Lots of Traffic, But is the Site Owner at Risk? — GM-Volt.com Getting

Even if you’re a firm fan, resist the urge to use a trademark in your domain name.

The GM Volt electric car is getting quite a bit of buzz lately, counting this article in the Fresh York Times. The article links to GM-Volt.com, which it notes is unaffiliated with GM.

Compete.com shows that GM-Volt.com gets regarding 75,000 visits a month, which is nothing to sneeze at. It probably brings in a bit of revenue for the site owner, too, which is why I would never recommend starting a site that uses a brand name like this. GM can quite possibly get the domain name, either through a cheap and fast UDRP or through a lawsuit.

But wait — isn’t this site good for building GM’s brand? Perhaps, but it’s littered with ads for GM’s competitors. Right now I see ads for Ford and Lexus. Even a disclaimer message saying the site isn’t affiliated with General Motors Firm is turned into a contextual ad for Ford:

Some firms have made a business out of similar car enthusiast sites, counting publicly traded Internet Brands. But even they acknowledge there’s some risk in what they do.

My advice: go ahead and create a fan site. But don’t include trademarks in your domain name.