Brand Protection: Domain Name Registration

Should you be registering new TLDs to protect your brand?

Having celebrated its 30 year anniversary last month, .com is the giant of the domain name world. As the most widely used domain name across the globe, most businesses don’t think twice when registering their very own .com to use for their website. However, following the release of thousands of new top level domains (TLDs) it has become more popular practice for businesses to register an array of domain names which are relevant to their business plan. These could be geographical domain names (which appeal to a local audience) or domain names which represent your product or services (think .pizza for your local takeaway).

As there are so many domain names on the market it has become vital for businesses to register a range of web addresses so as to protect their brand’s online presence. A lot of time and effort goes into the creation of your brand and the development of your brand DNA, so you should make every effort to protect its online image.

By neglecting to register the relevant domain names you put yourself at risk of:

• A direct competitor registering domain names with your brand name and redirecting them to their site, ergo poaching any potential customers who misspell your web address or simply use the wrong domain name.
• Competitors or unhappy customers registering a domain name containing the name of your brand to use as a platform for deterring future custom. The upcoming .sucks domain name is to be released to allow brands to provide a platform for criticism which they can monitor and respond to, but if you leave yourbrand.sucks on the market you could find yourself on the wrong end of internet troll abuse.
• Missing out on a market share within your local community by registering a geographical domain name (we find that .london is a popular choice!)
• Missing out on the chance to show off your expertise to the world. Using our earlier example, a pizza company without a .pizza domain could be missing out on a large slice (get it?) of the pizza-loving online audience. Using an industry-specific domain name can shorten your web address and make it more memorable.

Get in touch with us to explore which domain name could be perfect for your business, or search for your perfect domain today on our domains store.