Brand Protection

3 Reasons to Properly Administer Your Domain Name Portfolio

author portrait

June 11, 2014

By jbourne

shutterstock_157028177The Internet is many things to many people, but the one thing it’s not is static. The digital space continually changes in ways that force businesses to adapt quickly or fall behind the competition. A solid domain name portfolio and a dynamic domain name strategy create the environment in which businesses can:

  • maximize their online presence,
  • optimize revenue, and
  • shrink costs

You can identify what’s working, what’s not (and why), and what might still be missing by looking at your existing domain name portfolio and figuring out which domain names are advancing your company’s business goals and/or protecting its brands online.

Here are three reasons to evaluate a domain name portfolio so it adds value to your business:

 

  1. Increase Direct Navigation Traffic to Websites
    You may be missing some key domain names that are intuitive for your audiences that you need to register. Some might be available and easily registered. Third parties might already own others, but a brand owner may win back those containing trademarks through cease-and-desist letters or dispute resolution procedures. Targeting infringing domain names of strategic importance to a company’s brands can result in a high level of recovery success while containing enforcement costs.

shutterstock_170522588

  1. Enhance Brand Positioning and Protection
    Even if you own the right domain names, they may not deliver optimum value because they’re not resolving to the right content. A domain name that resolves to relevant, expected content contributes value to a brand, since it ensures that Internet users ultimately arrive at the content they were seeking in the first place. Internet users who find what they want are more likely to convert to sales and – because they are navigating directly to the domain name rather than clicking on an advertisement for which the company must pay – they are less expensive to acquire.

    On a less tangible level, Internet users who find what they are looking for will have a positive online experience, which helps strengthen a brand’s overall reputation.

    Given the financial risks and costs of combatting a fraudulent third-party or bad actor registration, your company may want to register and maintain a domain name proactively, even if the company has no intention to operate it. While these costs may seem cumbersome, in the long-run your company will benefit from judicious, prudent defensive registrations.
    shutterstock_158506547

  2. Cost Savings and Potential New Revenue Opportunities
    You might have domain names that you don’t need and that won’t pose a big risk in the hands of someone else. You can let those go and save on the maintenance fees. To do this, companies must first determine their tolerance for risk. By cutting domain names, a company can save on renewal fees but leaves itself open to possible infringement. For low-quality or irrelevant domain names, this should not be a big concern.

    These decisions should be made with your legal department’s participation. These unnecessary domain names may even turn into a new source of revenue. Many companies have domain names they can sell for profit to other businesses or individuals who have a vision for the domain name in question.

 

Conclusion: Why Managing Your Domain Name Portfolio Matters

Maintaining a healthy portfolio involves monitoring the evolving online space for developments relevant to your business – including potential new domain names in new generic top-level domains.

So the question stands: Are you where you need to be online?

Share on Social

Author portrait

About jbourne