Domain strategy
See also: domain planning
Domain strategy is the plan for which web addresses a brand will own and use: the primary domain, defensive registrations, and the fallbacks used when the exact match is unavailable. It runs alongside naming rather than after it.
In practice
Treating domains as a post-decision detail is how teams fall in love with a name they cannot use. Candidate domains are developed and checked while the shortlist is still forming, so availability is a factor in the decision rather than a problem discovered afterwards.
Google gives the strategy its first fixed point: it has said it treats new generic extensions like .com and does not use keywords in the ending as a ranking signal. So the choice of extension is a brand decision, not an SEO one. What remains to decide is which endings the brand will accept, which variants it registers to protect itself, and who owns them. If a third party holds the exact match in bad faith, the UDRP exists as a route to recover it where a trademark predates the registration.
In a naming project, two things go wrong. The team checks the .com for the final favourite only, then settles for a prefix or a hyphen under deadline pressure. Or nobody decides who may register what, and the domain ends up on a freelancer's personal account. We write the acceptable extensions into the brief before candidates exist, check the shortlist against them and treat a taken exact match as information about the name.
Where this sits in the process
The studio treats this as part of a single run rather than a separate service: the category is read, the creative direction is chosen from what the research found, candidates are generated in volume and then cut against criteria that were written down first. See how the studio works for what that produces, or the naming module for the stages themselves.
Related concepts
- Exact match domain: The address people guess without being told.
- Domain squatting: When a domain matching your brand is already taken by someone with no use for it: what squatting is and what recourse exists.
- Shortlist: What separates a shortlist from a longlist: not length, but the evidence attached to every survivor.
Further reading
- Do you still need a .com? Domains and brand names: How much a .com still matters, which extensions work as alternatives, and what the domain ending does for your brand and for search. A position, not a list.
Frequently asked questions
What is a domain strategy?
A domain strategy is the plan for which web addresses a brand owns and uses. It covers the primary domain, the extensions it accepts, defensive registrations and what to do when the exact match is taken.
When should I check domain availability for a business name?
Check while the shortlist is still forming, before anyone has fallen for a name. Availability then shapes the decision. Finding out after the logo and deck exist leaves you to compromise or rename.
Which domain extensions should a startup register?
Register the one you will use as your primary address and any obvious variants that stop others from using a near copy, such as common misspellings. The right set depends on your markets and budget, so decide it in the naming brief.
What if the .com for my name is taken?
Check whether the owner is using it. If it is parked, an approach through a broker may work, and where a trademark predates the registration and the registration was made in bad faith, a dispute procedure exists. Often the cleaner route is a different name.
Sources
- [1]Google's handling of new top level domains— Google Search Central Blog
- [2]Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy— ICANN