Today, a blog post and podcast tutorial I published last year ended up in the top ten at Google for the phrase naming your website. As you might imagine, this generated a few visitors!
One visitor wrote me to ask:
I came across your podcasts about branding and thought they were really good info. One branding issue that I would like to know your opinion is regarding the use of "i" and "e" names. (i.e. iSlompo.com , eSlompo.com) My feeling is that being in the internet business they seem a little dated and maybe should be avoided. However, I'm not sure about how they are perceived by the general public. Even if I feel that these names may be a little cheesy, if it works with my customers, then I would use them. Any feedback about this would be appreciated.
Here is what I wrote (mostly) in response:
I agree with you on adding the "i" and the "e" -- aside from being dated and cheesy, it shows an enormous breakdown in brainstorming and creative thinking.
The same goes for adding "my" or "go" in front of names that the company really wanted. What do these "add a short syllable" approaches to the URL actually communicate? To me, they say:
"We didn't get there in time. We were too late. And we don't have enough creative energy to come up with anything that reflects our company or web content in an optimal light."
If you're not a firm in the technology, marketing, or creative sector -- or one that has timeliness or promptness as a core value -- then simply adding a "go" or an "e" or an "i" to the front of your domain might work for you. But this opens up a bigger set of problems....
Whatever you name your URL, why, that's the perceived name of your company. As any Marketing 101 student knows, it's much more effective to promote one name, not two! So what's a company to do -- change an established company name to reflect a less-than-optimal URL...or risk customer confusion and rapidly spiraling marketing budgets to ineffectively market two names?
Clearly, the best choice to have a great company name with a matching URL. No name confusion. More effective marketing. Better branding. It's better to go through a company naming exercise right away than to throw marketing money away trying to promote two names.
But there is yet another reason to avoid the whole "add a little syllable" syndrome -- it lacks uniqueness. There are thousands of other little companies that didn't step up to the plate in time or use their creative brainpower to come up with a winning company name and matching URL -- and they all have an "e" or an "i" or a "go" or a "my", too. The "add a little syllable" name reeks of marketing, business, and creative incompetence.
So unless you're eloans.com or myspace.com and have either a) selected the name strategically or b) dropped millions into developing name brand recognition -- that self-conscious little "e" or "i" or "go" or "my" name is lumped in with a lot of half-hearted, "we don't know how to successfully integrate online/offline marketing, either" competition.
ps -- true story -- I know of a marketing firm that added "2000" to the end of its domain name in 1997, because the year 2000 was "the future with a capital F!"
And as we all know now, there is no longer much of a future in the year 2000!
Same with i, e, go, and my! There's a better name out there, waiting to be discovered!
What do you think?
Podcast: How to Name Your Website
¶ 7/31/2006 04:44:00 PM
