Brandable domain names are most commonly known as catchy sounds or phrases. They generally have little or no meaning. If they do have meaning, it is normally unrelated to the website. One of the most widely known websites that uses a brandable domain name is Google. But what happens when the idea of general domain names and brandable domain names clash?

Take Fusible.com’s article on the sale of HomeRun.com as exhibit A. As the article says, one would think HomeRun.com would be used for some sort of baseball-related website, whether a fantasy baseball site or a baseball news website. Instead, it’s used as a website that gives you great deals for activities in your city.

Now, let’s go back to how we defined brandable domains. One of the main pieces of criteria is that the domain generally has little or no meaning. Does a home run have a significant relationship (in terms of meaning) with great deals in a city? One might think there’s SOME relationship between the two, but definitely not much. Does this make HomeRun.com a brandable domain name? In this case, they took a domain name that has specific meanings and turned it into a name with little or no meaning. This is why I think it’s both a brandable domain name and general domain name.

Is it a good thing that this idea of brandability is beginning to clash with generality? Will this have an effect on the value of brandable or general domain names? Do you even think the two are clashing? Submit your comment below and let’s hear some thoughts.