June 27, 2014
The winner of Ad Age's poll for worst ad-tech related domain name on earth has been a good sport - and the company's choice of name offers some lessons for anyone still deciding on what domain to register.The domain name in question is Qriously; which scored 20% of all the poll votes. Qriously co-founder Chris Kahler provides some detail here on the thinking behind the name.
So what's wrong with the name?
Probably one of the biggest issues is its unusual spelling and challenges in how the name can be communicated.
Generally speaking, the acid test for a good domain name is whether it can be easily successfully relayed to someone via phone. As you can imagine, a listener hearing that name would probably think the name is spelled as the English word "curiously".
The silver lining for Mr. Kahler's company is its choice of name has actually garnered Qriously some attention through the poll - but for most domain registrants that choose a less than optimal name; it can often mean a lot of missed traffic or worse still, traffic winding up on a competitor's site.
Top tips for choosing a good domain name:
- Easy to spell
- Easy to relay via phone
- Easy to remember
- A short as possible
- Don't include numerals
- Reflect the site theme or;
- Reflect the business name or;
- Distinctive branding (e.g. Google)
Something else to avoid when considering a domain name are "slurls". A slurl is name consisting of multiple words that when put together can form other word combinations; with at times potentially embarrassing results.
For more tips on selecting the ideal domain name, see our guide.
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How to register a name: Enter your choice in the search tool and click 'GO'. If after the check the domain names search results show your choice is available, you will then have the option to proceed to purchase registration; which is a very quick and easy process - start a search and find your ideal website address now.
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