How many domain names do I need to register for my business?

Answer: Yes it usually is.

An organization came to me some time ago after reading an article in the Wall Street Journal asking me to register 400 domain names for them. I asked them why and their response really stunned me.

They were afraid that if they did not snap up every variation of their organizations name including .net and .orgs that other nefarious domain snatchers would swoop in, buy the names, and hold them for ransom. Wow. This was fear based thinking at it's worst... and I guess I shouldn't have been surprised.

Many organizations try to 'cover' themselves by buying multiple domains. Now given the fact that domains are pretty cheap to purchase it's not such a big financial deal, but the stress of these decisions have been palpable in these conversations! So relax, buy the .com domain that makes most sense for your business and build a captivating website.

And yes only procure a dot com. Regarless of how you print and say your website when your customer goes to type in your address they are programmed to type in your address with a .com on the end. That's just the way it is. We see .coms as the gold standard for bigger companies and that's what we remember. Don't fight human nature.

Also, if you think about how much effort goes into developing and promoting just one domain you see very quickly that you will not have the time to develop another. Also as you publish your website address both online and on paper you will be working with one domain. Give a customer 2 domains and they get confused. Confused customers don't buy. Buying other related domains will only pile up your virtual domain real estate that you will never use.

The Exceptions: Yes there are some cases where buying similar domains makes great sense:

Common typos: If your domain is BostonLabelPrinting.com make sure you buy the typicaly misspelled version BostonLablePrinting.com

You have the letter ''i" in your domain: If your domain is CImassage.com make sure you buy Clmassage.com (look close... one is an L the other is an i)

You have two words in your domain: If you were to buy templatemonster.com make sure you buy monstertemplate.com (yes this real company was smart and bought both). People will forget which word comes first.

You have a really long company name: If your business name is TheCompleteWebsite.com, buy TCwebsite.com for a short address to give out. This company (mine) uses this approach and I can't tell you how many clients told me they were happy to not have to type the long verision.

How do you find a great domain? You think they are all taken? No way. It helps to have the right tool to research domain names (we offer and use it). It tells you on the fly is a domain is available which allows your ideas to flow quickly and know instantly if a domain is available.

If you do buy a 2nd domain you can cheaply have it pointed to your main domain (for less than $50/year) so whichever website a visitor goes to they will end up on the right site... yours.

So relax, grab a beverage, and find your one great domain that you will focus on.

Pete

Pete's business: WordPress Web Design in NH and Online Magazine Publishing

Places to register domains:

GoDaddy (cheap, lots of advertising to wade through)

Network Solutions (expensive, biggest in the business)

If you really want in depth information check out Wikipedia