Week 11 (November 2018)
Welcome to Domains in the Wild. In this series I post images of domain names that I've spotted out and about in the real world. Then I write a bit about what I think of each one. It's easy to miss domain names, but they're all around us and play a key role in a companies branding, messaging and design. Spotting them and taking a photo is sort of a fun hunting game to play while you're out and it takes very little effort once you start looking for them. Once you start to play, you will start seeing domains everywhere without even trying.
If you catch any yourself, please share them with us all in the comments.
Without further delay, here are the domain names that I found in the wild recently...
The Domains
Back at it... I've been snagging domains in the wild for a few weeks now and waiting to come back and show them. Today I've got 3 domains that were all found on the front doors of businesses. If you are going to have your hours and phone number, you better put that domain on there too.
Without further delay, enjoy these recently captured real world examples of domains in the wild.
ChromaSeattle.com
The first domain up is ChromaSeattle.com. This domain belongs to a local hair salon and spa named Chroma. They offer cuts, color and other spa related services. They have 5 locations all in the state of Washington with 3 in Seattle, 1 in Lynnwood and 1 in Edmonds.
The domain is 2 words long and contains a geographical word, "Seattle". I'm not sure where their first location was opened but I would guess it was Seattle and they then expanded. This is an excellent example of a company picking a domain that they haven't been able to grow with as well.
They have other locations outside of Seattle now as they've grown but their domain name still says Seattle. This gives the impression to visitors or potential customers that they are only located in Seattle and can be a limitation. I'm sure they chose the domain because Chroma.com was taken but you can see how this geo term can be constraining.
ANannyForU.com
Next up is ANannyForU.com. This domain belongs to a local household staffing agency. They offer a service to connect you with different household human service needs such as nannies, home aids, etc. According to their site,
A Nanny for U is the premier household staffing agency that Pacific Northwest families have trusted since 1994. We specialize in placing top-notch nannies, newborn care specialists, and household professionals in Seattle and Eastside neighborhoods. Our approach is to discern your family’s unique needs and guide you through the placement process and beyond.
I like the domain name because it's an exact match of their company name. However, it has it's shortcomings. For example, if you said this company's name or domain name to someone, they might hear it as ANannyForYOU.com or ANanny4YOU.com. This can create issues as you are forced to explain the exact spelling which you will never have to do with a great name.
TangerineSpaStudio.com
Finally, we have TangerineSpaStudio.com. The domain belongs to a spa here in Seattle. Unlike the first domain featured this is just a spa and not a salon as well. They offer waxing and facials and from the looks of it just have the one location in Wallingford.
Although they use the full domain name in their logo, "Tangerine Spa Studio", they refer to themselves on their site as simply, "Tangerine". This makes me think that they wanted to just call themselves Tangerine but had obvious difficulty in securing a shorter domain name.
It's not a bad domain. It says their name and who they are. One drawback is that it's a bit long and other options are available. For example, tangerinespa.com is for sale.
Well, that concludes this edition of Domains in the Wild.
If you enjoyed this post or have some domains in the wild to share, leave them in the comments and get an UPVOTE from me!