Often neglected and regretted afterwards, the branding strategy at the domain level. Even established companies should pay attention to the right planning with regard to domain names on different occasions. In this article, we would like to explain in more detail when you, as a company, should not ignore the brand strategy at domain level and why it is so important.
When do companies need domain strategies?
The time when a company has to think about the domain strategy can be given on many occasions. Even large and established companies come into contact with domains again and again in the course of their business activities. We have listed a few examples of when companies should definitely include a domain branding strategy in their planning.
- Release of a new website / change of the existing domain: If you as a company are planning a new website or want to change your existing domain, you should definitely consult domain experts as part of your planning. These can help you avoid costly mistakes and make the right domain name decision.
- Release of new products and lines of business: Many companies place landing pages or separate websites for specific products or lines of business. It is particularly important here that a domain strategy is included in the planning phase. This is the only way you can reliably plan your new products and marketing channels.
- Securing your own business: Even if established companies do not plan to expand or release new products and websites, a long-term domain strategy is not a mistake. Companies should try to protect their brand on the Internet, be it against attempts at fraud, competition, domain occupation or with regard to possible projects and expansions in the distant future.
Of course, there are many other reasons that may make it necessary to plan a domain strategy. Domains are the real estate of the internet and can be used in many ways for expansion and marketing purposes. Unfortunately, domain squatters and internet criminals also know this and can often cause enormous financial damage if companies neglect the domain strategy.
What are the advantages of brand strategy at domain level?
We have attached some case studies for you, when a domain strategy is important or can save costs. Many of the examples listed here come from our actual customer environment and are therefore 100% relevant to practice.
Case 1:
A conglomerate / larger company is planning a new business line, subsidiary or a new product. These offers are so extensive or unrelated to the topic that they cannot be displayed on the existing company website. The planning team determines a product name and develops the product / business area. Unfortunately, the domain strategy was neglected. At the end of the process, the IT department finds out that the right domain has already been taken. This is now offered by domain squatters for a lot of money and drives up the cost of the release. If the domain brand strategy had been considered in good time, these costs could be avoided or reduced by adjustments in the release strategy and competent help from domain experts.
Case 2:
A company wants to buy a new domain, but the current owner is offering it at an overpriced price. With external help, the company could now try to get the domain cheaper or, in the long term, even get it free of charge through domain monitoring. In addition, our domain experts can often point out very interesting alternatives that make the purchase of the original domain superfluous.
Case 3:
An existing company (not from the e-commerce sector) holds some trademarks and patents. However, the company has been neglecting domains for a long time and after a while it is found that the right domain names have already been assigned for a number of brands and patents. Many of the domains can be sued, but this is extremely tedious, expensive and time-consuming. The better option would have been to rely on a domain strategy in advance and thus avoid time and money for legal disputes, which often have an uncertain outcome.
Case 4:
An established airline has no plans to expand and is perfectly happy with current business. Unfortunately, after a few years, it is found that fraudsters have registered a similar-sounding domain name and are running a related website on it. This copy also ranks before the actual website of the airline on Google and is also displayed prominently at the top of the search results by Adsense advertising placements. The result: for years, many potential customers were not directed to the airline’s company website, but to a copy that looked similar. Bookings were then either forwarded to competitors via an affiliate program or to the actual airline after deduction of a commission. Ultimately, the airline could have lost several hundred thousand dollars in income. With the right strategy at the domain level, this costly mistake could have been easily and effectively prevented.
Case 5:
A mechanical engineering company is mainly active in the US, but does not rule out expansion in general. Even if there are no current plans to expand business activities abroad, the company still wants to keep all options open. With the development of a domain strategy, the relevant domain names could be secured for later web presences, which made it significantly easier to enter the foreign market. In addition, corresponding legal disputes are avoided in advance and the brand name is better protected against misuse on the Internet. The acquisition of an already assigned domain could also be planned over several years, which was then ultimately transferred to the company’s portfolio at no additional cost.
What can we do for you?
In the previous section, you were able to get an idea of why established companies should also rely on a domain strategy. Of course, there are a number of other cases that can make domain planning necessary in practice. Enclosed you will find a small selection of our services, which can help you as a company at domain level.
Research: Through careful research and sounding out the domain market, we can determine in advance which domain names are interesting or even business-critical for you as a company. We develop a strategy with which you can reliably plan your website or planned expansions at domain level. We can also determine if you are currently a victim of domain grabbing or if other websites are grabbing off potential revenue.
Analysis: We analyze your current domain strategy and give you tips on how you can protect yourself better or show you cheaper alternatives to expensive domain purchases.
Portfolio management: We manage your domain portfolio and thus protect your brand against domain grabbing. You can register domains with us for just a few Dollars a year.
Monitoring: We monitor your website and domain keywords. This allows us to determine if you are at risk of being spoofed or subjected to other fraudulent activity.
Brand protection and expansion: We protect your brand terms at the domain level and can use our automated monitoring tools to register domain names that become available for you quickly and inexpensively. This avoids many legal disputes, the expensive purchase of domain names and unmasks fraud attempts at domain level in a timely manner.
Domain transfers: If you want to buy a domain, we act as your broker. The advantage: the seller does not know who wants to buy the domain. This often leads to significantly better prices since the need to own the domain cannot be exploited.
All our services are individually tailored to customer needs and are performed manually by our experts. A permanent contact person guarantees you the highest level of competence and familiarity with your case.
Conclusion
In any case, the domain strategy belongs in professional hands. Only those who plan in good time and for the long term can avoid expensive mistakes and protect their own company against cybercrime and revenue skimming in the long term. Our team of experts at Domainspace will be happy to assist you with planning at domain level.
Do you have any questions on the topic or do you need help with the branding strategy for your company? Contact us, we’re happy to help.
