What is a domain name?
Simply, a domain name is a digital address “digital real estate”, where a website or resource is
located, it can provide many benefits, and it’s yours as long as you continue to renew it every year.
A domain name is paired with the numeric IP address (such as 111.11.111.11) of the web server
where information is located.
Instead of having to remember that IP address, you can enter DaShop.Tech into your web browser
and the DNS (Domain Name System) looks up and serves the content associated with the domain
name.
You see domain names every day. And without them, finding and visiting websites would be
impossible.
Examples of domain names
- Booking.com
- BuyCar.com
- PayPal.com
- Amazon.com
- Jobs.net
- Help.org
Parts of a domain name
A domain name consists of a few parts:
- The TLD (top-level domain) sometimes referred to as the extension (e.g. “.com”).
- The SLD (second-level domain) which is the combination of letters and/or numbers to the left
of the dot, and which generally corresponds to the brand or company name (e.g. “Booking”
Booking.com). These are the words within the domain. - The third-level domain “www” or “login” — which is optional.
- Any number of fourth- or higher-level domain names, which are not typically used.
Examples of top-level domain names
There are many top-level domains (TLDs). Which are the letters to the right of the dot. And here
are a few examples:
.com
.net
.edu
.gov
.org
Those are very known TLDs, and they represent the original, most common, industry standard
extensions.
Examples of new generic top level domains
.online
.news
.life
.school
.club
All you need to know is that those extensions are exist too, and they may have great potential, as they allow
for some interesting creativity when it comes to branding.
Why you will need a domain name
There are many reasons why people need a good domain name.
- Build a professional website for yourself or your business.
- Create a personal or professional blog.
- Professional Email address.
- Monetize your content.
- Sell your domain name or website as a project.
Owning domain name
There are generally two ways to “own” a domain name: buy and lease.
- Buy: If you are buying a .com domain name from a registrar like GoDaddy.com,
NameCheap.com or Name.com, you’re most likely to be “buying” it for between $5 and $10.
“Buying” is in quotes because you’re not really buying the domain name; instead, you’re buying
a license to use that domain name per the registrar’s terms and conditions from Verisign
(the registry of the .com TLD) for the period you continue to pay your yearly renewals. - Lease: Only a very small fraction of domain names are leased per year (maybe one tenth of
one percent… maybe not even that many), and it generally happens for high value (greater than $10,000) domain names from an individual party to a business (who can afford to make payments).
You’ll see terms like “$200 per month for 24 months, with an option to renew/renegotiate at
that point” or similar.
Then you will know it’s a lease as it won’t be as clear as buying it for $10 at GoDaddy.com.
When you register or purchase a domain name from someone else, the domain name is yours as
long as these few things continue to happen:
- You pay your renewal fees every year (or you can renew for up to 10 years)
- Your domain name and activities associated with your domain name don’t interfere with
trademarks of other companies, which can lead to a UDRP or law suit. - Your domain name and associated activities don’t do illegal activities as per the governments,
which will cause them to be seized for investigation or prosecution.
You have the right to resell or lease your domain name for an agreeable price between you as a
seller and the buyer if the following statements are true: - You are the registrant of that domain name.
- You have a direct relationship with the registrar.
- The registrar’s service agreement doesn’t prevent you from selling the domain names.
The value of the brand
What does a domain name have to do with branding? “EVERYTHING”
You are probably wondering why those three logos are being shown to you. It’s a little experiment
on the power of branding.
We bet that you can not only name the brand these logos represent, but also guess all three of their
domain names just by looking at their logo. Right?
Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Mercedes.com (which forwards to Mercedes-Benz.com). That gives
you have a sense of just how important it is to go about your branding the right way.
Every day we are bombarded by branding. There are some wizard-like marketing techniques being
applied to our psyche by these mega-corporations. When we see a brand, we immediately know if
it is valuable or not.
We also immediately make assumptions about a brand’s online presence. When you hear the
brand name Walmart, where do you think you’d find their products online? Walmart.com, of
course. Why? Because that is the digital address that makes the most sense. It is what potential
customers expect. It’s that simple.
If I told you to go to the Mercedes website to check out their new truck, you’d most likely type
Mercedes.com into your browser, even if you didn’t know whether or not the company owned the
domain name.
That, my friend, is power. You can now begin to understand how important branding is, and how
even more important is to own the exact domain name of your brand.
Unfortunately, this happens way too often when people will step over dollars to pick up pennies.
You may be able to buy the .biz for a lot cheaper than the .com, but that is what you will always be
perceived as a cheap knockoff.
In the long run, the money you saved on the domain name will not exceed the potential revenue
lost as customers pass over your business.
Remember you are in full control of the perception of your brand, make sure to make the right
choice. The future of your business depends on it.
