Location: In Traffic
“Location, location, location…”
Those three words instantly convey what entire books could expand upon. At this stage in consumer/market education, most of us immediately grasp these concepts without extended research or education in real estate investment. “Location” guides and overarches all real estate decision-making, options for capitalization on an investment, and even ease of future resale if we do invest. During the days when fires in the hearth kept every house warm, it was common for children’s clothes to catch on fire and panic, usually running for help. An organized campaign was created, catchy and memorable, to teach, “Stop, drop and roll.” It had a significant impact.
It makes me wonder, was there a time prior to “location, location, location” when most consumers didn’t understand that location was the pivotal guide to capitalizing on an investment? Premium domains are the new real estate of today, but with many corporate marketing and branding professionals not yet understanding how to capitalize on them. Advance yourself, your brand, and your career by understanding how to use premium domains as premium property.
I need to discuss the domain I own!
Brand Recognition + Generic Credibility = More Brand Recognition
Most companies own multiple brands. On top of that, marketing agencies utilize multiple approaches to target various consumer audiences. For consumers who are undecided or unfamiliar with your brand, a two-fold approach is more valuable than just pushing brand recognition alone. Brand recognition efforts are vital. For maximum effectiveness, combine them with efforts to grow credibility for consumers who are unfamiliar with your brand or undecided.
Look at Russian Standard Vodka’s $3 million acquisition of premium domain Vodka.com. Furthermore, look at the timing: the Russian company was 1 year into their first foray into the lucrative US market. For three straight years since, with US growth rates at 56.5%, the brand received honors and awards for understanding and achieving consumer appeal.
Acquiring the premium domain name was an integral part of this success. As a startup, Mint.com credited their investment in a premium domain as a primary factor that enabled their brand recognition up to the 15 million users they now report.
Now, premium domain names don’t exclusively add value for startups or an unknown brand entering international markets. Barnes & Noble owns Books.com, attracting curious book lovers. Bank of America surely closes millions more of sales on their premium domain Loans.com… What can a premium domain attract for your location:
Memorable, easy to spell, therefore easy to share. If within budget, also short enough to share in places that limit characters.
Investing in a billboard has no value if a consumer can’t remember the brand when done driving. Or if they can’t spell your brand and wind up at a competitor’s site… That seems quite obvious, right? But we see so many major brands as well as small businesses make this mistake with their domain portfolio strategy. Your brand name doesn’t have to be the same as your domain name, but a premium domain name will add value to your brand either way.
Esteemed Brand Protection company Fairwinds offers a strong article about the importance of owning what consumers, internal employees, and partners may assume is your domain name. Microsoft has conducted multiple studies showing that premium domains can result in greater conversion in search engine results.
Understand how exact match domains drive revenue and decrease ad budgets as well. Mobile traffic and m-commerce, areas where uber short and memorable premium domains are proven kings, are positively exploding in new markets, internationally and in the US. Don’t leave your brand in the dust – build premium domain names into your mobile strategy too.