Buying multiple domain variations

Posted by BeepStar in The Whole Dot Com Thing on 07 28th, 2008 | one response

If you’ve just found yourself a fine “.com” domain name to promote yourself or your company online, you’re probably wondering if it’s a smart move to expand your purchasing to include multiple domain variations.

Well, you’re not alone asking yourself this question.

Buying up “.net”, “.org”, “.biz”, “.info” and few relevant ccTLDs like “.ca”, “.us”, “.be” and “.co.uk” to accompany the initial “.com” selection makes perfect sense if you intend your business to attract visitors who might be tempted to try either one of those variations.

Furthermore, if you’re not confortable with the idea of having a perfect stranger suddenly building up a web destination on, let’s say, a “.net” variation of your “.com”, it’s imperative that you reserve both, from the very start because either battling the “other guy” in court or trying to buy his domain name could cost a fortune.

Paying a small $8-or-so fee per year to own the variations makes even more sense, in this light!

As a domain name expert and consultant for various companies, I manage portfolios which contain lots of domain name variations which are not only purchased as a precautionary measure but also to address specific market needs.

For instance, one of customers operates a foundation on the “.org” variation of his “.com” name and on the “.net”, he operates a closed-circuit network for his partners, which help build up loyalty to his brand without getting in the way of the “.com” visitors which are typically from the general public.

Furthermore, that particular customer also redirects his “.us”, “.co.uk” and so on suffixes to his “.com” web site, followed by a “/united-states/” or “/united-kingdom/” subdirectory which is designed to market his products to those customer bases. It works like a charm.

If that customer, which grew quite a lot over the last few years, had not reserved all those variations of its name in the major gTLDs and ccTLDs that matter (according to its own criterias), competitors would probably be cashing in on its marketing efforts, comfortably parked at those very addresses.

Of course, a given company can succeed with only one (1) domain name (it’s been done… a lot) but having a few variations to go along with a “.com” doesn’t cost that much more and provides, among other things, for more room to grow.

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