When selecting an email domain, a meaningful name carries more weight than a generic one. Take aol.com, for instance, which stands for America Online – it’s a solid choice for email addresses because it’s easy to remember. In contrast, web.com falls short. While it might look good on paper, its meaning is too broad and lacks specific value.

Let’s compare gmail.com and mail.com. Gmail, representing Google Mail, has become the internet’s top brand. Mail.com, a product of 1&1, has an excellent domain name but lacks distinct brand value.

Two other notable products from 1&1 are GMX and web.de. GMX is widely recognized in Europe (and has a global presence), standing for Global Mail eXchange. Web.de, however, lacks unique brand appeal and is primarily used within Germany, making it less renowned than GMX.

Yandex, a Russian search engine company, has a well-known email service with users worldwide. Generally, those who trust Yandex’s search engine also favor its email offering. In contrast, mail.ru, another Russian email provider, is mostly recognized only within Russia.

Inbox.com, a generic domain name belonging to an American email company, has a long history but hasn’t managed to make significant market inroads. Its lack of a distinctive meaning contributes to its lukewarm reception. On the flip side, inbox.lv, a Latvian email company, has gained considerable fame in Europe. Its other products include mail.ee and inbox.eu. In this case, the “lv” suffix, representing Latvia, arguably carries more weight than a generic “.com”.