Should a local business buy a separate domain name for every product or brand they carry?

It would seem like a simple question. For most retailers this would be impractical if not impossible.

There are times when having multiple domain names is a really good idea.

If you are the creator/manufacturer/owner of a brand or product then by all means you should have that domain name for those items. Even if it means you own a lot of names.

Owning the domain name doesn’t mean you actually have to build the site–although you might want to. What it does do for  is prevent someone else from scooping up the website and stealing visitors. Whether it is a competitor or just someone looking to benefit from your marketing, you don’t want to lose that internet traffic.

Case in point, recently on the television show Shark Tank some entrepreneurs were encouraged to change the name of their product. Now, I disagreed with the advice they were given, but that is a different story. What was the real travesty was that they got all this great publicity from the television show–but never bought the domain name. Instead a couple other people did and got a lot of free traffic! Fortunately for these entrepreneurs the websites had no relation to their business at all so it was clear to anyone who landed there that there was a mistake.

You love your existing site and just want to create a new page for your product–that’s fine, but still plunk down the few dollars it will take to secure the name. Then have your webmaster redirect the new domain to point wherever you want it to…your existing home page, a new product page, whatever. You keep all the traffic and all your marketing efforts are for your benefit.

With a little planning your website doesn’t have to tank.