Using the letter 'Z' instead of 'S' in a domain name

[ClaytonL]

So I'm working on what will become a paid directory. I'm having a hard time coming up a domain name. The ideal domain name is available if I use a 'Z' instead of an 'S' for the plural in the domain name. For example, islandtripz.com instead of islandtrips.com. Island trips is just an example, but it's very similar to my niche. Using a Z puts me a little on edge, but I've been having such a hard time with the domain and the available domain is the number one keyword for my niche. What are your thoughts?

[tke71709]

Personally, I hate the use of Z instead of S if you plan on any sort of word of mouth marketing.

If it doesn't pass the radio test, I would hesitate to use it.

[crabfoot]

I agree with tke - I'd use a modifier, like islandtripscritic or islandtripsinfo (I like a little sin in it). Or a hyphen, like island-trips.

It's only my opinion, but I'd rather have the exact match keyphrase for singular and plural - the Z will lose the plural match.

[Clinton]

I believe it would need to pass the radio test if it's going to be advertised on radio.

If people are going to find the site by clicking on a link then you can use any del.icio.us spelling that tickles your fancy. In fact, brands have successfully used unorthodox spelling to their advantage particularly for web 2.0 and when targeting a younger demographic.

crabfoot's suggestion makes sense if SEO is a big part of the plan. Everyone knows my position on this, if I were in your shoes I wouldn't let the SEO tail wag the dog.

Clayton, what domain brainstorming tools have you tried so far?

[ClaytonL]

Thanks for the replies.

I would like this domain to be brandable so something "ugly" like islandtripsinfo.com kind of turns me off. I don't intend to use radio at all. I would say my main concern with the Z would be that people might not take the site seriously (at least some people, and I'd hate to lose sales over something silly).

Clinton, I've used many tools. One took keywords that I entered and mixed and matched them, naming.net added common words before and after my keywords as well as prefixes and suffixes. I used google keyword tool and thesaurus.com to generate keywords. I also looked at names of companies in my industry as well as names of similar businesses in other industries.

[Kay]

No evidence, but I would definitely prefer the "Z" than a three-word domain. Often it's not the domain but what you do with it that matters. I do understand the radio (and telephone) test, but if you can make a success of the site, then people would be a lot less hung up about the spelling. Think b3ta. That wouldn't pass the radio test, yet it's a great domain.

As dot coms get harder to buy, then people without huge budgets have to get more creative in choosing their domains.

[JJMcClure]

All other considerations aside, I'd only use the 'z' option if I were targeting teenagers who spend a lot of time online, that's such a gaming leetspeak thing. Lawlz, pwnz, lolcatz.. etc etc.

Having said that, the more people who use it in a different context, perhaps the more mainstream it will become.

[ClaytonL]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I'm shying away from the Z.

The exact match .net has become available. In our example, that would be islandtrips.net. Asking price is $1k. It's about 4k exact match searches and 74k phrase match searches at about $2 cpc. Unfortunately, the .com is owned by a small one island company that doesn't want to sell it. I think I it sounds like a pretty good deal, but I don't really know much about domain names.