As a Premium Domain Consultant I connect with a lot of CEO’s and CMO’s discussing opportunities to acquire the best possible domain name for their business. Often, it is a domain name that literally defines the product or service that their business offers, such as SecurityFranchise.com, which would be the ideal domain name for any company offering a security franchise.
Domains such as this, generally referred to as premium domain names, are considered “best in class” for their industry because of the authority and wide range of benefits that come with their acquisition. Because of the immense value premium domain names can carry, it is not uncommon for company’s and even individual investors to spend 6, 7, or even 8 figures to acquire a premium domain name.
What I have learned over time is that these individuals – while brilliant and amazing at what they do – still often do not fully understand the value of acquiring a premium domain name. For this reason, I want to share a few insights about why spending time and resources to acquire the best possible (premium) domain name for your business makes sense:
1. Industry Authority
A Premium Domain Name Positions You as An Authority in Your Industry. If you own the domain name that defines your industry, those looking for your services will see your company as the authority in the industry.
2. Reduce Marketing Spend
A Premium Domain Name Can Help Reduce Marketing Costs. Very often when people are searching for something online, they will type in whatever they are looking for and add “dot com” to the end. If you are using a category-defining domain such as CarryOut.com (which would be ideal for any restaurant brand) and getting type-in traffic, this can reduce your need to spend money on paid search ads and search engine optimization (SEO), which can be costly for competitive niches.
3. Domains are Assets
A Premium Domain Name is An Asset. In many cases, domain names have increased in value over time, and while this is not to be construed as investment advice, many savvy companies continue to acquire premium domain names knowing that it is an asset that they could liquidate if they desired.
4. Brand Building
Premium domain name acquisitions are strategically designed to strengthen the core brand, not replace it. Some business leaders fear that someone offering them a premium domain name is suggesting that they replace their current domain name. Sometimes that makes sense, however, in many cases a domain name can be leveraged for a niche site for the company or in a branding or marketing campaign. If this is you, don’t let the fear of making a big change hold you back from being the envy of your competitors by owning the most desired domain name in your industry.
5. Competitive Advantage
It Keeps Your Competitor From Acquiring It. I have a saying, “A premium domain name only seems costly until you realize your competitor acquired it to use against you.” I am sure this applies to some of you reading this post. You may have had the opportunity to acquire a domain name but you passed it for whatever reason. Then it happened… you saw a competitor using it and thought, “that should be us!”.
6. Increase Revenue
A Premium Domain Name Can Increase Your Revenue. Here is what Dror Efrat, CO-Founder & CEO of Investing.com had to say about upgrading to a Premium Domain Name, “…the most important change we’ve done was… the domain change, moving from ForexPros into Investing.com. It was a very costly event for us… but it was the best move and the best strategic decision we’ve taken. It allowed us now to raise our prices… to get partnerships, and all kinds of cooperation with different companies that we found very hard to do in the past…”
I hope you have found this short list helpful, there are many reasons why premium domain name investments make sense for startups and companies of all sizes. If you have any questions about acquiring (or selling) a premium domain name, please feel free to reach out to me for a no-obligation consultation.
(Special thanks to my colleague Ryan Garey for his input and wordsmithing.)
Originally posted on LinkedIn.
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