A domain name is part of your business image and brand identity. It can impact everything from your print advertising to your search engine marketing so good planning is your best ally. Here’s another important consideration before buying a domain name.
Step 3: Choose The Right Extension: .com, .net, .biz, .org
If you’re running a for-profit business, your best bet is to stick with .com. Buying a domain name with another extension is *almost* a waste of time. More on alternate extensions later, but for now, let’s discuss why buying a .com domain name is a wise choice.
The most important reason to select a .com name is because that’s what most people (your potential customers) think of, recognize and expect.
Let’s say you’re looking for the phone number for the great restaurant, the “Flying Taco”. You decide to look it up on the Internet. Quick: what would you try?
Most people would start with “flyingtaco.com”. Few would think to move on to “flyingtaco.net” if the first failed. You especially want to avoid alternate extensions if a competitor already owns the .com extension.
Since .com is so prevalent and common, even customers familiar with your site may automatically type “superproduct.com” instead of “superproduct.biz”. If your competitor owns the first, that’s bad news for you.
A good reason to buy a domain name with an alternate extension is to protect your brand. If you’re lucky enough to get “superproduct.com” then go ahead and snatch up “superproduct.net”. You might even want to buy “greatproduct.com” and “terrificproduct.com”, too. Buying similar domain names gives you multiple doors into your site and also keeps the competition from getting too close.
Secondary domains can be routed automatically to your primary domain. You’ll cover your bases and prevent competition from tailgating on your incredibly successful site.
Buying multiple domain names adds only a small cost to your marketing budget for an added measure of security and marketing power.
As for other extensions, don’t go crazy trying to catch them all. Many aren’t relevant to your business anyway, such as .org, which is associated with non-profit organizations, or .edu which is relevant to educational organizations.
Choosing a great domain name requires analysis of the benefits and the tradeoffs. Spend some time on the potential of yours before you buy.
How many domain names do you have for your business? If it’s more than one, what made you choose the extras?
Read More In The “Buying A Domain Name” Series
- Step 1: Select A Name That Makes Sense For Your Business
- Step 2: Make It Easy-To-Use, Easy-To-Say, And Easy-To-Remember
- Step 3: Choose The Right Extension: .com, .net, .biz, .org
- Step 4: Get Online And Buy
I don’t agree with your reasons for the website extension, because I don’t believe that people type the URL, I think most people will search the name in Google or any other search engine and click on one of the results, other then that I love your post.
Thanks Robert, and your point is well taken. Many people do Google a name (or even a url) instead of typing it in the address bar. And these days there are more viable options than there even were when this post was written. I do think, however, that if your competitor owns a .com – or a .anything – that is exactly the same as your name, it would be a better idea to find something unique. I know how tough that is but it’s worth burning a few brain cells in the interest of really placing your stake in the proverbial ground. Thanks for your insight!