It Is Recommended to Register Multiple Domain Names for A Website – 2024 Realities

Back in the early 2000s, it is recommended to register multiple domain names for a website. Did the many changes in how websites become prominent online also affect this marketing strategy in 2024? Let’s find out if this remains true…or false.

True or False: It is recommended to register multiple domain names for a website for online visibility

Domain name registrars like Register.Com, DotEasy.Com, and Domains.Google highly recommend having more than one domain name for a commercial website. The common reason these registrars advise this is the accessibility it provides a commercial website to the general public, especially its intended customers or clients.

By accessibility, they pertain to being visible to more people online through multiple domain names that direct to one website. Having multiple domain names, they say, helps businesses avoid their websites from being missed out due to human errors, such as misspelled or typographical errors, or similar-sounding competitor domains. Other reasons are customization, branding, and promotions. Let me discuss these last three reasons in more detail.

1. Customization

The existence of new top-level domain names according to the type of business such as .photography are good opportunities to customize your online presence and make it easier to remember your domain name.

In addition, top-level domain names could also be country-specific, such as .US for the United States, which experts suggest help create a sense of ownership and affiliation for clients in the said country.

This is on top of registering your business for each of the common types of top-level domain names such as .com, .net, and .biz. Having one domain name for each suffix ensures all searches for your company online gets directed to your website just in case your customer forgets it.

You may also customize your domain name according to how people may perceive your business identity or products. Using words that describe your business when registering your domain name reduces the chance of competition online.

Overall, registering for each of the above instances or examples helps a business target a particular group of people without having to change your website for each particular group.

2. Branding

Branding is another reason it is recommended to register multiple domain names for your website. setting up a marketing campaign for your product would also entail you incorporating it into your website beginning with your domain name. Set up your domain name in such a way that people can easily identify it with your product or service.

Should your product or very business undergo a change in identity with a change in its branding, maintaining the registration of the old domain name with your new domain name is a must. This is meant to avoid losing old clients and opportunities online.

3. Promotions

Registering a domain name for a particular product or service promotion is also recommended by these domain name registrars. The promotional domain name will still go to your website but to a particular section or page in it containing information on it. The domain name will be maintained alongside your other domain names even after the promotion has expired. This is because some people affiliate with your brand based from a promotion and may find it easier to remember your website through it.

How does buying or registering multiple domain names for a website work?

Registering domain names is easy since most web hosting services provide this in their annual package. They also provide multiple-domain name registration for an added fee. What normally happens is each domain name you registered will be redirected to your main domain name or the domain name you initially registered. Since it is redirected to the main domain name, it will all lead to your one website.

This marketing strategy, however, may not work for all types of businesses. Let’s discuss this more.

Is it wise for a new business to register multiple domain names for a website?

It is normal for businesses to give focus to their marketing plans, which may include registering multiple domain names for their website. This enthusiasm is fueled by the possibility of earning more through sales resulting from their lined-up marketing program.

When it comes to having multiple domain names, a big consideration for new businesses would be the cost of maintaining all these. Building your brand online also entails having a consistent domain name indicated in all your communications and marketing paraphernalia. It would come out confusing for potential clients of a new business if there are too many domain names to remember.

Thus, this is one of the downsides of having multiple domain names for new businesses. It may not help build your brand at the onset. Another downside is the cost of maintaining multiple domain names when your investment for one hasn’t been fully realized.

Of course, domain name registrars would insist it would be worth the investment basically since they are saying this out of self-interest. This is their business, after all, registering domain names for businesses.

New businesses would be better off starting things simple by just registering one domain name until such a time they have established their presence both offline and online.

Does having or buying multiple domain names for a website aid SEO?

In addition to the aforementioned downsides to having multiple domain names, there is also the aspect of search engine optimization that needs to be looked into. Moz.Com explains that domain names play an important role in a new business’ success when it comes to search engine optimization.

The organization points to two main factors one should consider when it comes to domain names. Accordingly, a domain name’s memorability and brand-ability help in keeping its ranking higher during Google searches.

1. Memorability

Memorability will affect the scale of a domain name’s readability by search engines. A recommended length is 15 characters that are purely letters so that it is easy to recall, type, or say. Domain names that are easy to say are important for word-of-mouth advertising. Using characters that are too long will make it difficult to remember and may become inconvenient when it is typed by users.

2. Brand-ability

Adding a keyword about your brand to the domain name that is also easy to remember is a big plus for your online branding and search engine optimization. Thus, it is a must to avoid numbers, hyphens, and using non-top-level domain names. Other factors that affect SEO include changing your domain name and using country-specific domain names for international searches.

Meanwhile, LockedownSEO contests the need of registering multiple domain names for your website. The company says that current statistics show that the decades-old strategy of multiple-domain name strategy does not help businesses online when it comes to SEO. The algorithms used by Google and other search engines nowadays do not look at a domain name to rank a website’s visibility but more at its actual contents.

This, LockedownSEO says, does not affect your website’s ranking despite having multiple domain name redirects. It would be more useful to have multiple domain names if they respectively point to a particular product’s page or website in addition to the main one you have.

In A Nutshell

Having multiple domain names for a website may not work for all. It is best recommended for companies with a vast product line or an already established business and stream of income. It is still best recommended that new businesses start simply by maintaining one domain name for their website.

FAQs

Does multiple-domain name marketing work for all?

No. This works best for companies with an established brand and business. New businesses are best to register one domain name on the onset so they could build their online presence and establish their online identity first.

Will registering multiple-domain names affect my website’s Google ranking?

No. Google and other search engines have different factors and use ever-changing algorithms in determining which ranks highest among websites during searches. ImpactPlus.Com says that there are 200 factors used by Google’s search algorithm in ranking websites. In formulating a memorable and brand-associating domain name, what actually helps a website rank high in searches is the use of SEO tactics. Statistics say that 75% of marketers testify that SEO tactics are most effective in the success of a company’s marketing goals online and offline.