CO is a new domain that was re-branded and released for public registration in the summer of 2010. Originally the ccTLD for Columbia, .CO is being marketed to represent a company, corporation, or commercially focused endeavor and has proved to be highly popular.
.MOBI is dedicated to mobile websites and with mobile surfing growing rapidly, it is smart to protect the .MOBI extension. While advances in smart phone technology allow for regular .COM or .CA websites to be displayed, .MOBI websites is guaranteed to be mobile compliant.
For more information about other domain extensions, read my previous post Domain Name 101 – What Do the Various Domain Extensions Mean?
5. Protecting Intellectual Property
A company’s goodwill and reputation are tied to its name. The importance of protecting your name(s) from the competition or cybersquatters who aim to profit from your goodwill must not be overlooked.
Create a list of your company name(s), trademarks and brand names or product names. These are the most basic intellectual property assets a company has. You need to ensure all of these names are protected in every key extension you have decided on.
6. Variations on your Intellectual Property
Misspellings - If your domain name is easily misspelled or mistyped - for example, a common typo of www.webnames.ca is www.webmanes.ca - register the misspelling and save your visitors time by redirecting it to your homepage. I will have a future post dedicated to the topic of “Typosquatting.”
Hyphenated names - Don't forget to register the hyphenated and non-hyphenated versions of your name in at least the .CA and .COM.
Hyphenated names - Don't forget to register the hyphenated and non-hyphenated versions of your name in at least the .CA and .COM.
Plural/singular - In applicable cases remember the plural and singular versions of your trademarks and brands.
Negative variations - Consider protective registrations too. If you're in a cutthroat industry, susceptible to negative publicity or angry customers, register negative variations such aswww.yourcompanynamesucks.ca/.com/.org, etc. Check outwww.icbcsucks.com as an example of an angry client who has registered this name.
Transposing multiple words – If your name contains multiple words, make sure you register the transposed variations, for examplewww.spaserenity.com and www.serenityspa.com.