Domains have become the modern equivalent of real estate in today’s highly digitised world. A decade or two ago, good location would be the deciding factor in determining the long-term success rate of a brick-and-mortar business. These days, a well-thought-out domain name has emerged as one of the pivotal factors for a strong online presence. Just to understand its due importance, notice how Open AI acquiring the domain name ‘chat.com’ garnered news headlines across the globe.
Whether you are a seasoned tech entrepreneur, a graduate of one of the online Master of Business Administration programs or a complete newbie in the business world, mastering the art of picking the right domain name would be a great skill to possess.
Simply put, a domain name is the text you write in the search engine to access a particular website. For instance, if you want to access Google’s website, you simply type ‘google.com’. In this case, the domain name is ‘google.com’. To create a website, you will have to purchase a domain name from a registrar. Usually, this can be done through your web hosting provider like Wix or Wordpress.
There are many examples, especially in the early 2000s when the internet was beginning to go mainstream, where businesses were successful mainly by virtue of picking a smart domain name. Businesses built on domains like cars.com and hotels.com transpired to be multi-million dollar buyouts by established tech players.
A well-thought-out domain name can have various benefits like the following;
Customers are more likely to engage with a website that has a professional domain name linking strongly to the core business offering. For instance, government websites ending with .gov are a sign of authenticity.
A domain name is a major focus of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) tactics. A domain name linking with the right keywords and search intent can give a huge boost to website discoverability, visibility and reach. Domains like hotels.com and cars.com banked on this specific benefit.
A short, intuitive and memorable domain name is easier to type, share and remember.
Because of these factors, having a strong domain name and protecting it becomes a matter of paramount importance.
Domain protection refers to plans and tactics that are used to safeguard a domain name from threats such as unauthorised access, theft, expiration, or misuse. To ensure the long-term viability of digital-focused businesses, domain protection becomes an important element.
There are multiple ways in which your domain could be disrupted:
This happens when cybersleuths gain unauthorised access to your domain and use it for fraudulent activities or engage in demanding a ransom. They could also restrict you, the true owner, from gaining administrative access. Famously, Google’s Morocco Domain was hijacked in 2009, where users were redirected to a website displaying anti-Google messages and celebrating the heist.
This can happen when a third party buys a domain with a specific trademark, brand name or corporate name with the intent of selling at a profit. The intent is to disrupt the operations and profit off by pre-empting a specific merger or international expansion. For instance, when India’s Reliance bought out 21st Century Fox’s India assets this year, a young man anticipated the new brand name correctly in advance and asked the conglomerate to pay off his college tuition to gain access to the domain. With more twists to the tale, this is a classic tale of cybersquatting.
Herein. cybercriminals create fake domains similar to yours to deceive your customers or steal sensitive information. The intent is to impersonate a well-known trustable brand and steal sensitive information from the user. In 2017, scammers used a spoofed domain, netflíx.com (note the accent on the "i"), to send phishing emails that mimicked official Netflix communications. The email instructed users to immediately update their payment info or face account deactivation. The ploy worked, with thousands of Netflix subscribers giving their credit cards and other sensitive information to scammers.
While not as devious and destructive as the others, this self-inflicted mistake can prove costly to a business. Domains can expire if they are not renewed on time. This can lead to your domain falling into the hands of your competitors or even cybersquatters. Setting up regular cybersecurity reviews as a standard operating procedure at your business can help nip such issues in the bud.
There are specific strategies that can be implemented to protect your business domain.
Protecting your domain ensures brand continuity and trust. Customers associate a domain name with particular brands. Misuse and spoofing could erode brand trust. Additionally, having robust protection measures would ensure a critical business asset would remain under operational control. This is because a domain name is often the foundation of an organisation’s online presence. Losing control could prove costly. Hence, protecting the domain would be an ideal box to tick for digital-savvy businesses.
