There are a plethora of factors to consider when picking a domain name for your business. You need to consider your company’s branding strategy, your market, SEO advantages/disadvantages – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
One key factor to consider is The Radio Test.
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Those in the domain industry consider this test to be a way to judge the value of a domain name. If your name passes the test, it means that if you heard the domain on the radio, it would be easy to understand and then visit, even if the domain isn’t spelled out for you.
For example, consider the domain “Fourtell.com”. If this name were heard on the radio by listeners who did not have it spelled out for them, they may erroneously type “Foretell.com” into their navigation bar, and thus end up in the wrong place. As such, this domain would fail the Radio Test.
There are many things to consider. Homonyms, words that are pronounced the same but have different spellings or meanings, like: there and their, air and heir, whole and hole, and so on, may make a domain fail The Radio Test. Some words may be more problematic to English speakers in the USA vs the UK, for example, because of differences in regional pronunciation or spelling.
Domains with hyphens are also problematic since you have to clearly pronounce the hyphen when saying the domain. Multiple hyphens or hyphens in odd places are particularly troublesome.
New TLDs (extensions) may cause confusion if the listener doesn’t know that .whatever is the end of the domain. They might just add a .com at the end when they are trying to visit the site.
If a domain doesn’t pass The Radio Test, it doesn’t mean it’s worthless, but it is definitely worth weighing your options.
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