One Hundred Smart Companies who Understand Generic Domain Names

Memorable Domains in the UK has a page up of 100 Smart Companies that Understand the Concept of Generic Domain Names

The list has 100 companies (mostly UK) and the generic domain name they use to promote themselves. Each of them has made good use of a generic domain name that exactly matches either their primary business, or one of their main products or services, and many of these are internationally known.

Well worth a read.

How and when to buy generic domain names

When and how should you buy an existing generic domain name for your business?

In Branding on the Internet I discussed what you should call your web site, the short answer is it should match your business name, the longer answer is in that article. Part of the branding article was about using additional “Generic” or product related domain names for extra qualified leads to your web-site, hopefully leading to more business.
My advice, then, as now was:

“You know your business and how well a sale does for you. If your average sale netts you $1,000 profit, then an extra domain name only needs to bring in one more sale every few years to pay for itself. If your average sale netts you $10 profit, then that extra domain name needs to bring in 4 or 5 extra sales a year to pay for itself. Stop and think what your potential customers will be looking for and try to find the right domain name(s) for them to find then register as many money making names as your budget allows.”

That article assumed you would be registering previously unregistered domain names, but what if the generic name you want is owned by someone else? Many people give up at this point, but it may well be that you can still acquire it.