Brand Name vs. Business Name vs. Domain Name

Your domain name is one of the vital factors that determine your brand success online. Wrongly chosen, it can tank other brand-building efforts, such as improving SEO or customer experience. However, making the right choice isn’t as easy as it seems. Most experts recommend matching your brand or business name to your domain name. While this works, there are several factors to consider — the availability of the business domain name, brand-ability, memorability, etc.

You’ve decided to expand your business online or probably just came up with an amazing business idea. Excitedly, you rush online to register your domain using your initial business or brand name, only to find out it’s already taken by someone else.

We get it. Nothing can be more frustrating than building a brand from scratch only to discover someone else using your identity online. Global brands such as Netflix, Coca-Cola, Apple, and Ford (including your competitors, most likely) have consistent branding. So, it’s only natural that you want the same for your business.

So, what can you do if your business domain name is already taken? Is it really compulsory to use your business/brand name in your domain? If you’re having difficulties making the right choice, you’re in the right place!

In this article, you’ll learn the major differences between business, brand, and domain names and their unique use cases. You’ll also learn how to align your brand or business name with your domain (even if they differ). Let’s get right to it!

What is a brand name?

A brand name is a unique name used to identify a company, product, or service. It is primarily for marketing and branding purposes since it establishes an emotional connection with customers.

Brand names are often used to communicate your business offerings to customers and help them understand why (and how) your business is relevant.

The best brand names are usually memorable, concise, meaningful, and scalable. It can be your name, e.g., Henry Ford, invented, e.g., YouTube, or an acronym, e.g., BMW, etc.

Next…

What is a business name?

A business name is the officially registered name of your company. It’s primarily for legal and regulatory purposes, as it acts as the legal identifier of your business. The name appears on your legal documents like Government forms, invoices, contracts, etc.

Your business name can be your full name (if you operate as a sole proprietorship) or be unique (if you operate as a Limited Liability Company). It helps to clarify your business purpose and differentiate your brands, especially  if you sell a variety of products.

Just like a good brand name, the right business name is easy to spell, memorize, and pronounce. For example, Apple Company Inc., Alphabet Inc., etc.

Lastly…

What is a domain name?

A domain name is the digital address of your business. Think of your website as your house; users need your domain name (the address) to find you online.

Compared to a business and brand name, a domain name doesn’t necessarily have to be used for legal purposes except if it matches them.

It directly impacts your SEO and how customers perceive your brand online. The best domain names are usually memorable, short, brandable, and scalable.

Should your domain name be different from your brand or business name?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to whether your domain name should differ from your business or brand name.

It can be entirely different or similar, depending on the availability of the domain, its brandability, memorability, etc.  

It’s popularly believed that your business name should align with your domain name. However, you’ll find here some globally-known companies whose business name is entirely different from the brand and domain names:  

Google

Domain name: google.com

Brand name: Google

Business name: Alphabet Inc.  

Facebook

Domain name: facebook.com

Brand name: Facebook 

Business name: Meta Platforms, Inc  

Mailchimp

Domain name: mailchimp.com

Brand name: Mailchimp

Business name: Rocket Science Group

So…

When should your business name and domain name match?

You have a well-known brand:

If you’ve already built a brand offline and are just looking to establish your online presence, it’s advisable to match your domain with your business/brand name.

This is because it:

• Allows you to dominate the result pages for branded key phrases. For example, a user looking to order a McDonald’s burger will search for ‘McDonald’s burger near me’
• Makes it easier for your current and potential customers to find you online
• Establishes and strengthens your brand credibility and authoritativeness online

Your business name is short:

If your business name is short, brandable, easy to spell, and passes the radio test, it’s the best choice for your domain name.

The best-performing domains are usually concise, memorable, and easy to spell and pronounce. This induces brand recall, fostering an enjoyable customer experience.

You intend to market your business as a whole:

If your business website serves as the major site for all your business offerings and is not focused on a specific product or service, then you should align your business name with your domain. This aids cohesion and makes it easy for users to find your brand online.  

