justdoit.com (Nike)
07. wemakeitgood.com (Shilo Motion Graphics)
08. haveityourway.com (Burger King)
09. powerofdreams.co.uk (Honda UK)
10. obeyyourthirst.co.uk (Sprite UK)
Making up a Word
Sometimes it’s easier to think up a domain name before you think of a brand name, this certainly avoids disappointment when you come to registering your genius brand name, only to find out that all possible domains have been taken for this word. I think I read somewhere that pretty much all one word domains have been registered, this is where made up words come in handy and can sometimes be more catchy and memorable than a proper word.
Good examples of made up words:
01. flickr.com
02. digg.com
03. noovo.com
04. xoom.com
05. Pipl.com
06. Piczo.com
07. frengo.com
08. Zopa.com
09. Qloud.com
10. flixya.com
Do you know of any other clever domain names that you think are worth a mention?
Written by liam on July 18, 2008
Spencer said:
With the new .ME domains out, there are a ton more possibilities now.
My latest post: Re: Apple TV Icons
Michael said:
Too funny.
After glancing at a site about five minutes ago, and thinking what an inspiration, a new way to attack domain names, I know find myself here– reading a post with the same intention.
Let me be the first to suggest this one, which is unique, let alone creative, as it “IS” the brand:
a.viary.com
It’s a perfect example of utilizing a non-word, then directing visitors to it’s sub-domain, thus creating the brand.
schweet.
Michael
copious-fedorist
liam said:
@Michael - Nice suggestion, I was going to include more domains based upon subdomains, but I couldn’t find enough examples, but yeah that’s another great way around it.
The only problem with this, and other domain hacks is the fact that they aren’t great for SEO, but an impressive one that sticks in someone’s head I’d say makes up for that
Thanks for your input.
R.L. said:
Another rather famous made-up word domain: Google.com
Yana said:
R.L., actually Google isn’t a made up word per se.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Googol
roger said:
you can do this with .me domains http://eti.me
design.er doesnt work though eritrea has no internet actually i phoned the domain/operator their yesterday because .er I want to get rog.er
liam said:
Nice suggestions Roger, although the source I got the name from said it was registered. But I’ll take a look.
md said:
Nice list, but rojo isnt made up. Its just Spanish.
liam said:
@mb - Ah right
I’ll find an alternative, any ideas what it means in Spanish?
Chris G. said:
Take out letters from words. I’m building a new company on clustrmedia.us and I also have clustrfck.net. They’re not one word domains or as obvious as subdomains, but with some imagination could still be fun and memorable.
liam said:
@ Chris G Nice suggestions, I came across a few of these, but not enough to feature in a list. Love that domain clustrfck.net though!
SE7EN said:
My made-up domain is keyword(se7en) and also branding
ib said:
@liam: rojo means red
Michael said:
I can’t believe I forgot my favorite: cajebo.com
ca= Candace; je=Jessica; bo=Bonita
These are my two daughters, and wife, those for whom I toil.
It’s also a bread & breakfast in Africa someplace, or so I’ve been told.
Michael
Harry Roberts said:
I’m not sure it fits into any of the above categories but my cousin has registered http://exposureself.co.uk/ which I *love* - he’s a photographer so the ‘exposure’ part is relevant at least.
liam said:
@Harry Yeah not really sure where it would go, but I love it, its a clever idea and a clever name, I love it! It’s more of a play on words than anything, maybe if I can find some similar sites I might include either here or in another post. Nice share, thanks!
Adam said:
Good tips. I haven’t set up hosting yet but did register the domain:
iamad.am
My name is Adam, so I am adam with a dot between the ad and am was a way to do it. I would have like to have ad.am but what 2 letter domains actually are available anymore? I heard Apple got me.com. So effortless to type…
-Adam
http://www.humiddesign.com
liam said:
iamad.am is a grea idea. Could work with my name too, hand’t thought about that.
Andrew said:
I just picked up iam.me another cool domain hack I will share once i win the auction.
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Daus said:
What about mine? Daus.trala.la
My latest post: Dinding Keempat
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Zhuoshi said:
I’ve actually found a one-word .com domain that’s not taken. It’s a rather common word, with “ly” as a suffix, and it’s a word in the dictionary.
I’m not sure I want to share it though, since that domain might be useful to me some time.
Jacob from JobMob said:
I like Michael’s tip at the top, using subdomains. Great workaround until we can all affort $100K to make ICANN gives us whatever we want.
liam said:
@Jacob Yeah I read about that, it’s a Brilliant idea to let people register their own domain extension, it will certainly open up the possibilities when it comes to choosing a name.
xsc said:
nordu.net
Jim MacLeod said:
I recently registered a domain so that I would have a cool email address. My last name is MacLeod, so I registered cleod.com. Now I have m@cleod.com as an alternate email address.
liam said:
lol Jim that’s brilliant
Love it! Thanks for sharing that.
SE7EN said:
@Jim wow, your mail is really cool!
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Youri said:
You got me thinking…wish more blogs did that;)
My latest post: Artwork creation process by Matthias Bäuerle
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Jordan said:
Those are some great ideas. Its pretty clever about using the domain name extensions.
My latest post: Should You Choose Wordpress Or Blogger?
Tom Q said:
I have been doing a lot of thinking about creative subdomains as per delicious and put together http://ber.mudasbe.st
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David Airey said:
Hi Liam,
Great round-up. Another nice domain hack is bla.st (the online business card site). Not sure if it’s been mentioned already (sorry, don’t have time just now to read all the comments).
Hope you’re keeping well.
My latest post: 6 months of Logo Design Love
Matt Pye said:
a couple of years ago, quite like Jim MacLeod i tryed to get pye.com so i could have m@pye.com. Then my email would actually read like my name (M@ - Matt) but sadly it was taken. But also i dont think my hosting would let me set up an email address with only 1 letter before the @ sign.
Elegance in SEO Web Design said:
I love it, just be careful what your mission for the site will be. The iamad.am took me a few seconds to actually register I Am Adam.
Some of these maybe too clever to be something that anyone can adopt.
Mike
Larry said:
see next comment
Larry said:
When deciding on a domain name, don’t forget the MOST important aspect of domain name value.
Because of the DOT.COM revolution of the 90’s, any extension other than .COM, has MUCH less value.
That may change in five to ten years or probably more, but that still remains extremely important today.
iamad.am is clever and cute, BUT it doesn’t LOOK like a domain name to 95% of the people using the internet.
Having NON-standard extensions makes it really difficult for most people to remember, recall or even recognize your domain name.
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