What’s in a name
Business is changing at such a rapid rate that the companies with a solid and well planned web strategy will be those that make a significant online impact going into the future and we need to understand the differences between conducting business in the online world and the bricks and mortar world.
There is one fundamental difference in the online arena, that being the method of gathering information about products and services that we are interested in. People search for products and services and to a lesser extent, for brands or company names. This fact, and if you have ever made use of Googles “Adwords” advertising campaign, will know what it costs to “buy” relevent visitors. As more businesses go online, so the competition for these advertising spots will increase, driving the cost per click up, which for certain keywords can be as high as $100 per click in the foreign exchange trading business.
The smart money has adopted a different approach which also makes use of another lesser known tactic, and that is to own the domain names of the products or services that they sell, develop satellite websites/blogs or communities which drive traffic to their stores or even have thier main website located on a keyword domain. In some cases these domain names are merely forwarded to the brand site and capitalise on the “direct navigation” traffic that generic domain names inevitably reveive or to effectively prevent their competitors from dominating particular keywords.
Perhaps the most important factor to consider is making the Brand synonymous with the product. If your company sells crockery, it would be advised that the company acquire crockery.co.za, or if you supplied towbars to own towbars.co.za.
- Search activity is predominantly for products or services
- By owning the domain name of the search term, you exclude your competitors and dramatically improve your ranking
- Makes your company synonymous with your brand
- Benefit from type in or direct navigation traffic
Is this not incentive enough for you to consider domain name acquisitions as part of your online strategy?
Here are a few examples of companies who recognise the value of acquiring prime domain names to compliment their brands. (This is just a small sample and most of these companies own many names, in some instances hundreds or even thousands of names are owned by single companies)
South Africa
- Foshini – home.co.za
- Super group – super.co.za
- The notebook company – notebook.co.za, laptop.co.za
- Rand refinery – gold.co.za
- Primedia (iafrica motoring) – car.co.za
- Primedia (sport24.co.za) – rugby.co.za
- Multichoice (Supersport) – golf.co.za
- Exclusive Books – books.co.za
- Cutters Generators – generators.co.za
- Truworths – Fashion.co.za
- Prins and Prins – Jewellers.co.za
- LLew Bryan Architects – architects.co.za
- Pierre DuPreez Attorneys – Corporatelaw.co.za
- Aircharter.co.uk – aircharter.co.za
- Kalahari.net – bicycles.co.za, camera.co.za and others
- Cellphones direct – cellphones.co.za
- Karl Zeiss – sunglasses.co.za
- Technical analysis seminars – Money.co.za
- Rennies – forex.co.za
- Parmalat – milk.co.za, cheese.co.za, yoghurt.co.za
- Dulux – paint.co.za
- Active printers – printer.co.za
- Konica Minolta – photocopier.co.za
- Itec Corporate Solutions – colourprinters.co.za, colourprinter.co.za,
- colorcopiers.co.za, colorcopier.co.za and others
International
- Bank Of America – Loans.com
- Barnes and Noble – Books.com
- Bayer – Aspirin.com
- Carl’s Jr – Burgers.com
- Citibank – StudentLoan.com
- CityBreak – Visit.com
- CNET – News.com TV.com
- CNN – Money.com
- CondeNast Publications – Gourmet.com
- Country Buffet – Buffet.com
- Diago – Malts.com Rum.com Scotch.com
- Disney – Movies.com
- Enterprise – RentalCar.com
- Fixodent – Dentures.com
- Foxy Fresh Vegetables – Salads.com
- Honda – Motorcycles.com Scooters.com
- JC Penny – Gift.com
- Johnson and Johnson – Baby.com
- K-Swiss – TennisShoes.com
- Kraft – CreamCheese.com
- Mannington – Floors.com
- MasterCard – Priceless.com
- Merriam Webster – Word.com
- Monster – Jobs.com
- National Pen Company – Pens.com
- Nestle – Meals.com
- Office Depot – OfficeSupplies.com
- PetSmart – Pets.com
- Procter and Gamble – Toothpaste.com Laundry.com
- Puritan’s Pride – Vitamins.com
- Ragu – Eat.com
- Rocky Mountain Bicycles – Bikes.com
- Sylvan Learning – Educate.com
- The History Channel – History.com
- The Map and Globe Store – Worldmaps.com
- The Weather Channel – Weather.com
- The Wedding Channel – Weddings.com
- Travelocity – Vacations.com
- U-Haul – Trailer.com
- Woodway – Treadmills.com
- 1-800-Wheelchair – Wheelchair.com
Buying good generic domain names is not for the uninitiated and a well thought out strategy needs to be in place before you enter the world of the domain name traders. These are astute investors, some of whom own tens of thousands or even millions of domain names.
Please contact us should you wish to discuss a domain name strategy for your company.