"The value of a good domain name has been underscored during this pandemic."

Are there any notable trends in keywords used for domain names you can distinguish? For example in e-commerce?

“There is hardly an industry that reflects trends as well as the domain industry. What is relevant in the world currently can be immediately found as a registered domain (and possibly later on the secondary market). So as soon as topics like e.g. medical cannabis (CBD) or cryptocurrencies surface as popular trends, there is then a huge demand around domains with these keywords. It is therefore important for entrepreneurs starting businesses in these burgeoning areas to secure the appropriate domains as soon as possible. Start-ups tend to secure domains that sound as unique as possible in order to stand out from the crowd. For example, they seek keywords without vowels (twttr.com) or so-called domain hacks (instagr.am). But once they've achieved success, even these brands go for the domains that are less prone to typos and easier to find. It may sound mundane at first, but for e-commerce companies there is no one trend to follow, instead there's a general rule to keep in mind. The emphasis on this has only increased in the last decade and it is to stand out you will need a unique, short, descriptive and memorable domain that is not prone to typos.”

.com is the biggest and most sought-after top level domain worldwide. Is the position of this gTLD unchallenged and will .com remain the market leader in years to come?

“As a marketplace for already registered domains, Sedo primarily targets business customers worldwide. Last year, a large number of customers expanded and completed their domain portfolios, particularly in the area of country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs) as part of their international expansion goals. The focus here was on the respective brand and product names. In terms of top sales, numerous ccTLDs and ngTLDs (new generic top-level domains) experienced a strong upswing, as the majority of top sales in these categories were keyword domains, such as bier.de, pirate.io, and store.app. Even though ccTLD and ngTLD sales have greatly increased in importance, it is essential for global e-commerce companies to have the appropriate .com address. The market for keyword domains under the .com extension continued its upward trend last year, with Sedo reporting a sales growth of 26% in 2020.”

Do you feel businesses are sufficiently aware of the value of their domain name portfolios?

“Last year, mostly triggered by the pandemic, numerous companies demonstrated very clearly how important a meaningful and concise domain is for the exploding e-commerce business. Consequently, the willingness of many companies to invest more in good domain names compared to the past also increased. In particular the digital occupation of geographical areas by appropriate ccTLDs as well as the market penetration by correlated product and category domains took a larger position with marketing investments. The mere fact that the market competitors can no longer occupy the corresponding term in the long term led to a shift from performance to asset spending for many companies. A company domain alone is no longer enough to thrive in different markets and categories worldwide.”

What would you advise a business looking to improve its domain name portfolio to do?

“We recommend starting with the basics, namely with the guiding principle "Your domain is your home". This means that a business cannot be formed from a Facebook or Instagram profile, but it needs a solid domain as its main presence on the internet. Because that's where all users, prospects and business partners should be directed to utilise a business's services and products. Then the optimisation can take place from two points of view: marketing and security.”

What does that mean from a marketing perspective?

“The easiest and most sustainable way to generate traffic and leads is to use short and generic domains. In addition, the domain portfolio should preferably include the company's brand as well as corresponding services in the most important domain extensions and also ideally in the appropriate languages to support their potential international web presence. Participating in conferences and trade fairs is still an important marketing tool, especially for B2B companies. When trade show visitors walk by your booth, they should see your domain almost instantaneously and be able to remember it well. For example, a commercial cleaning company can be found under clean.de. This domain corresponds perfectly with this business type. However, when passers-by see rheinandshine.de, a customer does not immediately know what is behind it. Not to mention that there are umpteen variations on how to type this phrase in your browser window. If you are unsure, just test out your domain ideas among your friends and family.”

Finally: security is becoming more and more of an issue for companies operating online. How can domain names help businesses improve trust?

“For companies, the topic of security is particularly important, because partners expect integrity and trust to establish long-term business relationships. The domain – and with it the corresponding e-mail address – is a business's figurehead. With it, you either make a good impression or a bad one. For example, if you have a domain that consists of two terms, make sure you own both the hyphenated and non-hyphenated versions. A spam e-mail with a sender address that does not contain the hyphen or differs only by one letter (e.g. alando.com instead of zalando.com) can immediately cause harm, both financially and in terms of your reputation.”