Royal baby names and domain names
With royal baby watching reaching fever pitch worldwide, the subject of naming is never far from people’s mind. Always a contentious issue (for anyone that saw former UK Apprentice star Katie Hopkins talk about name on The Wright Stuff1, you’ll know what we mean), names are as important as gender - and more so. Having a name that’s difficult to pronounce, spell (think Kal-El Cage, son of Nicholas Cage) or that has bad associations can lead to a lifetime of problems. The wrong name can also be particularly troublesome within business.
Choosing the right domain name in particular involves more thought than how it sounds~or translates (incidentally, Nokia’s smartphone~Lumia translates to prostitute in Spanish slang2). Checking whether the name has been blacklisted on Google or is social media friendly are just a few considerations that can save you money - domains don’t always come cheap - and~prevent your name from becoming a right royal domain pain.
Choosing your domain name:
1. Will it confuse?
A name that will be confused with another is a recipe for disaster. Try and keep your name as close to your existing name as possible for brand consistency, and never choose a plural, hyphenated or misspelled version of an existing domain. This will lead to endless confusion and frustration - for the other company and for you - and drive customers nuts. It stands to reason you should also never register a domain name that has nothing to do with your business or with the intention of selling the name to a business or organization with that name. “Cyber-squatting" can put you on the receiving end of a lawsuit.
2. Can it be remembered?
In a world increasingly driven by social proofing and SERPS dominant marketing your name needs to have some industrial-strength sticking power. A name that’s hard to remember makes it difficult for people to refer you. You also want to keep it short to make it easy to type, as the longer the domain name the more opportunity there is for error. Keeping it short also makes it easier for the URL to be translated on space-challenged media such as business cards and promotional goods.
3. Is it blacklisted?
Everyone hates a spammer and the last thing you want to do is to be saddled with a domain name with a chequered past. Fortunately there is a way to check whether you are on the Google List or any other database of blacklisted sites. Sites such as The Abusing Hosts Blocking List will check for sites that have been blocked to protect clients from potential malware, viruses and other online nasties. For multiple domain searches, try BlackListAlert or MX Toolbox. It’ll take you seconds to find out and save you a fortune in failed email campaigns.
4. Are they available?
Finding the domain name is available is only half the battle. In today’s super social world you need to get the twitter, facebook and other social platform names too. Sites such as NameChk will give you an instant overview of whether your name is available or taken on multiple social networks, and export these names to your PC. For a very reasonable fee (compared to the time it will take to manually register your name), sites such as Knowem will instantly register them on your behalf.
5. Who should I register it with?
Suffice to say there’s no shortage of companies to register your domain with. Hover, Namecheap and 123reg all spring to mind. The invaluable Lifehacker has some top advice, with their Best Domain Name Registar poll results helping to show which ones came up trumps, or rather managed to engineer the most votes through online campaigns.