Good URL Bad URL

FLETCHERJONESAUDI.COM/NORTHAVE.HTM

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Tue, 03 May 2016 13:46:00 +0000

ALL CAPS and /Slashes can be tolerated but what comes after the slash here is unforgivable. North and Ave are 2 words that just don't go well smushed together (Nort Have?) and there's no reason to include .HTM. This URL is High-Total-Maintenance, let's hope their cars aren't!

www.sintbernadus.be

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Sun, 17 Jan 2016 14:19:00 +0000

Apparently Saint is spelled Sint in Dutch which is the most popular language in Belgium which is where this brewery hails from which is why I won't fall them for choosing this URL. But not also buying SaintBernadus.be and displaying the URL in alllowercase are 2 unforgivable sins.

www.MarineVinylFabric.com

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Mon, 09 Nov 2015 17:30:00 +0000

Marine Vinyl Fabric may not be the sexiest of products but when you think about where it's used – "I'm on a boat!" – its sex appeal goes up exponentially.

The same goes for URL selection and display. You may not win any graphic design awards for a logo that just simply shows the URL with dubs (aka www) and Leading Caps (aka Title Case) but top SEO results and zero ambiguity on what the website offers will surely draw some wandering eyes.

WWW.NAPLETOWN.COM

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 01:56:00 +0000

OK, so the name of the dealership is Napleton's but the URL is Napletown? Sorry, but it's brown frown for Napletown. :(

www.callAPlusRestoration.com

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Sat, 12 Oct 2013 20:54:00 +0000

Hmm, how exactly do I call this domain name?!? F-minus for this URL.

WWW.crossroadspublichouse.com

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 01:14:00 +0000

I've been on a bit of a hiatus from URL-spotting but this one caught my eye as a misuse of CAPS I don't think I've seen before. For some reason, the dubs here are capitalized and the rest of the URL is in alllowercase. Talk about putting the em-phah-sis on the wrong sy-lah-bles!

HTTP://WWW.KNOPE2012.COM/IMAGESCMYK/CAMPAIGN/1239U/09230023/POSTER/.JPEG

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Sun, 06 May 2012 02:43:00 +0000

Just say Knope to Bad URLs! Bet poor Leslie wished this domain got parked rather than (w)rec(k)ed.

ClassesPlease.com

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 03:21:00 +0000

Shannen Doherty's keepin' it classy with this URL!

EMAIL www.amvetspickup.com

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 03:28:00 +0000

And just how would one do that?

Your Other Warehouse.com

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 13:32:00 +0000

Saw this on the shelf at Home Depot but couldn't figure out how to get to my other Warehouse.com.

DANiELISLANDTechSavvyKIDSCLUB.com

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:55:00 +0000

Let's hope they're not teaching kids how to choose and display domain names. Whoever came up with this looooong URL sure was riding the short bus!

att.con

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 03:36:00 +0000

Whoever put the stickers on this truck should be con-victed!

DemocacyForAmerica.com, WeAre[Ohio].com

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 03:04:00 +0000

You may think the one on the right is a stumper, but if you live in Ohio you will recognize the bumper.

URL-Y RISER

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 14:05:00 +0000

The headline on this paper sitting atop a trash can caught my eye. You know the web is mainstream when the news media are pronouncing URLs like me... as in the Duke of.

www.agremodeling.com

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 19:06:00 +0000

Maybe it's because I had my eyes on the dash trying to figure out the name of the tune I was jamming to or maybe it's because I'm an URL-aholic but I read the back of this truck bottom up. So my first encounter was with the URL. "Hmmm... AgreModeling.com... sweet!" I thought as I turned my gaze up expecting to find a bunch of hot models sitting in the back of the truck. "DOH!"

www.funerals.pro

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 02:29:00 +0000

Sorry I've been slacking my fellow URLaholics. Please know that I am not yet cured, just busy with other obsessions. You know you're out of the loop when you see a TLD that you didn't know existing. Now I realize I'm no domaining .pro but who knew!?!

facebook.com/siriusxmjamon

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 17:56:00 +0000

Great station. Bad URL. Like an extended jam, this URL wraps to second line. Never liked the character limits on Sirius XM. Always cuts off artist or title. Didn't even know wrapping was possible until I saw this. There has to be a way they can play with fonts or allow you to click to see full names.

Back to this URL, alllowercasedoesn't do it any favors. Too many weird letters. This URL is obscure as some of the bands they play.

ThereAreWorseThingsThanCornSyrup.com

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 01:43:00 +0000

Peter Askew snagged this one off Saturday Night Live. Beyond being funny, the URL display is, well, sticky.

www.chick-fil-aleadercast.com/atlanta

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 04:21:00 +0000

Here's another SkewURL (for the uninitiated, those are URLs spotted by URL-aholic Peter Askew of Search Bound) from Chick-Fil-A . Peter seems to eat there a lot!

This one is a mess of mashed up alllowercase and an ill-advised /slash. As Peter points, out it should've been Chick-Fil-A.com/LeadercastAtlanta or dropped Atlanta altogether and had a drop-down on the landing page.

As it stands, this URL is not chic. It's not ful-fil-ling. And it grades an F not an A.

http://bit.ly/dn5n10

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 05:15:00 +0000

Here's a tip when using bit.ly or other URL shorteners in print. Customize them! Too tough to tell the difference between zero and letter O and one and letter L. And this one ends with both. Oy vey! Thanks again to Brian Leiberman for the spot and reminding us that a little bit of extra effort goes a long way.

Cheetos.com

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 05:03:00 +0000

Talk about bold. Cheetos dares to assume that its orange sticks that look like shriveled pretzels are so ubiquitous that they can be used interchangably with the brand name. Reminds me of NBC's ambiguous Peacock.com. Thanks to Brian Leiberman for sending this one in and making my hands feel sticky just looking at it.

LasikPlus2020.com

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 04:31:00 +0000

Here's a nice clean URL with Camel Case and a unique tracking code to measure conversions. You don't need lasik to read this one clearly!

www.EMBA.utk.edu

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 04:19:00 +0000

The URL-alert Alichia Keller spotted this one and offered up some pun gems like "Education needs an education" and "This school needs to be schooled." Indeed the mix of CAPS and lowercase is befuddling. And the dubs aren't necessary in an online ad. Methinks this URL does not make the grade.

GRAMMYINTHESCHOOLS.COM

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 05:14:00 +0000

I've been a little delinquent in checking the Good URL Bad URL mailbag but Brian Leiberman has been consistently loading it up. I still have a bunch to get to but wanted to post this one he potted tonight on the Grammys. Despite the ALLCAPS and Spacing Issues, this URL is relatively easy to read. *Channeling Joan Rivers and the URL Fashion Police* This URL is a best-dressed nominee!

alllowercase.google.urls/CamelCaseHere

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Goldman) — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 20:42:00 +0000

Google recently announced that all domains in search ad display URLs would appear in alllowercase. "For example, if your display URL is Subdomain.Example.com/Subdirectory, it will appear as subdomain.example.com/Subdirectory."

Fellow URL-aholics know this is not a best practice for making your domain easy to decipher. Yet, Google says, "Recently, we found that by standardizing the look of the URLs on the page, we were able to improve many of our user metrics, including ad clickthrough rates." Maybe that's because of all the accidental clicks resulting from people not being able to easily recognize the domain they're clicking on!

What does this mean for all the Google advertisers out there? Wherever possible, use Subdirectories for your search ad landing pages as opposed to Subdomains. On a crowded Google results page, if you want to stand out from the clutter and pre-qualify your clicks, use Camel Case Subdirectories to let searchers know what they should expect to find on your site.