All my own work - but there isn't much else out there :) domain names - a marketer's perspective

Don't read this - the man who owns the Internet - and get ideas about making your fortune in domain name trading - you're 20 years too late.

Although this article - Is Your URL Hot Or Not? - is based around SEO, it makes some good points about domain names.

Over the years a few [and I mean, a FEW] domain names have sold for big money. The theory is that generic names - nouns, verbs etc - are the best. I would tend to agree, but take a look at this article - Curious Histories of Generic Domain Names - to see just how some generic words have just not worked - and so their value should be questioned. I will add my own insight to the story of 'meat.com' - in In April 2004 the organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) arranged to 'borrow' the use of the domain name from its owners who were selling it and not using it on a website. Nice one PETA.

Originally, this entry had a link to an article in the Times 'business' section, but as that publication is no longer free to online readers I have had to take out that link. Hey ho ... the article was called Get a good name on the web and most of it was reasonable advice, but there was an element of 'do what I say, not what I do' in that the expert offering advice was one Susan Hallam of Hallam Communications, who said [amongst other things] 'A domain name needs to be memorable, consistent and coherent with your brand'. Hmmm - "coherent with your brand" - the domain on which Hallam Communications' sits? www.shcl.co.uk. I assume the SHCL stands for Susan Hallam Communications Ltd - but the website is branded 'Hallam' and/or 'Hallam Communications Ltd'. Oh, and a quick check revealed that as of today [April 11, 2008] HallamCommunications.com, HallamCommunications.co.uk and HallamCommunications.eu were all available for registration. Susan, if you read this, given the qualifications and experience listed on your website I'm sure you do an excellent job for your clients, but on this issue you've left yourself a little bit open.

This article - Google Profiting From Typo Squatting, Report Charges - explains how some less than scrupulous operators - or are they keen business-people? - make money from 'fat-finger-typing'.
If you want to know more on the subject read Typosquatters Target Apple, Google & Facebook More Than Twitter, Microsoft and my definition of what domaining is.

I know I have a bias when it comes to online marketing, and I still [probably] know more about domain names than most, but the subject of this story - simply flabbergasts me. It is about Pizza Hut [surely one of the world's best brands] failing to register 'pastahut.com' when they re-branded some of their 'huts'. Yep, that's a ten pounds omission in a £100 million marketing budget. Don't they have an 'e-marketing' team? [yes they do, see page 324 of my Internet Marketing book]. Just when I thought the marketing world was beginning to take the Internet seriously, something like this comes along ... and on the same day, I read this one - Whatsmybrand.com loses its domain name. And then the next week, this ... Google de-indexes Toys.com after Toys R Us acquisition.

In my book choosing the right domain name I mention some of the search engine optimization advantages of getting your domain name right [or at least, the suffix], and here is an article on the same subject - 6 Ways Local Domains Crush Dot Coms In International SEO.