Branding 'vital' when choosing domain names

Businesses looking for a new domain name need to consider the branding implications of their chosen domain carefully, it has been suggested.

According to Peter Da Vanzo of SEO Book, a well-chosen branded domain name can be more effective than a more generic one when it comes to word of mouth marketing and collecting inbound links from other webmasters.

He warned against going for a "trashy" sounding domain name such as cheap-mp3-online-buy-cheapest.com, which he said is unlikely to be passed on from one person to another as a trusted online destination.

"It is helpful to have a brand name that is easy for people to remember," Mr Da Vanzo commented.

He added: "It should be distinctive. It should be credible. It should be something people feel comfortable passing on."

About 24 million new domain names were registered last year, according to statistics from VeriSign.

There are now more than 177 million registered domain names worldwide, the figures from the quarterly Domain Name Industry Brief revealed.

Written by Debra Hastings-Henry