Choosing the Right Domain Name:

a Marketing Perspective

all you need to know about domain names

(and some you don't need to know, but is interesting anyway)

CHAPTER 3.11
CHOOSING THE RIGHT DOMAIN NAME FOR A COMMUNITY WEBSITE

This kind of website can be divided into two; the commercial and the non-commercial. Although I would always argue that the right domain name is the best domain name, it has to be said that if the website is a simply place for like-minded folk to meet and discuss their mutual interest or hobby - and not to make money - then the domain name does not carry the same significance as for a commercial site. In such instances, I would follow my 'company' advice (chapter 3.04 & 3.05) and suggest registering the name of the community as the domain name. Even if your community has a generic term included in it (quite likely, actually) combining the place in which it exists or its 'legal' designation (association, society etc) should address that issue. If other similar groups do exist or your community is 'virtual' rather than geographic, try .net or .org suffixes - both suggest a lack of commercial concern and so might better attract the target audience. For example, the 'Springfield Model Boat Society' could use springfieldmodelboatsociety.org, or the 'Model Boat Society' modelboatsociety.net.

The commercial community site is one that has been developed by an organization as part of its marketing communications strategy, but is not part of its corporate site - though the site might represent an online presence for a brand or product. The lovethegarden.com website of the Miracle-Gro Company I featured in the promotional domain names section (chapter 3.08) is an example of this concept. For the commercial community site, the domain name guide is a combination of that for the non-commercial and the promotional site - in other words register the domain name that describes what the website is about - Miracle-Gro's could just as easily have been gardeninghintsandtips.com, for example. For commercial sites I would stick to commercial suffixes (e.g. dot com), though this might be another good application for a generic term on a .info suffix - modelboats.info for a model boat manufacturer, distributor or offline magazine, perhaps.

Go to the next section, return to the contents page

Copyright copyright 2009 Alan Charlesworth. All rights reserved.
International Standard Book Number: 978-1-4452-0538-0
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the author.
Notice
Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as possible, but no warranty or fitness is implied. The information provided is on an 'as is' basis. No responsibility is assumed by the author for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions or ideas contained in the material herein.