There seems to be a never ending array of domain investors looking for “brandable” names. One of the dominant themes of domain wanted threads on Namepros.
I think that the broad request of brandable might be wasting a lot of people’s time. I see people argue all the time what is brandable and what is not, someone told me the mattress company that acquired Purple.com was stupid. They said, “Raymond purple is not brandable, I don’t care what anyone thinks!”
There was a post written on DNGeek.com where Keith DeBoer actually mentioned Purple as one of his hot companies with a terrible brand name, he also did not like Apple or Amazon. He also did not like Uber, to which one commenter said, You think Uber is a horrible brand? You should start over. This article is terrible.
When the article came out a friend of mine texted, “Did you see this article? Do you know that guy, is he taking any medication?”
My reply was brandable like beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The word has been diluted beyond recognition in the domain community. The word means different things to different people, I have had many people say or write, anything can be branded so my domain is a brandable.
In many cases, when people are referring to “brandable domains”� they actually mean domains that are non-keyword names with no specific descriptive meaning. While the name and domain might have direct reference or meaning to the business or product, these domains don’t specifically spell it out. Instead they convey character, values, or qualities of the brand, product, or service. These non-descriptive domains build strong brand value over time; they are less likely to already be registered as domains (more likely available); and they also allow for flexibility in the brand in that they are not permanently tagged or associated with a narrow descriptive category.
Sometimes called “vessel” names, the majority of the domains on BrandBucket are non-keyword names that have no specific meaning. While our names may not have a direct relation to your business or product, they can convey qualities that are important to your company (like strength), or an overall feeling (like youth and fun).
Names that are free from keywords become strong brands over time, and allow you to expand your business without being restricted (and having to change your name in the future). If Google had launched as “SearchEngine.com”, their brand wouldn’t have become a verb, and they wouldn’t have been able to develop the many different products they are now famous for.
So what is your definition of a brandable domain? When you say you are looking for some, what are you actually looking for?
