A recent GoDaddy Consumer Pulse Survey has some answers and they’re surprisingly clear.

Short & Simple wins

There’s a common belief that only domain pros care about “clean” names.

The data says otherwise:

• 80% of surveyed consumers said having a short and properly spelled name is critical.

• Poor spelling or confusing names don’t just look bad , they actively push people away.

In fact, a huge number admitted they would straight up avoid visiting or buying from sites with weirdly spelled domains.

Younger generations are EVEN pickier

The younger the buyer, the stricter they are.

• 85% of Gen Z and 82% of Millennials avoid oddly spelled domains.

• Even 76% of Gen X and Boomers agreed.

It’s clear: Clean domains = trust and credibility.

Exact Match

Not only do people want simple domains, but they also want them to exactly match the brand name.

• 74% of consumers said that a domain should match the business name perfectly to be memorable and trustworthy.

Close enough? Not good enough anymore.

What makes a Domain memorable?

Here’s what consumers ranked as the most memorable traits in domain names:

• Full words, spelled correctly (43%)

• Short, 2 words or less (40%)

• Easy to pronounce ( 38%)

• Unique TLDs (like .ai or .shop) (23%)

• Funny/punny (19%)

No surprise here: clarity and simplicity top the list, but there’s still room for creativity.

What makes a Domain NOT trustworthy?

On the flip side, here’s what makes people hesitate:

• Misspelled words (56%)

• Not matching the brand name (55%)

• Hyphens in the domain name (20%)

• Numbers mixed with letters (20%)

• Free subdomains (20%)

In short: sketchy or complicated names hurt your credibility.

New TLDs are more accepted (by younger buyers)

While older generations are still attached to legacy extensions, younger people are suprisingly interested in trending, new TLDs:

• 34% of Gen Z and 30% of Millennials find extensions like .ai or .shop memorable

• Only 17% of Gen X and Boomers agree

This signals a generational shift towards alternative domain extensions and it’s only growing.

Choose Wisely

In the words of GoDaddy’s Trip Briscoe:

“It’s the difference between a potential customer finding you effortlessly or getting lost in the vastness of the internet.”

In 2025, clean, exact, and simple domains still win.

Understanding what people really want makes all the difference.

It’s the difference between being top of mind or totally invisible!

And if your perfect match isn’t available on first registration?

That’s exactly why marketplaces like Vision.io exist.