The venerable .com TLD and a single word domain are a multiplier that improves nearly every interaction with your business. Establishing trust when someone sends a link (avoiding “this looks like spam”). Communicating your domain name to someone over the phone (try saying ‘dot S O’ to someone who can barely hear you on a land line). Interoperating with old legacy systems (some forms just don’t accept all TLDs). Signaling status to potential customers and employees (“they have the dot com they must be doing well”). Finally, it’s easier to remember off hand since you only need to recall the name not the name plus the TLD.
These micro interactions with your business add up over time. The easier to find you and establish trust, the better your business will be.
Is it worth millions of dollars for a domain name? I’m still doubtful. Paired with the right branding, maybe. Just keep in mind we’ve had Google for decades now and nobody searches by typing in `{name of thing I want}.com` into their browser anymore (yes, people actually used to do this).
See also:
- Most compounding interest benefits occur at the end, a good domain name might not compound the value of your business, but it certainly improves it
- Don’t combine domain name hacks
Links to this note
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Don’t Combine Domain Name Hacks
I see a lot of startups with domain names like
getbarai.coandtrymspledword.iowhich combine multiple domain name hacks. These look untrustworthy, are hard to search, difficult to spell, and long. It’s hard enough to get anyone interested in what you are doing that introducing any friction can cause people to forget about it.