The classic domain search tool bustaname offered is great for finding domains that are based on combination's of words (foursquare, facebook, etc..), which is a very common pattern for domains. However we noticed another pattern which is making domains out of fake (or very obscure) words. A few examples come to mind (google, yahoo, engadget, etc..) We decided that we needed a separate tool to find these kind of domains.

The new tool is called our "Domain Maker", and it uses the statistical properties of English (and other languages coming soon) to create fake words that read and sound like they could be real. The tool then checks the words to see which are available as domains and returns the results. To provide more customization, you can enter a word that you want the domain to start or end with. This is great for making up something that has the word you want in it, but is still available. So for example, if I enter blog, one of the first results I get is "blogograms.com".

The new tool is much simpler interface wise, but we think will be another powerful weapon in the domain search arsenal.

Give it a try here.

Brandable domains are all the rage now days. (google, yahoo, engadget, etc..) So what are the upsides, downsides, and things to consider when looking for a brandable domain?

First lets start with some of the upsides, generally brandable domains are:

• somewhat easy to remember
• make an impression
• available for purchase (this is the big selling point)
• are more bandable (obviously)

On the downside however, brandable domains generally:

• don't provide any keyword boost on search engine position
• can have unclear spellings

Brand strength is the real power of random word domains. Something like google is a great example because they could have bought something like search.com Initially having search.com would have given them some credibility as a company that can afford a good domain, but long term having google.com really paid off. The main reason is verbability (a word I made up). By that I mean the ability for a word to be made into a verb. This is one thing you want to look for in your brandable domain. "Googling" is in our every day vocabulary, and while only a few domains can make it into this class, seeing if it verbable, helps decide how easy people will remember it.