Why Domain Names should be thought of Before registering a company or brand name

in Domain Names Entrepreneurship by Francis Simisim — September 17, 2009 at 12:00 PM | 2 comments

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A long time ago, when we talk about companies and brand names, it was a mix of what really people want their brand to be named after. Some named it after themselves, some with their product or service, and others just a unique brand they have thought of. Today, in the internet dominating era, I’d say we should approach things differently. Internet, whether we like it or not will dominate the world and we’ve got to be able to tap that potential (using domain names) before anyone else does. This article will be an advice to people planning to start a company and are already thinking of names to call their brand...

… Let’s say for example you thought of the name ‘EYXAS” for your company name and it’s available for registration in the Government company names. You spend heavily in advertisements, print ads and a lot on marketing collaterals. Then you thought that you need a website. You go online and check if “EYXAS.COM” is available, and to your disappointment it’s not. So imagine if your advertisements and marketing collateral were able to generate interest online, you’ve wasted hundreds, thousands or millions of potential customers who want to know more about your products and were willing to spend money on it. (See UTube.COM vs. YouTube.COM, where UTube benefited from YouTube’s popularity)

So what should you do to avoid this problem?

– Avoiding the problem is better than paying a huge amount later –

My advice is that you should really go and check domain names along with the company name that you’d like to register. Domain Names are somehow similar to Company names nowadays, you’d need to check on the availability of the domain name and company name and register both if you are going to build a brand. Branding is expensive and you wouldn’t want all your marketing budget going to another company that is doing nothing. If you want to find that domain name for your brand, here’s some tips in how to find the best domain name for your company / brand. I’ve also written some interesting case studies of companies benefiting from a good domain name here.

But what if you’ve already setup your company or brand name, and the domain name is taken?

– Don’t worry there’s still something you can do about it –

Do not panic, there are many ways in approaching this. First of all, Have you got a trademark to the name? If you have you can search for the dispute resolution for the particular domain name (UDRP) and ask for it to be transferred to your company (it does take a long due process and you might have to contest it in court). If you don’t have a trademark, one rule that I’d definitely say everyone should follow before buying a domain name off someone is not to reveal who they are. Why? Well, us domainers, would love to sell to you end users and once we know how much you’re worth or how much you’re able to pay then I’ll be raising my price sky high. What you’d need is to probably ask a middle man to do it for you or reveal less of yourself as we will ask you loads of questions. Go thru parties like Escrow.COM or Sedo.COM to be able to be secure with the domain name being transferred to you. Check out how Candy.COM started.

Similar Technology News:

1. Domain name first then Brand / Product / Service or the other way around? Conflicts of a domainer developer
2. Sky Cable: MySky.COM.PH, bad domain name for a big company
3. Freeway.net.ph – Huge clothing brand with a bad domain
4. What companies should consider when marketing their products or services online with websites, Multiple domain names…
5. Tips in registering a domain name 2.0 / 3.0 with Domain Registrars
6. Domain Name Investment: How far would you invest in domain names? Legality, Principles and Morality

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