In an ever-changing domain landscape, business owners are challenged to develop a domain name strategy that is both search engine friendly and protects your brand.

Start out by purchasing one killer domain name with key words that will get you listed higher on search engines.  Always choose a .com.  

Next, develop a great website and promote your brand through a variety of marketing efforts. But don’t stop there! 

Go the extra mile and take some basic steps to secure your brand. Avoid the risk of others profiting from your hard work, stealing your web traffic and diluting or harming your brand.

Make sure there is a clear connection between your domain name and your website. Domains that are too generic make this difficult. For example: PetsToys.com is better than PetsWeb.net.

Find domain names that are catchy, short, and easy to spell and say. Pronounce the domain three times aloud. Does it sound natural? Imagine yourself telling a potential customer about your website. 

Is your domain easy to convey and remember?

If your domain name is an exact match of a search keyword, your website will likely appear near the top of those results, which can help your site get valuable traffic. Consider the most popular and relevant keyword searches for your business and see if they are available as domain names. 

A .com is the most popular domain extension. Others that are well known and can deliver value are .net and .org (.org is best for organizations or associations).  

Protect your brand and increase your reach by securing multiple names. This gives you multiple opportunities to get search engine traffic. These additional domains can either be redirected to your main website or simply held as a marketing strategy. 

Consider your competition and whether you want to buy all the extensions for your domain name. If you sell products to an international market, consider country code domains too.  

Here are 4 steps to help you secure your brand (beyond the domain): 

1. Apply for a trademark. This will prevent others from simply stealing your name.
2. Purchase alternatives to your domain (.net, .org, etc.) and variations of the domain that are related to your brand.
3. Create related domain names that fall into two major categories: misspellings of your original name and also close variations of the core concept or keywords that describe what you do.
4. In addition to securing domain names, ensure that your brand is protected on the social media front. Anyone can register any name on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn (the main sites you need to be on). Your brand could be at risk unless you act to secure your presence in the social world now.