One of the most important parts of your brand from an online marketing point of view is having a good domain for your website. And yet, there are still many people who do not understand exactly what it is or what it means to have your own domain.
In this blog we want to dedicate some time to everything that has to do with the online marketing of your business, especially with regard to your brand as such. We are going to start with the domain, but little by little we will expand this information. If you have questions or comments we can discuss them on social networks, or you can propose topics for other content.
What is a domain name
I'm sure the term is not foreign to you. Your business may even already have a developed website that you access through a domain. But even so, you may not be fully aware of what a domain name is.
If we had to define it in a few words we could say that it is the "license plate" of your website. Just like your car has a license plate that identifies it, or your home has a specific physical address, your website also needs to have a name that defines it.
In reality, your website has other associated license plates that are used at a technical level, but the domain is the most popular license plate, the one that will allow your site to be indexed in Google, and users to access the web. Keep in mind that the real name of your website would be a series of numbers that form the IP of that website, and that will be very difficult for users to remember.
Essential characteristics of a good domain
Precisely because you need users to be able to associate the domain with your business and your brand, there are certain characteristics that you should always keep in mind:
- It should be memorable: A very complicated domain will make users forget it quickly.
- It must have keywords that are important to you: This is one of the main aspects that Google will take into account for indexing. Take advantage of it to position your business with the keywords that can bring you the most traffic.
- It must be related to your brand: Either because the brand name appears in the domain, or because the name of one of your main services or products appears in the domain.
With all of this you will get a domain that is a good "license plate" for your website and that will potentially achieve a good positioning in Google. At the end of the day, the only thing you buy when you purchase a domain is the right to be indexed in search engines and a name that represents your website.
From an online marketing point of view, a good domain name is much more valuable. It not only serves as a license plate, it will also be related to your online reputation, your emails, linkbuilding... And in all these areas you need a good domain that covers all your needs.
Types of domains
If we go a little deeper on a technical level, you will discover that there are many types of domains. According to their different characteristics we would discover many more different types than you may believe a priori.
The two main groups on which we have to focus our attention are:
- gTLD: The gTLD domains are the "generic Top Level Domains". That is to say, those that are not associated to any specific country: for example, .com or .org. They are designed for a global geographic segmentation, although they can be oriented through Search Console, and are associated with an international prestige.
- ccTLD: This type of domain (country code Top-Level Domains) is one that is associated with a local geographic segmentation, such as .es, .it or .fr, for example. Geographically they are the easiest to position, since they give local information to Google, although in some countries there are very strict regulations to obtain them.
Choosing the type of domain between a generic and a local one is not only a question of the type of positioning we are looking for: local or global. You must also consider that the cost is not the same for all domains.
In this market, supply and demand are not directly related to cost. Each country has its own situation, and in many occasions a .com domain has a lower cost than a geolocalized one, being the global one more important for prestige and recognition. In addition, the implications associated with each type of domain also have to be studied with regard to the online marketing strategy to be followed.
Why you need to register your domain NOW
With everything we have seen so far you already know that the domain of your website is important. But how does it relate to the registration of your trademark and how important is it?
You have to be aware that registering a domain, whatever type it is, does not imply in any way that your trademark is registered. Your commercial name is not going to have any kind of protection just because you have the same domain name. If you want to register your trademark as such, please contact us for more information.
On the other hand, keep in mind that if your trademark is not registered but your domain name is, there may come a time when someone else registers the trademark and you cannot use it anymore. In this case you would have a domain with a name that you will not be able to use for anything else.
Likewise, it is important to know that having a registered trademark does not necessarily give you privileges over a specific domain. If you register a trademark and someone else already has that domain, they are not obliged to give it to you, except for those major domain managers who often specify it by contract giving preference over trademarks to those who have it registered under certain circumstances.
Therefore, having a registered trademark and an appropriate domain name for that trademark is indispensable for a good presentation of your business online. Planning all these aspects from the very beginning will avoid problems in the future and will allow you to move forward in your business with firm steps.
