4 ms·

Founders really need to stop using misspellings for the name of their companies. Number 1, people are going to have a harder times finding your site. This is s

Founders really need to stop using misspellings for the name of their companies. Number 1, people are going to have a harder times finding your site. This is somewhat mitigated by Google's technology around suggesting seatch terms, but not totally. Number 2, you will have to spend five minutes explaining your name to every potential investor, customer, and even your friends, just so they know what your proper name is. That doesn't leave any time for what you should be delivering - your elevator pitch. Number 3, it suggests you aren't very creative. Saying that all the good domain names are taken just isn't true. I've bought a number of good domain names in the past couple of years, none of which have been misspellings. Use real words people.

scumola 18y ago
We have bought some other domains that we've mapped to the site, but of all of the ones we bought, bidboxr.com seems to be the most popular by informal surveys. others that map to the site are: powrads.com, compelature.com, bidboxr.net, bidboxr.org
- andrewljohnson 18y ago
  Can't you just come up with some two word combination? None of these names stick with me, and none strike me as easy to remember, and moreover, none give me an idea of what your company does. I used to get paid to think up these names. Here's an exercise you can do. Think up words that apply to your company, and write them down. For example: money, profit, ads, auctions, etc. And also, you don't need to just stick with words that physically describe your company (though I think these are best). You can also look for words that describe your value proposition, and why you are better than your competitors. Then, go over the list and see if you like any of the combinations. Also, just start free associating with words on the list and words off the list. Another thing you can do is come up with imagery that you think might be good for an ad campaign or in the design of your site. With this sort of approach, you end up with names like monster.com. Don't be afraid to use the dictionary, thesaurus, and to do hundreds of searches on Godaddy.com or similar. Also, don't be afraid to seek out a friend who is good with words, or who tends to say funny or memorable things. I've long since ceased to work in creative at an ad agency, but my friends and colleagues ask me to come up with names for them these days. And one final thought - it's not that important what your name is, as long as it's not confusing (which misspellings all are).
keltecp11 18y ago
Domains are expensive... it is a shame. But I do agree that sometimes misspellings are hard. Kinda reminds me of when FaceBook was TheFaceBook.com... boy that was annoying.
mrtron 18y ago
Unfortunately there are very few real words or even real word combinations that are not registered. Clever misspellings have been a solution to that problem. What do you propose as an alternate solution?
- andrewljohnson 18y ago
  Here are some domain names me or my associates have purchased recently. There are good ones left: trailbehind.com (also thetrailbehind.com) greathive.com (also thegreathive.com) loudmountain.com darnnews.com agent1099.com photosensate.com surelogic.com These are all fine domain names made of real words.
  - jacquesm 18y ago
    The name of a domain is as subjective as the proverbial eye of the beholder, eventually all that counts is whether or not you can make it succeed in the market. That's not a qualitative assessment of your 'good' domains, just an observation.
    - andrewljohnson 18y ago
      Agreed, and the fact of the matter is, any reasonable name will succeed, if backed by a great company. I think a good name won't help you much, but a bad name can hurt you in tangible ways.
- t0pj 18y ago
  Bigtimebids.com is available.
- jorgem 18y ago
  >> Unfortunately there are very few real words or even real word combinations that are not registered. Problem solved... I'll plug my own site for finding good, available domain names: http://Hotnamelist.com http://Hotnamelist.com Or, go out and BUY a good one: http://sedo.com http://sedo.com or http://Afternic.com http://Afternic.com
seespend 18y ago
So you say people have "harder times finding your site" being "mitigated by Google" and "you will have to spend five minutes explaining your name". So let's get in the wayback machine and set it for '93. Show me a dictionary with google in it or find me a member of the public who can guess it will have something to do with search.
- andrewljohnson 18y ago
  Google was an accident, if you know your internet history. The founders intended the word Googol: http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:p7kcdIwV8J0J:daily.stanford.edu/article/2003/2/12/fromGoogolToGoogle+google+googol&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=6&gl=us&client=firefox-a http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:p7kcdIwV8J0J:daily.stan...

scumola 18y ago

We have bought some other domains that we've mapped to the site, but of all of the ones we bought, bidboxr.com seems to be the most popular by informal surveys. others that map to the site are: powrads.com, compelature.com, bidboxr.net, bidboxr.org

andrewljohnson 18y ago
Can't you just come up with some two word combination? None of these names stick with me, and none strike me as easy to remember, and moreover, none give me an idea of what your company does. I used to get paid to think up these names. Here's an exercise you can do. Think up words that apply to your company, and write them down. For example: money, profit, ads, auctions, etc. And also, you don't need to just stick with words that physically describe your company (though I think these are best). You can also look for words that describe your value proposition, and why you are better than your competitors. Then, go over the list and see if you like any of the combinations. Also, just start free associating with words on the list and words off the list. Another thing you can do is come up with imagery that you think might be good for an ad campaign or in the design of your site. With this sort of approach, you end up with names like monster.com. Don't be afraid to use the dictionary, thesaurus, and to do hundreds of searches on Godaddy.com or similar. Also, don't be afraid to seek out a friend who is good with words, or who tends to say funny or memorable things. I've long since ceased to work in creative at an ad agency, but my friends and colleagues ask me to come up with names for them these days. And one final thought - it's not that important what your name is, as long as it's not confusing (which misspellings all are).

keltecp11 18y ago

Domains are expensive... it is a shame. But I do agree that sometimes misspellings are hard. Kinda reminds me of when FaceBook was TheFaceBook.com... boy that was annoying.

mrtron 18y ago

Unfortunately there are very few real words or even real word combinations that are not registered. Clever misspellings have been a solution to that problem. What do you propose as an alternate solution?

andrewljohnson 18y ago
Here are some domain names me or my associates have purchased recently. There are good ones left: trailbehind.com (also thetrailbehind.com) greathive.com (also thegreathive.com) loudmountain.com darnnews.com agent1099.com photosensate.com surelogic.com These are all fine domain names made of real words.
- jacquesm 18y ago
  The name of a domain is as subjective as the proverbial eye of the beholder, eventually all that counts is whether or not you can make it succeed in the market. That's not a qualitative assessment of your 'good' domains, just an observation.
  - andrewljohnson 18y ago
    Agreed, and the fact of the matter is, any reasonable name will succeed, if backed by a great company. I think a good name won't help you much, but a bad name can hurt you in tangible ways.
t0pj 18y ago
Bigtimebids.com is available.
jorgem 18y ago
>> Unfortunately there are very few real words or even real word combinations that are not registered. Problem solved... I'll plug my own site for finding good, available domain names: http://Hotnamelist.com http://Hotnamelist.com Or, go out and BUY a good one: http://sedo.com http://sedo.com or http://Afternic.com http://Afternic.com

seespend 18y ago

So you say people have "harder times finding your site" being "mitigated by Google" and "you will have to spend five minutes explaining your name". So let's get in the wayback machine and set it for '93. Show me a dictionary with google in it or find me a member of the public who can guess it will have something to do with search.

andrewljohnson 18y ago
Google was an accident, if you know your internet history. The founders intended the word Googol: http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:p7kcdIwV8J0J:daily.stanford.edu/article/2003/2/12/fromGoogolToGoogle+google+googol&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=6&gl=us&client=firefox-a http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:p7kcdIwV8J0J:daily.stan...