How To Use Domain Names To Protect Your Brand

Recently, after evaluating several websites, I noticed two common problems with their domain names: (1) They had selected domains which were difficult to spell and easy to mistype, and (2) They hadn’t considered purchasing other similar domain names.

In this article, we discuss what you should consider when selecting your domain name, and how to prevent competitors or opportunists from stealing your traffic, or worse.

Choose A Visitor-Friendly Domain Name

When choosing a domain, you may be limited by the company name, what domains are available, and the subject matter of your website. However, there are still a lot of considerations that can be made to choose smart domains.

Why get only one?

We suggest that multiple domains should be bought for a website. Why? This will give visitors multiple entry paths to your website. Additionally, if you have a hard-to-remember easy-to-misspell name, having another option will make it easier for visitors to find you.

Get the dot com

While there are many TLD’s or domain endings to choose from, the most popular TLD is the .com. In fact, research has shown that the majority of internet users assume that a domain ends with a com when they input it in their browsers. As a result, we suggest that you obtain this ending for all domains. Otherwise, you may be sending traffic to a competitor.

Make it descriptive

Another key to creating a visitor-friendly domain name is to make it descriptive. For example, if your website is about red rubber duckies, perhaps your domain name should be RedRubberDuckies.com.

One added benefit of using this strategy is that your website is likely to rank highly for the keywords included in your domain name.

Find any websites with similar domains

It is also very important to find and evaluate websites with similar domains. Think of possible misspellings of your intended domain and see what websites they belong to.

If a common misspelling may lead visitors to unsavory or spam websites, it might be a good idea to opt for a different domain name. You can also consider buying it from the owner. (For information on obtaining a domain name, see our article How To Get That Coveted Domain Name.)

Start A Buying Frenzy

When you find a domain name which works for you, we suggest that you buy it and all possible misspellings of it, as well as multiple TLD’s or domain endings.

Purchasing multiple variations of a domain name will help to protect your brand identity by making it difficult for competitors or opportunists to use your brand to promote theirs, or piggyback on your traffic. It will also enable visitors to reach your website, even if they make an error inputting your domain name in their browsers.

For more on choosing a good domain name, see our article What Makes A Great Domain Name?.