Having a website address which exactly matches your business name is important. But too many businesses stop there, assuming their domain strategy is set… It usually isn’t. Including a website address which perfectly describes what you do, in just one word, can be of tremendous benefit in building your online presence.
A domain name can serve as more than a website address. It can be your parallel online brand. Using that, very special, one word, category defining domain name in your advertising and promotional campaigns offers many benefits:
- It’s authoritative.
- It’s intuitive.
- It has a built in trust factor.
- It sets your business apart from the other businesses who compete for the same customers.
- It’s memorable.
- It’s easy to key-in to mobile devices (assuming it’s a relatively short word).
Many major businesses, whose company names are, in and of themselves, well recognized brands, realize the power of exact match, category defining domain names and have made large investments to control that space online.
Here are just a few examples. I have stopped with the letter “B” but there are many other examples:
1800 Contacts – Contacts.com, Glasses.com
1800 Flowers – Flowers.com
A&E Networks – FYI.tv
A&W Concentrate Company – RootBeer.com
Amazon – Clothing.com
Bank of America – Loans.com
Barnes & Noble – Book.com, Books.com
Bass Pro Shops – Hunting.com, Tackle.com
Bayer – Aspirin.com
Bissell – Steamer.com
Bumble Bee Foods – Tuna.com
Burlington Coat Factory – Coat.com
I thought it worth mentioning an emerging business by the name of GIROPTIC. They use the domain name 360.tv to showcase their revolutionary 360° camera and app. 360.tv is clearly an intuitive brand and an excellent choice for their business.
While television, radio, newspaper, billboard and search engine advertising require large, continuing investments, a one time investment in a category defining domain name can increase your business year after year, for many years to come.
These names are hard assets and they are often bought and sold by major corporations. Nissan Motors recently sold the domain name Z.com for $6.8mm USD.
While there are a large number extensions to choose from (.com, .tv, .net, .guru, .bingo and more) .com is still the first choice for most businesses. I don’t expect that to change any time soon.
With the demand for video based content growing rapidly, the .TV extension is quickly gaining in popularity and is especially desirable for, although not limited to, video-centric businesses. In most instances, the initial investment for a one word .TV domain name will be significantly less than it would be for the same word in a .Com.
The newer extensions, referred to as new gTLDs (.guru, .bingo, .blackfriday, .casa and more) are quite speculative. I wouldn’t recommend building a brand around a new gTLD right now. Perhaps, in the future, if consumer awareness and acceptance increases, there might be some opportunities in that space but, so far, the response to the new gTLDs has not been terribly impressive.
So, in closing, if you’re looking for a long term plan to increase your online business, consider investing in that, very special, domain name which perfectly describes what you do, in just one word.
This is an absolutely excellent and informative post. Kudos. Businesses would be wise to heed this advice. Great job!
Thank you for your kind words 🙂
twenty years later and though some businesses are starting to come around… so many are still in the past.
So true.
Very informative post – I think with all the noise of new extensions and all that, people forget the ABC of business. The principles of business regarding name still remain the same as they were 100 years ago.
Thank you for your nice words.
Yes, while the mediums continue to evolve, the importance of branding remains.