There are several different myths about domain names out there. Which ones are true and which are false?
If you read domaining blogs and forums on a regular basis then you will come across dozens of different myths regarding domains. Some of these are in correlation with new top-level extensions, which were introduced back in 2013. While many of the myths you come across online are indeed true, that isn’t the case for all of them. In the following blog post, we’re going to expose 6 of the biggest domain myths which have been floating around the web.
1. Social Network Profiles are more noteworthy than Domains – One common claim is that social network profiles are starting to become more popular than their domain counterparts. Yet, experience shows that internet users like to use social media and websites simultaneously, without a preference for one over the other. An effective example of bringing these two mediums together is by linking to your website from your social media profile. By doing so, potential customers will be able to receive information that cannot be displayed on your social media profile page. In doing this, the website retains its worth. In some cases, frequently visited social media profiles cause a proportionate increase in traffic to your website, increasing its value and potential sales in the process.
2. New TLDs give you the best chances at effective marketing – New top level domains are comprised of around 2,000 different extensions, which started to be introduced in 2013. Through these, the nTLD ending spectrum has increased drastically. Endings like .NYC and .SHOP were created to give the user a better understanding of what product or service is going to be offered on a website. This can be very practical and Google does not handle these new endings differently than other extensions such as .com or .org. Due to this, the search results will still be in correlation to the characters in front of the extension.
3. Good Domains are expensive – Some domain names are more popular than others and can therefor be traded for higher amounts. However, one can never be certain which new start-ups will make a big splash on the scene or which new trends will take off in viral videos. Therefor, you should also consider investing in domains which do not necessarily get their value from affiliated companies or their corresponding products. Even though it can be a question of luck (as well as knowledge of certain trends), inexpensive domains can also translate into real gold mines.
4. New Top-Level-Domains are rarely used – Most large companies are especially known under their .com extension. However, several companies (including some of those large businesses) are also branching out and extending their reach with various new TLDs. The new top level domains are being used in 235 countries and are by roughly 365 domain registrars. Overall, there are 23 million new domains with over 1,200 extensions. With this amount of circulation, talk of how the usage of new TLDs is rare is obviously false.
5. .COM is losing its significance – Some domainers believe the .com extension is on the decline. But, can that really be true? The .com domain extension is still the world’s most used domain and still the extension most prefer to own. Shares are being lost by the fact that the new top-level domains are on the rise. However, this is a natural process and doesn’t actually threaten the .com extension.
6. A separate domain is needed for every one of my target audiences – It’s never a bad idea to buy a domain name with a matching extension for each country you plan to target. But is this actually necessary? If that were the case then in Germany one would own their desired domain with a .DE ending while owning the same domain with an .NL ending to target the Netherlands, but this isn’t really a useful strategy. Instead, you can work with subfolders or subcategories under the main web address. For example, looking at furniture giant IKEA, the visitor always visits the company’s main website via the domain ikea.com. The country-specific content will then be in subfolders such as ikea.com/se/ where the user will be automatically redirected based on which country they are connecting from.
