Secure your .CA domain…before someone else does

Picture this: you Google your business, only to discover a bunch of websites with slightly different domain names. 

Some of the domain names might even be the same as yours, but have different TLDs, or top-level-domains, like .com, .net or .org.  

Why is this happening? Because you might not have secured all the right domain names for your business. And if you don’t secure them…someone else will.  

But know that it happens to the best of us and—in most cases—can be fixed and even avoided altogether with a little proactive planning.  

Here, we’ll walk you through four easy ways to start protecting your online brand. 

An unsecured domain leads to a close call  

Just ask our friends at BetaKit about securing domains. They’re an online news outlet that covers the latest and greatest Canadian tech start-ups. 

Initially, they opted to secure a .com domain (betakit.com). This would later come back to haunt them when, one day, they typed in “betakit.ca” and were taken to a newsletter signup for a different outlet.  

The nerve! The cheek!   

But luckily, this cautionary tale has a happy ending: BetaKit was eventually able to recover their .CA domain name with a friendly note to the current registrar, and all was well in their world.  

But keep in mind—things won’t always resolve as tidily. 

Not securing your domain name can come at a cost  

Look—your domain name is often people’s first point of contact between you and your business. It’s the centrepiece of your brand’s online identity, tells people what your business is all about and can help instill a sense of trust and credibility.  

So, why wouldn’t you want to protect that precious name at all costs?  

Electric car manufacturer Tesla paid around $11 million in 2016 to secure the domain, tesla.com from its previous owner, who, funnily enough, was using it for a Nikola Tesla fan page.  

Google got off relatively cheap, however, paying a cool $6,006.13 to buy back google.com after it accidentally went unrenewed and was snapped up by someone else.  

Point being—if you aren’t proactive about securing your domain names, your brand could be easily co-opted (and abused) by others—including competitors, domain squatters, etc.,—and create all sorts of confusion and mistrust among your customers.  

So, now, let’s explore what you can do to easily protect your brand online.  

Four easy ways to start protecting your brand now:

1. Register your domain—now: if you have a great idea for your domain name, then the last thing you should do is wait. Register it sooner rather than later! Even if you don’t have a website yet, or just have a business idea, it’s still a good idea to register the domain name to protect it from being registered by someone else. 

2. Claim common variations of your domain name: let’s say your domain name is “muybuenotacos.ca.” A good move would be to claim the most common variations and even misspellings of that name, like “mybuenotacos.ca,” “muybientacos.ca.” or “buenotaco.ca.”  

Think of this like building a solid defensive “perimeter” that can greatly lower the risk of would-be taco restaurant impersonators diluting, infringing on and damaging your brand. 

3. Register the .CA AND .com versions of your domain name: in addition to variations on your .CA domain, you should also claim the .com version of your domain name, if possible. Again, it’s all about limiting the chance of your brand being co-opted. 

4. Register domains for your products: another, sometimes-overlooked way to protect your brand is by registering domains for specific products that your business sells—especially if you have distinctive names for those products.  
 
Let’s say, for example, that your business, “luxloafers.ca” sells handmade dress shoes. You might consider registering a separate domain for your most popular line of footwear—the “wunderloafer.”  
 
This not only helps people more easily find your products, but it signals that your loafers are the authentic originals.  

Ah, but aren’t multiple domain registrations expensive? In most cases—surprisingly not! If anything, claiming all these domains is like having cheap insurance, especially if you consider the not-so-pretty alternatives.  

Remember: With a little diligence and proactive domain registering, you give yourself the peace-of-mind that your brand is protected, along with the space to confidently take that brand to new heights!  

While you’re here, be sure to read more about how having multiple domains can do wonders for any digital marketing strategy.  

And—of course—we can’t talk domain registrations without helping you search for your dream domain in the first place! Use our domain search tool below to start protecting your brand today!