Why to build a winning, intentional domain name strategy

My neighbor has 3 custom sports cars in his garage but rarely drives them. Does that mean they aren’t valuable? As brokers, we sometimes encounter pushback from companies who truly believe their current premium domain assets don’t have much value. “Our company already has premium domains, and we don’t use them.” Or “The guy before me made a mistake and bought a bunch of unnecessary domains.” *There’s a vital difference between, *“These domains are not valuable,” versus, “We aren’t utilizing these premium domains in a way that leverages their value.” **

If you own valuables and you don’t know why, or you don’t know what to do with them, that’s a red flag.

Avoid the pitfall of assuming they’re less useful than a predecessor dreamt; know that it simply means that your company needs to understand them and build a plan. This confusion indicates that it’s time for your company to re-assess or build a Domain Name Strategy. Particularly after mergers and acquisitions, companies may own a Brady Bunch of premium domain names, acquired with a domain strategy that is different or no longer visible at the new company. It’s important that as assets are combined, premium domain strategy be communicated or re-assessed. And when that doesn’t happen, or when you walk into someone else’s unkempt closet, don’t just leave it to dilapidate more over time.

Consult a domain name broker to build a winning, intentional domain name strategy. Premium domains often pay for themselves in the following ways:

• Shrinking SEO/SEM budgets
• Decreasing marketing spend
• Improved email open rates
• Increased mobile traffic & conversion

Thus, domain name strategy evaluates current spend, page rank, open/conversion rates, and identifies what competitive advantages would assist. Certainly, additional domains grow SEO trust with satellite sites and SEM campaigns. Additionally, if branded email marketing campaigns targeting undecided consumers experience low open rates, then an exact match domain for a generic unbranded term may dramatically increase opens and conversions. Or, if mobile traffic is a struggle for an established company but moving mobile is imperative, a short premium domain may offer a solution.

In addition, branding professionals with vision sometimes acquire premium domain names in anticipation of a particular need. Having “shelf names,” much like shelf companies, leads to more efficient, cost-effective rollout of new brands or products.

Discuss with your internal team- marketing, SEO, and legal- to understand the different facets of your domain name needs. Then, collaborate with a domain name broker to finalize a domain strategy that supports those needs in a cost-effective, forward-thinking manner.