Garry Grant — April 29, 2018 — April 29, 2018
One question which comes up frequently is, “Should I buy all of the extensions of my domain name?” This is a common question because sites which sell domain names will often try to get you to purchase every version. So for example, if your website is www.seoinc.com or you own a SEO Company, Godaddy may try to get you to buy the following domains:
- www.seoinc.net
- www.seoinc.biz
- www.seoinc.info
- www.seoinc.ca
- www.seoinc.us
- www.seoinc.uk
- This list goes on…
All the while you are sitting here scratching your heading thinking, “Do I really need to pay $ 200 for all of these domains?!” Well, let’s weigh the pros and cons of the purchase decision.
Pro: You Protect your Brand
By purchasing all of the domain extensions you ensure that no one can have a domain name that matches yours. Why is this important? Well, if someday you develop very strong brand strength and someone searches for your brand there is a good chance that not only your .com extension will come up, but also that a .biz, .net, etc., extension will come up. Now, of course, this means that someone would have to create a site surrounding your brand name. And they really can’t do this if they are in the same industry as you, unless you OK it – for instance an affiliate may be able to sell under an extension. If they are in another industry, they can absolutely use the domain to promote their company. They can also use the domain to write reviews/blogs on you. Also, if it is a non-branded keyword based domain all bets are off.
Con: You Pay Extra
One of the main cons of purchasing all of these domain name extensions is that you spend a sometimes seemingly wasteful amount of money, and no one likes to feel like they are wasting money. For a small business whose brand is not recognized yet, operating on a tight budget, sometimes it does not make sense to purchase all of these domain extensions immediately. Quite simply, the cost outweighs any real benefit, especially early on in the online startup process.
Bottom Line
There are certain domains that really make no sense at all to hold on to. For instance, if you are an online company operating only in the US, you probably do not need a .cc extension, Cocos (Keeling) Islands. To see a full list of domain extensions and what they represent you can visit here.
Ultimately, a .com is still the strongest domain. If you believe your branding to be a big part of your marketing, you’ll probably want to at least buy the .net and info extensions of your domain name as well. Maybe even the .biz. In addition, if your domain is keyword based, www.buyshoes.com, that may have implications. Finally, if you are interested in online reputation management, owning all of the domain extensions can be a very powerful asset, as they allow you to develop sites and get them ranked for your branded terms. While the Internet is becoming more tightly regulated, in some areas it is still very much the wild west. By owning your extensions, at least the most popular ones, you have more control over your brand online and that is a good thing.
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