
What's in a domain name? - terpua

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iloveyouocean
If you are securing a domain for a mass market application then you MUST get
the .com. Even very clever and well known sites such as del.icio.us also own
.com (delicious.com). Many people simply type in the 'name' of a site and let
their browsers complete the address, which of course always adds .com.

Why would you take the chance on .net or .org? Because it is easier for you to
get a name or because it is easier for a user to remember and browse to it.

~~~
socmoth
yahoo bought delicious.com when they bought del.icio.us

they have the money to pay a couple hundred k for a domain. but it was after
the fact, not before.

that being said. having the .com is a very smart move.

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rzwitserloot
Ah, but, sometimes the '.com' pool is just completely void of anything useful.
Shelling out half your startup budget just for a domain name seems silly to
me.

Disclaimer: My startup went for a non-.com name: tipit.to

~~~
steve
I would say that if it's not a .com then it better be unique: eg. NOT .net or
.org.

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dawie
I think .com is the way to go especially if you are working on a web
application. At grabagooddomain 99% of people request .com domain names.

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terpua
Would you settle for a longer name that ended in .com or a shorter one that
ended in a .net or .org? Or does it really matter?

~~~
imp
Depends on the audience and exactly how many characters you're talking about.

Is the comparison more like A or B below?

A.

myphotos.net

mycoolphotos.com

B.

photos.net

thephotositookatthebarlastnight.com

~~~
palish
That last one is a great idea for a startup! You better not tell anyone. Hey,
sign this NDA.

~~~
joshwa
already working on it.

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nonrecursive
My experience is that people are much more likely to remember .com . That's
the default in people's brains, so if you end in .net or .org or .whatever ,
it's extra work for people to remember that.

For example, I've mentioned justin DOT tv to several people, and they still
try to go to justintv.com .

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nonrecursive
Also, I recommend doing some basic testing for domain names. Just buy the
domain names you're considering, put an email signup or something on them (or
have them redirect to a functioning site, whatever), then run identical ads
for them and see which gets better click through.

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staunch
Ask someone who's used a non-.com what they think :-)

