Quick Tips

• Subscribe to Contest Alerts. First entries get more attention and points.
• When adding names to the contest, use the Star icon next to the domain names – it’s much faster that way.
• Explore every domain name generator, try all search options. It takes just a few minutes and gives you a significant advantage.
• It helps to know, which Keyword Lists exist, so that you can choose the most relevant ones for a particular Contest. Don’t hesitate to experiment with unconventional list combinations.
• It is nearly impossible to find good names starting with “web” or “net”. Instead of popular keywords, use related words and synonyms.  Think of conceptual words, not descriptive. For instance, an antivirus software product name could be based on words that convey the idea of security – wall, defense  fort, castle, guard.
• For finding keyword variations we recommend Onelook Reverse Dictionary – by far the best tool for finding conceptually related words.
• Experiment with Latin translations. Many words in English have Latin roots, and usually names generated in Latin can be pronounced in English.
• Contest Holders prefer 10 relevant names instead of 100 random names. Completely irrelevant names might get flagged, don’t get carried away.
• If anything is unclear about the contest, post a Discussion message and ask the Contest Holder to clarify.
• Create your own niche wordlists – they can be used in all Lists searches.
• When a contest closes, all entries become visible. Explore closed contests,  see what kind of entries were upvoted.
• It helps to create a better looking profile.  Upload your photo and add a creative tagline.
• Subscribe to our Blog for weekly updates about latest features and search techniques.
• Avoid making spelling mistakes and poor grammar on your profile page and contest communication. Use a spell check tool if needed.

Detailed guidelines:

Understand Contest Requirements

Read the contest description in full, make sure you understand what the contest holder’s expectations are. When there is a website link attached to the contest, visit it.

Research unfamiliar topics – when the Contest is about a name for a semiconductor maker, look the topic up in Wikipedia and try to understand what it is exactly what the company does. This is also a good way to research niche keywords.

Add Contest Keywords

Before you start searching for name ideas, take a look at the Contest Keywords tab. Add your own keywords. Each added keyword increases the number of word combinations exponentially. A total of 20-30 keywords should be sufficient to begin with.

An irreplaceable source for finding inspiration for keywords is the Onelook Reverse Dictionary. You can simply copy the names from their search results and paste to the Contest.

For synonyms and definitions we recommend Wordnet. Sometimes interesting names can be found when taking a list of words and translating them to Latin or some other language with Google Translate.

Contest keywords can then be used with all types of domain search tools to create combined and random names.

Post relevant names

The contest holders expect you to spend a little time thinking for them. If they wanted to receive completely random name ideas, we could generate 10000 names for them in a few seconds. Instead, they prefer 10 names that are relevant to their needs.

What the Contest Holders don’t like:

When posting a name to a Contest, simply ask yourself this one question each time: Would you use that name for your own business?

Listen to feedback

When you receive votes, try to understand which types of names the Contest holder likes and suggest a few more names like the ones that received upvotes.

Master the domain search tools

NameStation can create all sorts of names. Most people are too busy to learn them in depth, so you’ll have a tremendous advantage after you’ve understood all search types and advanced options.

Learn about naming and word formation techniques

• What types of names are most popular on the web today? There is an excellent article about 10 company name types on TechCrunch
• What are some of the techniques for name creation? A company named Igor has posted The Igor Naming Guide - a must- read for all naming specialists.

Getting started

Finding name ideas is an ideal job for working at home at the time they choose. Know someone with good language skills and a bit of spare time? Invite some friends if you know they might be interested in helping.

Get started – go to Public Contests.

This new search option improves the chances of discovering valuable domains. For instance, by using the Travel List, we found in just few minutes such domains as Jetisto.com, Traills.com, Beachter.com, Voyagematic.com, Airfity.com, Flewter.com.

Entries upvoted by CH-s are automatically added to their shortlist. To remove entries from the shortlist, CH-s have to click the Remove from Shortlist button, instead of downvoting the name. This way CH-s have a convenient way of selecting final candidates without affecting previously given votes and points.

• Unrated – gives the Contest Holders a better overview about which entries need to be rated.
• Voted Up/Down – filters by total score. Includes votes by other voters in addition to the Contest Holder.
• Contest Holder Votes – Up/Down votes cast by the Contest Holder only.

Participants can see the entries only after the contest has expired.

Previously we issued Paypal payments of $50 every time 500 Points was reached.

Contestants with a 30-day average vote ratio of less than 0.25 can only post 5 entries, before voting starts.

This gives a chance for contest holders to provide feedback and reduces the chance of getting too many irrelevant entries.

We have removed this automatic scoring, so now each new name has a base score of 0. Contestants cannot vote for their own entries. This has enabled us to make the database a bit faster. It has no effect on how Points are calculated.

• A ratio of less than 0.30 allows you to post 10 names to each contest per day
• A ratio of less than 0.20 allows you to post 5 names to each contest per day

Long-term contributors with the highest yearly average ratios may be eligible for bonus payments.

How to improve your Voting Ratio:

• Research the contest topic on Wikipedia to find related keywords
• Ask questions in the Contest discussion, if anything is unclear
• Use Onelook Reverse Dictionary to find related words
• Add Contest Keywords – everyone can do so, not just the contest holder
• Use the Techniques that the Contest Holder has liked – sometimes those are shown under the Techniques tab
• Come up with new creative techniques. Use Alliterations, Intersections, List Blending, Name Templates. It helps to know, which Lists are available at NameStation.
• See what kind of names are popular in the same niche. Use Google, LinkedIn and Crunchbase Categories to find out which keywords can be used.

As always, the purpose of these enhancements is to get higher quality entries for the contests and less noise. Based on the feedback, Contest Holders would rather like to get 50 relevant entries than 300 random ones.

Good luck with your domain search!

Currently, each contestant can post up to 15 entries per Contest, if there are zero Votes. As soon as there is at least 1 Vote, you can post more. But you have to take into account the feedback from the Contest Holder and avoid posting the types of names that were voted down.

This also provides additional motivation for Contest Holders to start voting sooner, so that they could get more entries.

• Alliterative names search. Create names with the same beginning or ending as your word, e.g. PayPal or SoundHound.
• Overlapping words search. Append words that have overlapping parts with your keyword. Merge two dictionary words to create names like Pinterest (pin+interest).
• Business name generator. Generate names with words commonly used in compound business names.
• Name Templates. Find names with specific character patterns like LLLL etc.
• .COM.AU, .FR, .CO.NZ domain extensions added

There are now a total of 18 domain name search methods to generate any name type you can think of.

Ultra-fast bulk domain search, keyword suggestions, creativity enablers and a unique catalog of over 40K hand-picked available domains are just some of the features waiting to be discovered.

Get started at www.namestation.com and give it a try.