How to name your startup (or product), and find a great domain name

[madphil]

@skylove Yes, this is very smart actually. GetXXX GoXXX etc. are really good alternatives.

Ultimately what really matters is that a consumer who you are targetting is able to search your brand name, and see your site as a #1 organic rank.

While building that SEO juice, spending on AdWords can be useful, specially if you want to develop site links or site extensions, as Google is going to prioritize your site getting properly indexed if you are paying. Unethical as F, but they do it and somehow get away with it.

If you see what how Chrome is developing, they're considering to drop domain extensions all together from being shown on the browser url bar. So if your site is getclover.com, it will be seen by users as simply getclover.

It's a clear signal that domain names and extensions will be obsolete and meaningless in the mid term.

They have a big monopoly and can literally do whatever it pleases them. Going by keyword instead of by domain, is in their benefit and interest, so they will surely push it hard. Only time will tell, but all signs are there already!

 

[angerry]

@debate507 This post is great. Your full guide is even better. Bravo.

Fortunately, I was able to think of an app name that fits all of the mentioned criteria. Plus fit the mold to really outdo competitors through a viral video. The ideas are swirling.

Thanks for this.

 

[debate507]

@angerry Thanks! That's awesome, I'm happy to hear it.

Good luck my friend!

 

[naturalisbest]

@debate507 Thanks for the thoughts!

I would like to add - if you go international, research the name meaning in all of your target markets

 

[onlinecash]

@debate507 I was looking at this and had a thought I wanted to get your opinion on.

How about taking your base word and adding common suffixes? (Which, I guess, is sort of an extension of Method #5)

 

[debate507]

@onlinecash I like it. Like you said I think it's an extension of method #5 but I can see how it's useful to have the list. Maybe I will add the link to that section of the article - thanks for sharing it.

Of course it depends on the suffix and root word. Some suffixes may make it a lot harder to spell your name (as a example, "mud" is easy to spell and pronounce but "mudacy" is quite difficult).

 

[homesick7]

@debate507 Great tips.

 

[debate507]

@homesick7 Thanks!

 

[613jono]

@debate507 This summary is quite helpful. My cofounder and I could have used this advice on “word associations” and “emotional” responses before naming our dietary supplement “Woke” for the past three months (without realizing the potential for the political connotations of the word sliding into the world of dietary supplements).

Thankfully, we had just conducted the pre-launch campaign and so rebranding wasn’t too difficult (but we still had to repurchase some product / pay for a revised design and logo / spend a day updating all our content).

 

[tipsasetra]

@debate507 I usually find the list of top 500 most used words in English and start from there.

 

[debate507]

@tipsasetra Not a bad place to start, for sure.

 

[maryannmaria]

@debate507 There have been a lot of great article on this recently. Thanks for sharing!

 

[eleanorwhite]

@debate507 https://instantdomainsearch.com is also a nice tool. I think it was created in the Y Combinator program so it's startup approved or something.

 

[debate507]

@eleanorwhite Looks good, thanks for sharing.

 

[lordimyre]

@eleanorwhite Clutch. Thanks!

 

[adrianemarthe]

@debate507 Never priorities a .com domain name over a great name. Your business starts with a great name - that's who you are. Not your domain.

 

[eliximbo]

@debate507 I also really like using NameMesh and LeanDomainSearch to come up with names.

 

[debate507]

@eliximbo Agreed, two of my faves.

 

[joryanne]

@debate507 Definitely don’t be rude in coffee shops, you never know who you’re sitting next to...

 

[brooksie2013]

@joryanne Username checks out. Sorta.