5 ms·

Calculating The 5,000 Most Frequently Used Domain Name Prefixes and Suffixes

61 points by matt1 15y ago

matt1 15y ago
Hey guys, about two weeks ago in a previous post about Lean Domain Search, HackerNews user kanamekun asked "how did you pick the other keywords commonly found in domain names?" [1] I briefly explain there how I had done it in the past, which inspired me to take a second look at the algorithm and see if there were ways I could improve it. I wound up completely rewriting it to calculate the most popular domain name prefixes and suffixes used in all domain names. This article is about that process and the results. Let me know if you have any questions. [1] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3789822 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3789822
- Sujan 15y ago
  Where did you get the zone file from? Link?
  - matt1 15y ago
    You can apply through Verisign to obtain access: http://www.verisigninc.com/en_US/products-and-services/domain-name-services/grow-your-domain-name-business/tld-zone-access/index.xhtml?loc=en_US http://www.verisigninc.com/en_US/products-and-services/domai...
    - joshu 15y ago
      Can you talk more about this? Process, pricing, et are all interesting to me.
      - matt1 15y ago
        If you're looking for a quick solution without all the fuss of applying through Verisign, I recommend checking out PremiumDrops, which provides a fairly accurate zone file for $24.95/month: http://www.premiumdrops.com/ http://www.premiumdrops.com/
      - hncommenter13 15y ago
        +1. I'm actually curious about this as well, and I've read the VRSN doc. What comes next after filling out the form? What kind of vetting, if any, did they put you/your app through? Do you have to identify the app you plan to build in advance and what if you don't know what it will be yet?
zaidf 15y ago
Your tool is very useful in finding domains but you're likely leaving a bunch of money on the table by only monetizing via domain affiliates. You should consider a premium subscription where members pay 5-10 bucks to see even more domain options. Folks who buy lots of domains should have no problem paying for the utility you provide. I say this as someone who has found bunch of domains using your site but not once used your affiliate link to buy because you don't have my preferred domain registrar choice.
drcube 15y ago
>"The only results I omitted were single letter prefixes and suffixes because they’re not something you would generally add to generate quality domain names." Adding "i" to any word seems to be all the rage these days. And "e" would be another popular single letter prefix, I think. I can't think of any single letter suffixes though, except maybe "y".
e1ven 15y ago
I really like LDS, it's a great way to examine names near what you're thinking. I'm very interested in a more premium service, however, where I can pay money to have someone who's done this before find a name that's either free, or available at a cheap price. I've tried things like PickyDomains, and some others like it, but most of what I get is the same as if I just used tools like LDS myself. Any suggestions?
- matt1 15y ago
  Why don't you think you are qualified to choose a domain name from one of the available ones you find on Lean Domain Search? Is there anything I can do to make it easier?
  - e1ven 15y ago
    It's very good at iterating on a name that I'm already thing about, but not very good at going beyond what I've already considered. Consider if I were writing a new Email package. I might tell your tool "Mail" or "Message" As great as LDS is, it's going to give me "GetMessage.com" or "HiveMail.com" not anything like Pegasus Mail, Cyrus, or Hermes. Those are much more creative names! These are all stories about mail delivery, to an extent, but any computerized system is going to have a hard time with it. The best that I suspect could easily do would by synonyms - If I give it Dark, it could suggest Black and Dusk, and give me names using those.. But I'd love to see something with a less direct connection.
    - matt1 15y ago
      Hey, thanks for your thoughts. So you know, LDS does list synonyms on the right side of the search results page, which should help to some extent. Searching for "mail" wouldn't turn up Pegasus Mail, though I could add "pegasus+" to the search results and it would. There's a balance fine line between including a variety of results and including poor results and I need to be careful not to cross it. Any recommendations?
      - e1ven 15y ago
joncalhoun 15y ago
I'm really curious if any common prefix + suffix domains are available. cancercollege.com? yes please.
- matt1 15y ago
  That's why I made the list clickable so you can quickly check to see what combinations are available.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]

