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Domain hacks - right or wrong way to go?

2 points by movix ↗ HN
We're brainstorming ideas for one of those cool, two-syllable, Web 2.0, kinda l33t speak domain names for our project, after deciding that maybe that as the .com for our current name is pretty unattainable we should have a brand re-think.

Is this just asking for trouble further down the line? Anyone have experience of issues with using domain hacks?

4 comments

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jacquesm
I used to use 'camarades.com' as our main 'entrance', it worked well but it always led to spelling errors. After switching to 'ww.com' source-unknown traffic (type-ins) went up quite a bit.

Domains are transferred in many ways between people, and it is when it is NOT a link that they click that your name matters most.

Facebook is a nice example, it is absolutely impossible to miss-spell it for just about anybody. Two very simple, extremely common words.

That might be the way to look in when you're trying to find a new domain.

movix
We were thinking something more down the del.icio.us route
brk
I think (based on some experience) that if you go that route you are going to end up with a name that is very uncommunicatable and you will lose a significant portion of your visitors (and by lose I mean you will never even get them in the first place).

A business name is all about branding, you can use almost any pronounceable or semi-pronounceable (again, assuming you do not try to get overly creative) word as your domain name. Would you ever think "auctions" if someone said ebay to you? Did you think "voip" the first time you heard skype? Did you think "connect to old friends" when you first heard "facebook"?

Pick a unique .com name, build a brand around it.

movix
We came to the same conclusion, shame about the rigid dominance of .com though