Securing a website domain name that matches a business name or campaign is an obvious step in developing a brand, yet too many wait to register that domain. In the realm of domain name registration, nothing good comes from waiting. The minute you decide on a business name is when you should register that domain name, even if you decide on a different name later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To illustrate this, please find two real tales of domain name woe:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

1. Client A<\/strong> is a local hospitality business with decades of history running a successful inn and restaurant. They were developing their own rebranding and their new domain name would be incredibly important for this campaign. Unfortunately, one of the owners believed that domain registrars, such as Godaddy, worked with hackers by monitoring searches of prospective domain names, so that they could buy those names first and extort you later. I cautioned him that this was not true, but he delayed registering his domain name for months. By that time, a small hunting lodge in Nova Scotia had already registered the domain two weeks earlier. The client NEVER got that perfect domain name. <\/li>
2. Client B<\/strong> is an economic develop organization whom we were developing a new website and messaging. We defined a domain name that clearly established their location, mission and matched their website identity. The client did not register the domain name right away. Without registering their domain name, they began talking up their efforts to local and regional organizations. They were using the new messaging and assets developed for the website. Someone who attended one of these talks liked our ideas and ended up registering that domain before our client.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

   Lessons Learned:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

   • If a business name is good enough to consider using then you should register the domain name right away.<\/li>
   • It is okay to own multiple domain names that you don\u2019t use. You can always not renew the ones you don\u2019t need at a later date.<\/li>
   • Don\u2019t assume your domain name idea is that unique. Someone else will also think of it and register it before you do.<\/li>
   • You should NEVER<\/em> go public with your new business name or campaign without first registering the domain name.<\/li>
   • Your domain name is a valuable asset for your organization; Treat it as such.<\/li>
   • Seek advice from your marketing consultant or developer who are used to dealing with domain name matters.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

     Over the years we have seen our share of website rebranding and domain name missteps around the Internet and even with some of our clients. But the rebranding launch of Major League Baseball\u2019s Cleveland Indians to the Cleveland Guardians may just take the cake. After months of diligence to secure intellectual property rights for their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2018,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[14,37,31,38],"class_list":["post-2017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-branding","tag-dont-do-this","tag-insight","tag-website"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n