61 points by matt1 15y ago

matt1 15y ago

Hey guys, about two weeks ago in a previous post about Lean Domain Search, HackerNews user kanamekun asked "how did you pick the other keywords commonly found in domain names?" [1] I briefly explain there how I had done it in the past, which inspired me to take a second look at the algorithm and see if there were ways I could improve it. I wound up completely rewriting it to calculate the most popular domain name prefixes and suffixes used in all domain names. This article is about that process and the results. Let me know if you have any questions. [1] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3789822 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3789822

Sujan 15y ago
Where did you get the zone file from? Link?
- matt1 15y ago
  You can apply through Verisign to obtain access: http://www.verisigninc.com/en_US/products-and-services/domain-name-services/grow-your-domain-name-business/tld-zone-access/index.xhtml?loc=en_US http://www.verisigninc.com/en_US/products-and-services/domai...
  - joshu 15y ago
    Can you talk more about this? Process, pricing, et are all interesting to me.
    - matt1 15y ago
      If you're looking for a quick solution without all the fuss of applying through Verisign, I recommend checking out PremiumDrops, which provides a fairly accurate zone file for $24.95/month: http://www.premiumdrops.com/ http://www.premiumdrops.com/
    - hncommenter13 15y ago
      +1. I'm actually curious about this as well, and I've read the VRSN doc. What comes next after filling out the form? What kind of vetting, if any, did they put you/your app through? Do you have to identify the app you plan to build in advance and what if you don't know what it will be yet?

zaidf 15y ago

Your tool is very useful in finding domains but you're likely leaving a bunch of money on the table by only monetizing via domain affiliates. You should consider a premium subscription where members pay 5-10 bucks to see even more domain options. Folks who buy lots of domains should have no problem paying for the utility you provide. I say this as someone who has found bunch of domains using your site but not once used your affiliate link to buy because you don't have my preferred domain registrar choice.

drcube 15y ago

>"The only results I omitted were single letter prefixes and suffixes because they’re not something you would generally add to generate quality domain names." Adding "i" to any word seems to be all the rage these days. And "e" would be another popular single letter prefix, I think. I can't think of any single letter suffixes though, except maybe "y".

e1ven 15y ago

I really like LDS, it's a great way to examine names near what you're thinking. I'm very interested in a more premium service, however, where I can pay money to have someone who's done this before find a name that's either free, or available at a cheap price. I've tried things like PickyDomains, and some others like it, but most of what I get is the same as if I just used tools like LDS myself. Any suggestions?

matt1 15y ago
Why don't you think you are qualified to choose a domain name from one of the available ones you find on Lean Domain Search? Is there anything I can do to make it easier?
- e1ven 15y ago
  It's very good at iterating on a name that I'm already thing about, but not very good at going beyond what I've already considered. Consider if I were writing a new Email package. I might tell your tool "Mail" or "Message" As great as LDS is, it's going to give me "GetMessage.com" or "HiveMail.com" not anything like Pegasus Mail, Cyrus, or Hermes. Those are much more creative names! These are all stories about mail delivery, to an extent, but any computerized system is going to have a hard time with it. The best that I suspect could easily do would by synonyms - If I give it Dark, it could suggest Black and Dusk, and give me names using those.. But I'd love to see something with a less direct connection.
  - matt1 15y ago
    Hey, thanks for your thoughts. So you know, LDS does list synonyms on the right side of the search results page, which should help to some extent. Searching for "mail" wouldn't turn up Pegasus Mail, though I could add "pegasus+" to the search results and it would. There's a balance fine line between including a variety of results and including poor results and I need to be careful not to cross it. Any recommendations?
    - e1ven 15y ago

joncalhoun 15y ago

I'm really curious if any common prefix + suffix domains are available. cancercollege.com? yes please.

matt1 15y ago
That's why I made the list clickable so you can quickly check to see what combinations are available.

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]