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What makes a great domain name is relative. Relative to how easy it is to remember, how much MONEY can be made from it, and of course how much a buyer is willing to pay!

Obviously names like "flowers.com" and "florists.com" are worth a LOT of money, millions in fact... Here's a list of reported top domain name sales:

Business.com $7.5 million
Autos.com $2.2 million
Wallstreet.com $1.03 million
Rock.com $1 million
Forsalebyowner.com $835,000
Drugs.com $823,456
Capital.com $750,000

Even though such top names are long gone for registration, carefully chosen names can still be very effective. We've put together some handy hints for choosing such domain names:

Handy Hints

Always go for ".COM" s only. ".COM" names are the most widely known, the most sought after and the most valuable domain names currently available. Those ending in .NET, .ORG and the newer .INFO and .BIZ will always be 2nd rate to .COM

The Radio Test. Imagine the domain name is being advertised on the radio or TV. Is it easy to understand? Could someone get on their PC the next day, remember the name and thus easily type it into their browser?
Click and listen to the radio ad below. You'll notice how the domain name "FlowersOnTheNet.com.au" although lengthy, is catchy, flows well and can be EASILY REMEMBERED. This is very important.
Radio Ad
Click here   (Download time less than one minute)

Stay away from hyphenated names. (e.g. BEST-HOUSES-FOR-SALE.COM ) Who wants to say their domain name is, "BEST dash HOUSES dash FOR dash SALE.COM"? They are confusing and hard to remember.

No substituting "4", "2", "U" for words like "FOR", "TWO", "TOO", "YOU", etc. No substituting the number one ("1") or zero ("0") for the letters "L", "I" or "O". Once again these are confusing and hard to remember. However, having said that, lately some companies have been successful with these names, but they do require a lot of mass advertising.

Try to include classic names (e.g. RedRosesOnline.com or 1800Blooms.com). People are used to such common names and far more likely to remember them.

Consider appealing to mass markets, rather than tiny market segments. Books sell better on the Internet compared to paper clips. BUT, if paper clips are your thing, and you're convinced plenty of others are into them as well, then go for it!

No trademarked names or names that incorporate a trademark. Do you want to end up being sued? The courts are now finally starting to set precedents in relation to this area. Chances are that if you register a name like "NikeGear" then you'll have your pants sued off!

No intentional misspellings. What's the point? They rarely sell and really only serve to capture minimal web traffic. Exception: If you can get SLTAVISTA.COM or something that won't upset a trademark owner, but will capture a lot of 'fat-finger' typing mistakes, then maybe go for it.

Don't spell out the "dot" in a name (e.g. FLOWERSDOT.COM) as these names require explanation and are confusing.

Include Keywords. Including keywords that are relevant to your business not only makes sense but will help you enormously in search engine rankings. e.g. FLORISTSAMERICA.COM for a listing of Florists in America.

Consider getting plural versions of a name. E.g. If you have FREEBIE.COM, better get FREEBIES.COM as well. Saves any confusion and any competitors harming you.

These handy hints are not wholely inclusive. This should in no way be construed as legal advice. Floral Domain Names take no responsibility for advice given here.