The Good, The Bad and The Ugly - GoDaddy Survey Reveals What Various Generations Like and Don't Like About Domains

I just had a chance to look through a recently released GoDaddy Consumer Pulse Survey that provided some interesting insight into what customers of the world's biggest registrar look for when they start searching for a name. It can be a daunting process when you consider the endless options. There are over 1,500 TLDs on the web to choose from at prices that can vary wildly from one extension to another. They also have to decide whether to go with a relatively inexpensive new registration or dig a little deeper for an aftermarket domain that ticks every box for them. 

While domain investing pros often think that the general public has a minimal grasp of

what makes one domain better than another - the survey suggests otherwise. The vast majority (80% of the 1,500 consumers polled in March) put a high priority on getting a short, properly spelled name - a must for making sure their web address provides an easy, memorable route to their website. 

That group was already in the habit of practicing what they preached, noting that they personally avoided visiting or purchasing from a website because it had an oddly spelled domain name. This sentiment was strongest across younger generations, with 85% of Gen Z and 82% of Millennials reporting they passed up a business due to the spelling of its domain, compared to 76% of Gen X and Boomers who reported doing so. A huge majority (74%) also also put a high premium in the domain being an exact match for for the company's brand name.

Qualities consumers said make a domain memorable (ranked in order by how many picked the attribute):

• Full words spelled correctly – 43%

• A short domain of two words or less – 40%

• If the domain is easily pronounced – 38%

• Unique domain extensions (like .AI or .shop) – 23%

• A funny domain (rhyming or punny) – 19%

Qualities consumers said make them NOT trust a domain:

• Misspelled words – 56%

• The domain doesn't match the business's name – 55%

• Hyphens in the domain name – 20%

• Numbers in the domain name – 20%

• Free domains (like sites.google.com, name.wixsites.com, godaddysites.com, etc.) – 20%

Younger generations tend to be more open to new TLDs than those of us from previous generations. Only 17% of respondents from the Gen X and Boomers categories found an alternate extension (like .AI or .shop) to be memorable but 34% of Gen Z said they were and 30% of Millenials agreed. Of course, it could also be that their memories are a lot better than ours are now! :-)

(Posted April 28, 2025)  

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