Do you think Youtube, Myspace, Facebook or even Google for that matter, became what they are today due to their name...?
By AMIR ORNIinternet www url 88(photo credit: )
Quite a few young entrepreneurs address me every now and then to help them choose a domain name for their new website, logo, design etc. Usually my answer surprised them and leaved them a little confused...
After I give them my opinion, I actually tell them that it doesn't really matter. That is to say, a website's name, design, look-and-feel and all other external and visual elements are important to the user experience, but... And this is a 'but' I always make sure to emphasize, before all of that, the most important thing is to be certain that the product/service answers a real need out there for users.
Do you think Youtube, Myspace, Facebook, Craigslist, Orkut or even Google for that matter, became what they are today due to their name...? Even Google, which is now so popular its name has turned into a commonly-used verb in many languages, did not become the company it is because of its name (by the way, google, if you didn't know is the number 1 followed by 100 zeros).
Google is an unprecedented success due to the fact that since the cradle of its existence, it managed to present to the user the most relevant search results, quicker and cleaner than any other search engine. That's it. The catchy name Google was just a very nice bonus that leveraged the success but only the service proved itself.
Exceptions can be found when we come across a very sharp, sophisticated double meaning domain name (like ICQ or ICU) or when it comes to generic domain names (suc as POKER, BUSINESS, DATING). Only then does the name naturally become part of the marketing strategy and makes the life of the entrepreneur quite easy. But again, only marketing wise...
Examination of the 10 most expensive domain names in the World Wide Web, as it appeared on Christopher Nul's column in yahoo tech, shows exactly that this is the case:
1. Sex.com, $12.5 million
2. Porn.com, $9.5 million
3. Diamond.com, $7.5 million
4. Business.com, $7.5 million
5. Casino.com, $5.5 million
6. Asseenontv.com, $5 million
7. Korea.com, $5 million
8. Wine.com, $3.3 million
9. Creditcheck.com, $3 million
10. Vodka.com, $3 million
I've came across a few such lists, each time a little different, but in all cases you can see that these are generic names that tell the story of the product/service.
So all of you who are working on your new amazing website right now, remember that the name is important, but the essence and nature of your product, not to mention the quality of your content is much more important. When you have these, a good domain name would probably help too.
The writer is the CEO of JPost.com
