Domain Name Similarity in the Global Marketplace

Ever typed in a domain name and been taken to a completely different company website because you forgot to add the .au? Conversely, out of habit, have you accidentally typed in the .au when none is needed and found yourself transported to a different website?

Business Names Go Global

It has become more of a hazard recently that similarly named companies around the world are registering domain names with very minor differences, such as the geographic identifier. Suddenly, it is possible for a customer who was searching for your website to become snared by your competition, especially if your domain name is descriptive of your products or services, and therefore an obvious phrase for duplication elsewhere.

Some large businesses predicted this global confusion early on and began a practice of purchasing their domain name in each global territory in order to protect their brand.

To illustrate the problem, a recent client discovered that their business name was already registered in various international domains, including the most popular .com. This meant that, although she was free to register the .com.au variant, there would be a risk of her potential customers accidentally finding their way to the .com site or any of the other variations.

Misdirected Search Engine Traffic

This problem becomes even more obvious when we think about the customers who will type a business name into a search engine in order to find your link. In this case, her business was listed as one of many similarly named links worldwide, and not the highest ranking one either.  If any of those websites could answer the customer query or offer a similar product, she risked losing a sale.

If all this wasn’t bad enough, if a customer doesn’t realise that they have landed on another business site, they can become confused and this can affect their perception of your business.

Choose an Individual Business Name or Domain

Choosing a business name can be hard enough, but with more and more businesses expanding online, it is becoming inevitable to factor in global domains into your business name decision right at the very beginning.

If you already have a business name and have recently discovered competing domain names when expanding your business online, it can make sense to register a domain name that strikes a sufficient difference to your competition. Instead of only using your business name, choose a phrase such as yourbusinessonline for your internet presence and domain, as, once you promote this new title in your marketing material, visitors are less likely to be taken elsewhere by a typing mistake.

Geographic Keywords Filter Out the Competition

It can also be crucial to run an effective geographical keyword strategy, optimising your website and domain name for keyword searches within your geographical area. This can ensure search engines rank your link more prominently if the potential customer is in the same country or area, reducing the risk of them being misled by a similar domain in Canada or New Zealand.

It may not be possible to avoid some domain name confusion for your customers if there are other similar business names out there, but by recognising the issue, it may be possible to use strategies that reduce the risk.