The campaign was built up on the motto:
STOP,
LOOK
and LISTEN
Although this motto was originally implemented to encourage pedestrians (mainly children) to cross the road safely, this article will take its main values and apply them to the process of buying a domain name for your website.
Before you get your credit card out and register your details for your new domain, ask yourself a few questions before purchasing the domain name.
STOP
Q: Does the domain name provide an accurate suggestion of the nature of your business?
This factor is often overlooked when buying a domain name; marketing your business as a brand and product combination can be beneficial. Prudential Health Insurance is a prime example - their domain name is www.pruhealth.co.uk, which contains an abbreviation of Prudential's name as well as a general overview of what the service offers in the word 'health'.
LOOK
Q: Is this domain name easy for users to remember and find?
Everyone wants a short and snappy domain name. Unfortunately all 676 possible two-letter sequences have been registered. This is the same case for digits: all 1296 combinations have been taken already. And while the COM registrar now states we must use three-digits, not two anymore, all 17,576 possible three-letter sequences have been registered too!
But if your heart was set on a short domain name, it's not the end of the world. The length isn't always what makes it hard to remember. Simply choose a domain name that represents your brand and your business.
But length does matter slightly when direct traffic comes into play. For example, www.this-is-my-business-website-and-i-offer-product-x.com wouldn't be an ideal domain for direct type-in traffic. So consider the following factors:
- Does this domain name cover the main product or service that my company offers?
- Does this domain benefit my company's brand protection and, by registering it, will my competitors still be able to achieve for my domain name?
- Does this domain name have legal or trademark implications?
These are just some the questions you need to ask yourself before registering a domain name.
LISTEN
By the term "listen", we mean listen to your peers and your business motto. Does your domain name sound appealing or is it a bit of a mouthful? Asking your friends and family their opinion may also aid you in your decision. Remember, your family and friends are more than likely to be the kind of person that will visit your site and potentially be a conversion, so their opinions definitely matter.
Etymologies
Another approach for a great domain is through the use of etymologies. An etymology is the study of the history of words - the moment at which they entered a particular language, what source they came from and how their form and meaning have changed over the course of time. Most big name brands and corporation website names have come from etymologies. Some of the biggest ones are as follows:
Microsoft - created by Bill Gates to represent the company that was focusing on microcomputer software. The name originally contained a separating hyphen before a re-brand in 1987.
Waitrose - Large UK supermarket chain named after the original founders, Wallace Waite, Arthur Rose and David Taylor.
One company whose etymological name stands out is Lycos. The name Lycos comes from Lycosidae, the family of wolf spiders. When you relate that definition to Lycos as a search engine and the fact that search engines use spiders to crawl the web, the name gains a whole new meaning.
Lessons learned
Go with your gut instinct! If people didn't act on their instincts, we'd be without many of today's best brand names.
