5 Reasons You Might Need More Than One Domain
Every savvy entrepreneur knows choosing a website domain is one of the crucial early decisions for their business. The right domain does not only impact your visibility and memorability but also your reputation. Besides, it has a strong influence on marketing and advertising strategies.
When it comes to purchasing a domain, a very common question every business owner considers is whether they need more than one domain. In maximum cases, an additional domain is a wise choice, and here are the reasons why:
1. Smart Way to Search Engine Optimization
Many brands use the multiple-domain strategy to dominate and rank better on search engine result pages (SERPs). With the right keyword strategy, they successfully occupy more than one place on the result page.
Keyword relevance plays a substantial role in Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Multiple domains allow you to rank for a broader range of keywords, thus increasing the likelihood of users accessing your website.
An effective way to implement this strategy is by creating multiple microsites with unique content that fills your audience’s needs. However, this strategy is not as instant and simple as it sounds. It is a long-term commitment that requires serious planning.
2. Troubles with Brand Poaching
Most consumers pay little attention to spelling and mistakes, especially when putting URLs into browsers. Crafty competitors inadvertently take advantage of this confusion. In such circumstances, having related or similar domain names help to protect a brand from the evils of poaching.
Moreover, holding a trademark doesn’t give you the domain name or prevent others from buying domain names that include your trademark. Such problems arise when a business decides to rebrand. In situations like these, it is preferable to have domains for both the old and the new names to get customers to the correct webpage.
3. Stepping into New Markets
Businesses thrive with their consumer base, especially if it expands geographically. Purchasing multiple domains can aid your brand in expanding globally and attracting customers from all over the world.
To meet the standards of international SEO, online stores invest in country-specific TLDs that lead the users to their primary site. For instance, if an attire store based in New York City wants to sell its products in Europe and Canada, it will add NYCAttireStore.co.uk and NYCAttireStore.ca to its primary domain.
However, the process doesn’t conclude at this stage. Owning more than one domain requires a frequent check on its value through a domain appraisal service. This kind of service does not only measure a domain’s worth but also compares it against similar names.
4. Effective Advertising and Special Promotional Offers
Acquiring multiple domains for promotional purposes has become a new effective approach to generating brand buzz. You simply have to register a new domain related to the event, create a landing page for advertising, and drive traffic to that page.
However, it is vital to remember that if you purchase a domain for a temporary product or service promotion, disable that domain once the promotions end. Also, hide the landing page, and update the sitemap to prevent saturating SERP with outdated pages.
5. Handling Website Traffic
Handling a website’s traffic or directing it to a specific section is not difficult if you have multiple domains. The most employed and effective tactic is to use a descriptive domain with a URL that is easy to remember and points to a particular page on your site.
In addition, selecting the right domain names can also help you funnel the user traffic to your main website. You only have to pick variant spellings and creative keywords for each domain and have all of them redirect to your primary site.
What Additional Domains Can You Purchase?
Now that it is clear that one domain name is not sufficient, the concern arises about what additional domains one should consider purchasing.
- The most crucial additional domain to purchase is the one with alternative spellings to protect against user error and brand confusion. For instance, if your business name is Baker’s Donuts, you should also consider purchasing bakersdoughnuts.com besides bakersdonuts.com.
- You should consider owning other common domain extensions besides your core domain. There are over a thousand extensions to choose from, but you don’t need all of them. If your main website is a .com, consider purchasing .co, .net, .org, etc.
The options are not limited to the suggestions mentioned above. For many businesses, the newer alternative top-level domains (TLDs) serve as a great way to own a memorable domain that closely fits their brand name.
Remember That
Before buying multiple domains, it is necessary to consider what purpose they will serve for you. There are several reasons to own several domains, including marketing strategies, SEO boost, and legal considerations.
Whatever your goals are, the key is always to have a clear action plan for each one. With a good strategy, you’ll be well-equipped to make maximum out of these multiple domains.