You plan to expand in the future:

In addition, if you plan to expand your business offerings or increase the number of regions you’re targeting, having a coherent business name and domain name allows for a smoother transition. It also helps you avoid experiencing rebranding issues in the long-rub.

When should your business and domain name not match? 

Your business has several websites:

In a case where your business manages multiple websites, each with its own distinct product line, service, or brand, it might be strategic to have unique domain names that align with the branding of each site.

This allows for targeted marketing and helps customers easily differentiate between your business’s various facets.

Your business name is not brandable

If your business name is lengthy, hard to spell or pronounce, and contains foreign words, it’s better to opt for a different domain name.

For example, consider the business name ‘Marc Hollerith Edwards Printing Press LLC.’

While this is perfect for a business name, it’s too long and complex for a domain name. Users may not understand how to correctly spell Marc as it can be mistaken for Mark since they have the same pronunciation.

As we highlighted earlier, the best-performing domains are:

• Succinct
• Memorable
• Short and easy to spell
• Void of special characters

Therefore, choose a simpler, concise, and memorable domain to help your customers find you online without going through difficulties.

How important is matching your domain name with your business/brand name?

Having a consistent brand identity across all platforms (including offline) is essential for establishing a robust and memorable brand presence. It helps customers recognize your brand, reduces cognitive load, and makes it easier for them to find you online.

For instance, imagine a coffee shop named ‘Brew Haven.’

Customers who want to order online will likely type ‘brewhaven.com’ into the search bar. If this business maintains consistent branding online and offline, it’ll be easy for customers to find them and even recommend them to their network.

A coherent brand-domain name, therefore, facilitates brand recall, boosts customer experience, and establishes trust and loyalty.

Other benefits are:

Improved SEO and Online Visibility:

Aligning your domain name with your business name makes it easier for you to rank for branded keywords.

Using the example cited above, when your customers search for your brand online, they’re likely using search queries like ‘brew haven location’ or ‘brew haven coffee prices.’

If your brand name matches your domain name, search engines are more likely to recognize the relevance of your website to these queries, increasing your rankings on the search results.  

You can leverage this opportunity to rank for unbranded keywords like best coffee shop in Ohio, best coffee shop in the US, etc. This, in turn, boosts your website visibility and organic traffic.

Social Trust and Credibility:

Having a domain that mirrors your brand makes it easy for customers to share your services on their social pages or engage with your brand on social media. They are also more likely to trust your business for transactions, creating a positive user experience.

Let’s assume you run a plumbing service in Ohio called Job Plumbing Services.

When customers want to connect on social media or recommend your services, they’ll likely search for ‘Jobs Plumbing’ or ‘Jobs Plumbing Services.’

If you’re using a different name, for instance, ‘Plumber in Ohio,’ there might be a disconnection. Customers familiar with ‘Jobs Plumbing’ may not immediately recognize or associate the alternative with your brand. This affects your discoverability and social media credibility and raises suspicions in your customer’s mind.

Aligning your brand with your domain name fosters a recognizable, cohesive social media presence. It enhances your discoverability and builds your credibility on social media platforms.  

Improved user experience:

Aligning your domain name to your brand name doesn’t only improves your social credibility but also boosts user experience.

Users who search for you online intuitively expect to be directed to your website. If a different brand pops up for your specific name or experiences difficulty finding you, they might consider your competitors.

Lastly…

Scalability:

Do you plan to expand your business in the future?

If yes, having an aligned brand and domain name provides flexibility to expand your business to other regions since customers are already familiar with your brand.

Owning your business’s brand and domain name protects you from trademarks or legal issues in the new markets.

What should you do if your business name domain isn’t available?

Here are some tips to help you get started:

1. Register your business name using an alternative extension 

Whenever a domain name is taken, it’s usually the .com extension.

Luckily, there are several alternative top-level domains (TLDs), like .co, .net, .net, .biz, etc., to use. Though they don’t have a global appeal like the .com TLD, they still offer an excellent opportunity to retain your business name as your domain.  

