Would it Benefit Me to Buy Other Domains?

We are often asked by clients whether additional domains would benefit their website and/or SEO.
 
For example, say you run a motel in Auckland and your website is "www.imaginarymotel.com" but you also wonder about registering "www.imaginarymotel.co.nz", or even "http://auckland.imaginarymotel.com".

Answer?

There are only ever 3 reasons to register additional domains.

1. To protect your brand. In other words, stop someone else like a competitor from getting to it first. Alternatively, your company name might be easily misspelled and you want to catch those users who mistype it.
(Side note: If protecting your brand is your main concern, you should also register social media accounts under your company name ASAP, even if you don’t plan on posting anything just yet. Use Namechk as a handy tool to find out whether your brand name is available across multiple platforms.)

2. To assist with advertising – a different domain might be easier to remember or more relevant for promotional material, such as a campaign poster. You should redirect such traffic to a relevant landing page.

3. You are renaming your company - and require your domain to match (for more details, see the final question below).

Will extra domains help with my SEO?

The short answer here is no.

It is important that you don't have 2 or more domains displaying the same website as this is duplicate content and has a negative impact on search engine optimisation. Instead, the content should sit on one domain and any additional domains redirect to it.

What’s better: .co.nz, .nz, .co, .kiwi or .com?

Personally I think choosing domains has become a little too much like shopping for birthday cards – there are far too many options!

If you are targeting an international audience then .com is recommended. If your audience is within New Zealand, then opt for .co.nz, as that is what most web users are comfortable with.

If you can afford to, register all the common versions and redirect them to your website.

Can I move my website to a new domain?

Yes, but it should be for good reasons and done carefully so that it doesn't harm your SEO.

When switching domains, it is important for search rankings that you follow a strict process as recommended by Google - so the move should be entrusted to your web company who know what they are doing.

A great example from one of our own clients is Marlborough Tour Company who were formerly known as Marlborough Travel. Their website domain changed from www.marlboroughtravel.co.nz to www.marlboroughtourcompany.co.nz to match their new brand.

We would normally not recommend moving your domain for SEO reasons alone - so ask your SEO consultant before making such a decision.

Got further questions?

Leave a comment below or get in touch with Tomahawk's marketing team.