catchy web addresses

[Matt1959]

Does having a catchy or unusal web address present an oppourtunity to entice people to click on your website just out of curiosity?

How much can this work for you?

ie if you ran a one line classified ad containing a catchy web address, would you get more clicks on the website from people curious to know more or would people not be bothered?

If you were clever it should be possible to have a web address that indicates the product or service and is catchy enough to gain peoples attention in its own right...........

Do web site owners miss an oppopurtunity by naming their site in an obscure way that bears no real connection to what they do/ sell?

 

[Bilzo]

Yes I think so...

Of all my domains the one that gets the most comments and feedback is hateyourboss.co.uk which tends to raise a smile quite often. When I'm talking on the phone, if the lead has come from that site then 9 times out of 10 it will be the domain name and not the advert copy which they say caught their eye.

It certainly works for me on occasion too... visited a link to a site called killbillsbrowser recently (it was promoting a switch from IE to Firefox - lol)

Bill

 

[cgigsnet32]

Bill, so tempting was that domain .. I decided to pay it a visit out of curiosity!

 

[Matt1959]

Yes I think so...

Of all my domains the one that gets the most comments and feedback is hateyourboss.co.uk which tends to raise a smile quite often.

well, thats my point really. If you called it say xyzhomeworkingcouk you'd probally get lots less visits.

So........catchy names = potentially more business!

why don't more people take advantage of this sort of free advertising oppourtunity?

 

[Bilzo]

Bill, so tempting was that domain .. I decided to pay it a visit out of curiosity!

Told you it works

I think it depends largely on where your visitors are coming from. From the SERPs they get to see the title and description which will probably carry more weight than the domain. On a billboard for example they may only catch a glance for a few seconds so a catchy, easy to remember (and unabbigious to spell!) domain will be far more important.

Bill

 

I found that my hedgehogtoys web address attracts curious visitors so it does have some effect

 

[Tazuk]

I am buying my new web address in the next week or so. halo.aero

 

[evolutioninternet.co.uk]

Definately so! I remember reading an article on DevWeb not too long ago that was debating this issue, do you get more visitors if you have a cool name, sure. Do you get targetted traffic is another matter. The sites that do really well are obviously the ones that have both. Deckchair.com springs to mind (not sure why - perhaps i need a holiday!)

 

[UK-Networks]

The problem is thinking of and finding a catchy name that hasn't been taken.

 

[Rob Holmes]

I've owned thematrixx.com for years - it's always had good traffic and I went through a stage of getting emails on an hourly basis addressed to Morpheus.

Rob

 

[Clinton]

clickhereyouidiot

Original article at theregister.co.uk

 

[fisicx]

Lazarus - sparked of by a numpty post that's gonna get reported in about 2 seconds.

 

[Clinton]

It generated a lot of discussion at the time about domain names and how they work.

 

[blloyd]

"One Meeeleeyon dahllars"
- Dr Evil

 

[jimbo1974]

I think domain name choice largely depends on what your priorities are.

If it's building a memorable 'brand' then you're probably best with a catchy name that doesn't necessarily bear any resemblance to what the business does. You could always set up a blog or several smaller sites to drive traffic to the main site. It might mean more work though in the long run.

If it's making SEO easier and quicker then choosing a name that contains some hint as to the nature of the business (eg 'annasdesignershoes' ) is probably best, as the search engines will look more favourably on the site from the outset.

Just my opinion though, others may shoot me down!

 

[Naughty Vend]

I would say 'yes' but the domain needs to be relevent once clicked else the site becomes a novelty, having a brand within the domain also has soem weight in the argument...

One of my bad ones, http://www.nowalk.com which is often a typo for the town of Norwalk in North America was originally purchased for a search engine project.

One of the moderate ones, http://www.camhoo.com which is a webcam site (adult before you blind click) and originally again a search engine so played upon Cams and Yahoo, people remember it as the address is already marketed and thus memorable.

One of the better ones, http://www.naughtyvend.com is exactly what it says a site which talks about vending and of naughty things, curiosity makes people ask all the time what we do.

 

[liams7]

Why would you want people clicking through to your site who had no idea what the site was about?

This is a bit of a scatter gun approach. Unless you are creating a community or something this is very poor advertising and not very selective.

Would it work. Dont know any more. It used to but do people care about domains any more. Debatable.

All you will do if it does work is have loads of traffic on a site no one really wants to go on.

The customer retention would be bad and therefore this is a bad idea. Go with something that explains what you do. Get the right advertising. Get the right people.

SIMPLES

 

[Nathanto]

Why would you want people clicking through to your site who had no idea what the site was about?

Unless you were paying for clicks, why would you NOT want people clicking through to your site who had no idea what the site was about?

If the traffic is free then one visitor generating revenue for you is a bonus, I can't see any downside.

 

[GreenLaser]

mmmmm (devils advocate )

"I can't see any downside." = bounce rate ? high bounce rate = low serps ? = les chance of getting the REAl buyers ?

Just a talking point , not gospel