You can be creative by combining your domain name with industry, e.g., ‘jobparker.plumbing, or location, e.g., ‘jobplumbing.ohio.’ Some TLDs are for reserved for specific purposes, e.g., .edu is strictly for educational sites.  

2. Modify the domain name.

If you insist on retaining the .com TLD, consider modifying your business name.

There are several ways to do this:

• Adding a prefix or suffix to your business name to register for the .com extension. This can be adding ‘the’ to the beginning of your domain or your business location at the end of the domain. E.g., thejobplumbing.com or jobplumbingohio.com
• Use hyphens to separate the words, for example, Merriam-Webster.com. However, this is not advisable and should only be used in extreme cases when other options are exhausted. If used at all, keep it to the barest minimum to prevent your customers from making mistakes when typing your name in the search bar.
• If your name is too long or is native, consider using abbreviations or acronyms for your brand name. A good example is BMW (the full name is Bavarian Engine Works).
• Use synonyms. E.g., if ‘ecosolutions.com’ is taken, it can be modified to ‘greensolutions.com.’ This retains the initial meaning of the name while offering the flexibility of owning the .com domain.

3. Contact the current owner

If you can’t find the right alternative, why don’t you buy the domain name?

Yes, it’s possible. Most domains that are taken may be currently inactive, which is a good opportunity for you to finally own it. Here’s how.

Firstly, visit the domain. You might see it’s up for sale from a listing page or hosting site. Or, you might get an error message that the site can’t be accessed.

If you experience any of these two scenarios, it indicates that the domain is up for grabs because the current owner is probably not using it.

Look up the domain on WHOIS.com to find all the information about the domain, including the webmaster’s contact details. In case the details are protected, you need to find the owner’s contact email address to negotiate the domain’s sale.

If you still can’t find it, contact a domain broker to help you reach the owner for inquiries, although this can be costly.

4. Include keywords

Adding keywords to your domain name not only presents an opportunity to retain your business domain name but also allows you to rank for your industry keywords.

In addition, it enhances user experience as customers will find it easy to understand what your business is all about.

This example from Benjamin Franklin Plumbing Services immediately tells users that the business is focused on delivering plumbing services only:

5. Use ccTLDs:

If you’re targeting a specific region, why not consider using the ccTLD of the country?

Country code TLDs (ccTLDs) may not be as popular as the .com TLD but help you retain your brand name and build relevance and credibility within the region. It shows specificity and commitment to serving customers within that area and provides an excellent opportunity for hyper-targeting localized marketing.

But before using a ccTLD domain extension, familiarize yourself with the local regulations to ensure you’re fully compliant. This prevents you from legal or regulatory issues that may eventually arise in the future.

Also, consider your target market. How do they perceive the domain extension? The .com domain, for instance, is more preferred in the US than the .us domain. But in Germany, users prefer the .de domain to the .com alternative. So, do your research before making a choice.

If all options are exhausted…

6. Consider expired domains:

Expired domains are the diamonds of the internet.

They have incredible ranking potential, high domain authority, and a robust online profile that can give you an unmatched competitive edge.

Why should you consider them?

If chosen right, expired domains can be your ticket to dominating the result pages in a fraction of the time it takes for a brand-new domain. They have built credibility and authoritativeness over time and, as a result, have a high rankability score.

Fortunately, you’ll find various keyword-related expired domains that help you stand out amidst the competition. So, instead of building or finding a new domain from scratch, you can leverage expired domains to skyrocket your success online.

Read more on how to choose the right expired domain for your business.

Conclusion

You don’t have to have it all figured out from the onset.

Facebook started as ‘thefacebook.com’ before acquiring the real ‘facebook.com’ domain.

List your choices and analyze them based on the strategies we recommended above.

However, if you opt for an expired domain, we’ve made things easier. We compiled a list of best-performing expired domains, ranking them based on vital metrics – page authority(PA), domain authority (DA), the archive birth year (ABY), price, and many more.