The Internet evolves and is shaped by countless businesses, people, non-profits and an array of countless other entities looking for eyeballs in an ever-changing World.
A Premium Domain Name Make All the Difference
Your Premium domain name strategy is crucial in today’s clutter. Brand’s work hard to engrain their product or service, and establish market positioning, relevance—and ultimately dominance.
Savvy brands understand the importance of creating something catchy and memorable. They need to separate themselves from their competition in ways that remain top-of-mind for their targeted audience.
Let’s review the top ten below according to Wikipedia.org:
Rnk Company Rev ($B) FY Employees Mkt. Cap Location Founded
| 1 | Amazon | $232.9 | 2018 | 647,500 | $802.3 | Seattle | 1994 | [1][2] |
| 2 | Alphabet Inc. | $136.8 | 2018 | 98,771 | $791.01 | Mountain View, CA | 1998 | [3][4] |
| 3 | JD.com | $55.7 | 2017 | 137,975 | $34.84 | Beijing | 1998 | [5][6] |
| 4 | $55.01 | 2018 | 25,105 | $486.39 | Menlo Park, CA | 2004 | [7][8] | |
| 5 | Alibaba | $39.90 | 2018 | 66,421 | $432.12 | Hangzhou | 1999 | [9][10] |
| 6 | Tencent | $36.39 | 2017 | 44,796 | $434.66 | Shenzhen | 1998 | [11][12] |
| 7 | Netflix | $15.8 | 2018 | 5,400 | $153.39 | Los Gatos, CA | 1997 | [13][14] |
| 8 | Booking | $12.7 | 2017 | 22,900 | $92.94 | Norwalk, CT | 1996 | [15] |
| 9 | Baidu | $12.40 | 2016 | 45,887 | $88.11 | Beijing | 2000 | [16][17] |
| 10 | eBay | $10.75 | 2018 | 14,000 | $32.07 | San Jose | 1995 | [18][19] |
Each one of these companies went out and acquired their core-premium domain name. They understood the value of the .com as their global brand. Let’s dig a bit deeper in the strategy of one of the major power-houses listed above.
Facebook.com, listed at number four also owns many other valuable pieces of digital, beach front real estate. Take for example, FB.com which complements the existing digital strategy that was already in place. Facebook has parlayed their web presence by building another piece of digital real estate on their own majestic piece of real estate.
Another example is Booking.com, with more than $12B in revenues. They do a phenomenal job of attracting users with constant ad-driven messaging. They have partnerships with more than 660,000 hotels and provide a valuable service to their clientele.
Why Premium Domains?
Let’s continue with the beach-front real estate analogy. For the past thirty years, brands swallow up the short, brandable .com domains. These are the assets that provide the most upside, equity and long-term value to the brands. These assets can hold generic value, such as Booking.com, or be more brandable, such as EBay.com or Baidu to name a few.
Premium domain names have commercial appeal and are typically, very memorable. Brands spend huge amounts of money attracting new users and creating brand credibility. Digital strategists are competing for a smaller piece of the available premium domain name inventory.
Sure; anyone can build a brand, using any extension, to the right of the dot. It’s how you develop the brand, and create long-term equity for your company. Companies should always acquire the shortest variation for their brand. This doesn’t have to be the only strategy. Companies should outline a comprehensive domain name strategy that not only covers their brand, but any additional reputation management, or brand defense needed to protect your corporate brand positioning.
Simply put, premium domain names add the following instant upside:
- Brand-dominance and positioning
- Equity toward the long-term exit strategy
- Inability to build—defensive strategy against your competition
Own the real estate before your competitors do!
- Direct Navigation Search—people search the keyword every day!
How many eyeballs are you missing?
- IP and Trademark positioning
- Credibility and Awareness
Most successful brands have identified the importance of the premium domain name. Most of them now have dedicated digital strategists or digital departments to handle the larger need for digital integration and social media components.
Brands should spend wisely, and methodically when securing a new brand, or piece of beach-front digital real estate.
Get it right the first time
Companies should always use this checklist to make sure they are not leaving their money on the table
- Hire an expert—when you get your maintenance on your car, do you do it yourself? Spend your time wisely, on what you do best and leave domain acquisitions to the experts!
- Conduct Research—who owns the asset, and for how long? Is it being used? Are there active trademarks? What’s the history of the link profile?
- Variations and Alternatives—brands need to nail it. To do this, sometimes, they need to think outside the box. Find viable alternative assets that define your image and brand.
- Negotiation is key—do you negotiate for a living? We do. We remove the emotional attachment and red tape to manage both buyers and sellers’ expectations.
- Be Flexible—sometimes you have to give a little, to get a little. Don’t be afraid to be flexible and offer ways to mutually-benefit the other party in your transaction.
- Be Honest—honesty and integrity go along way. Be true to your word, and don’t go back on what you say. This is critical for deals to succeed.
- Ask Questions—hold your broker or expert accountable and ask appropriate questions. Some domain transactions move quickly. A clear line of communication is necessary to save valuable money and time.
- Due-Diligence—dig for more information, market comps, fire-power necessary to make the case. Goes back to the research tidbit above.
- Timing—don’t hunt for a CBD-themed/ Marijuana-type name when there is mass decriminalization and legalization occurring. The market is just too hot, and pricing will be way too inflated. Instead, names should be selected, “ahead-of-the-curve”.
Save money
When buying a premium domain name, it’s important to ask the right questions. This can save the buyer tons of money in the long-run. The most widely used example relates to trademarks tied to a name, or brand. Many companies have secured a domain name for commercial use, but never take the time to search the trademark database. This quick search can save clients thousands of dollars.
Premium Domain Names make total sense for any emerging brand, looking to scale their brand accordingly. Shortening the global domain name is still the foundation for successful growth. The top companies around the World continue to focus on the sensible .com for their brand growth.
This validates the need for superb, premium domain name for your company and brand. Get it right the first time and save money in the long-run while adding that much needed credibility and equity value.
Drop us a line to discuss your domain name strategy and digital branding plan. Click here, to acquire your next premium domain name.