July 22, 2013
Concerned that all the good domain names containing dictionary words appear taken? Invent a name - it's worked for Google, Flickr and many other companies.
It used to be that keyword domain names had some search engine optimization advantages; but that is changing. For example, with regard to Google; the company took on board feedback suggesting Google gives too much ranking power to these names.
This is freeing up potential registrants to apply a little lateral thinking when choosing a domain name. For example, it's not uncommon for domains to be registered that contain two parts - one related keyword and one word with little relevance to that keyword.
Some are registering domain names that have no relevancy whatsoever to their sector; actually creating words that do not exist in the English language, or are "funky" misspellings of an English word. This is by no mean new - "Google" is actually a misspelling of "googol"; which is the term referring to the digit 1 followed by 100 zeroes. It's quite a fitting word given Google's massive index; which consists of billions of pages.
The word "google" has been recognised as an English word in its own right after it was added to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary.
This brings us to another related point - one of the advantages of creating a short non-dictionary word to use as a domain name is branding - assuming of course the word isn't easily misspelled.
Read more about the naming phenomenon on the Wall Street Journal: Why Startups Are Sporting Increasingly Quirky Names.
The difficulty faced by many registrants in the .com namespace isn't such an issue for those looking to register .com.au names. Due to tougher eligibility criteria and the fact that .com.au is Australia-specific and not generic; this means far more choices are still available.
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How to register a name: Enter your choice in the search tool and click 'GO'. If after the check the domain names search results show your choice is available, you will then have the option to proceed to purchase registration; which is a very quick and easy process - start a search and find your ideal website address now.
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