Every time you register a domain name with a hyphen, a puppy dies

Michele Neylon

Who am I?

Michele Neylon- Founder / CEO Blacknight- http://mneylon.tel- @mneylon- http://michele.me/blog- http://b.log.ie- On most other social networks ..

So you have a great idea!

And you want a website…

Free options and why they are bad

• mycompanyname@hotmail.com• Thing.tumblr.com• Facebook.com/bleurg• MySite.someserviceorother.xyz • Other shiny service to promote your business?• Orkut? MySpace? Bebo? …

You are the product!

Remember Posterous?

You need a domain

What do you do?

It shouldn’t be complex

Hyphens are bad mmmkay?

Hyphens are bad mmmkay?

• Who owns the non hyphen domain?• Probably the competition?• You just bought your domain and you’re

competing already• Who gets your email when the hyphen is left

out?• Trade mark issues / passing off?

I could sell using their name…

Names and Trademarks?

• Simply put don’t register a domain with a trademark term

• You can’t be applecroatia.xyz to sell apple products.

• Companies protect their trademarks

How do you spell that?

IDNs

• Know your target audience• The majority of English native speakers won’t

know how to type an accented letter or other character on their computer.

You’re unique … just like everyone else

Length / Easy to remember / Spell

Be Careful …

…because … Ouch!

• Itscrap.com• Whorepresents.com• Penisland.net• Expertsexchange.com• Speedofart.com• Teacherstalking.com• Lesbocages.com• Choosespain.com

• Americanscrapmetal.com• Masterbaitonline.com• Therapistinabox.com• Therapistfinder.com• Wintersexpress.com• Swissbit.ch• Dicksonweb.com• Powergenitalia.com

Wrong keyword may flag site

KISS

My options / extensions?

• .com• .net• .org• .me• .pw• .biz• .info• .eu

• .co• .co.uk• .us• .xxx• .mobi• .fm• .hr• ….and lots lots more

Brand Protection?

• Make sense to register the main gTLDs?• Make sense to register ccTLDs?

Control

• Who is the domain registered to?• Who gets the renewal notices??• Is the domain extension “safe” / “stable”?

(think .ly .. )

The Future ..

Thank You …

Credits

• Logos image via http://www.flickr.com/photos/27845211@N02/2616906744/sizes/l/