"Why I invested in a premium domain name"
One of our customers, Nico Oud (nico.nl), explains why he chose to purchase a premium domain name.
A domain name from Domeinenbank
In a time where anyone can build a professional website for a couple of euro’s, it is getting harder and harder to distinguish yourself on the internet as a company. Despite the fact that I already had a decent domain name, I still invested in a premium domain name. I’ll share with you my thoughts and motives as to why I did this, and how glad I was the domain name was part of Domeinenbank’s portfolio.
Why did I want a premium domain name?
Before I share my most important motives to invest in a new premium domain name, I want to explain the strategies I employed before I came to this decision.
There are over 40.000 active coaches in the Netherlands, so it is vital to distinguish yourself from the rest. My expertise as a business coach is certainly unique, but you need a lot more than one or two lines of text to convey this to your potential customer. The average website visitor makes up their mind within a fraction of a second – if they don’t immediately like what they see, chances are they will move on to the next.
With this in mind, your domain name matters a lot. If I chose business-coach-nederland.nl, I would lose most of my potential customers within that first second. Nicooud.nl is a slight improvement – I was lucky to register this one, both in .nl and .com, many years ago.
“To distinguish myself from my competitors, and to strengthen my personal brand, I bought the domain name nico.nl from Domeinenbank.nl. It didn’t take long for my investment to pay dividends.”
"Just my first name - that's the domain I wanted"
A first name-last name-domain shows some quality and dedication, but it’s far from unique. A domain name with four, five or six characters is much more memorable. The problem with these short domain names: most of them are already taken. People who see a short domain name, can assume that the owner went through a lot to obtain it. That shows your potential customers you’re taking your business seriously. That’s why I set my sights on the domain name nico.nl.
Next, I’ll tell you three reasons why I bought nico.nl, and what this investment has brought me so far.
1: The first impression is key
How to distinguish yourself from your competitors? How to show you’re the ‘real deal’? You have a fraction of a second to make an (online) impression – a few solid lines of introductory text already is too much to take in. When you look at Google, people are starting to check the domain name to see whether a certain search result is relevant to them.
A long domain name with keywords connected by dashes doesn’t exactly command professionalism and authority. A premium domain name, or a short and unique brand name, make a better first impression. Think about word of mouth: anyone will be able to recount Nico.nl…
2: Search engine performance
A premium domain name performs well in search engines. Not only because of the keyword itself. SEO loves a short and rememberable domain name, because people tend to click on stuff that looks reliable or professional to them.
Considering Click Through Rate weighs in for search engine ranking, this will have positive influence on your position in Google and Bing.
Another positive signal for Google: how much direct traffic your website generates. People who type in your domain name directly, obviously know or remember you. Google loves this. Having a short, catchy premium domain name increases the chance people find your website directly.
3: Branding
Last but not least… branding. Branding is something I personally underestimated for far too long. I created my own logo’s, and that felt good enough. But to distinguish yourself, to show your customers your brand signifies quality, you need something more.
My customers never say “Nico Oud is the guy you need”. When they recommend me, they say “Nico is the guy you need!” When I thought about this, the idea… or dream, to get nico.nl started. Is it still available? Would I be able to buy it? Would the owner ever want to part with it? This is where Domeinenbank came into the picture.
“In order to strengthen my brand, I bought Nico.nl through Domeinenbank.nl. It didn’t take long for my investment to pay dividends. Team Domeinenbank guided me through every step with professional care.”
"People didn't understand why I wanted to do business with a domain name broker"
Nico.nl was not cheap. But to be fair, that only made the domain name seem more interesting and premium to me.
People close to me didn’t understand why I wanted to do business with a domain name broker. I felt there was a lot of resistance there. But I turned it into an opportunity! If the domain name owner was a guy named Nico, he probably would not be so happy to part with ‘his’ domain name. Because Domeinenbank had Nico.nl up for sale for a premium price, I didn’t have to worry about its availability.
Although I had to get used to the idea of spending money for a domain name, I decided it was worth it after weighing the pro’s and cons. And I’m so happy I did!
"An immediate increase in customers"
In hindsight, the investment was worthwhile. The commotion my ‘name change’ caused immediately brought me three new customers. The investment paid for itself after only a couple of weeks.
I don’t keep track anymore, but I am sure this wonderful premium domain name is still bringing customers to me. My search engine listings improved, and my brand is stronger than it ever was.
The transaction went smoothly through Domeinenbank.nl. Their team of professionals guided me through the purchase. It takes trust to pay over a thousand euro’s for a virtual product that you receive after the payment has cleared. Domeinenbank earned my trust, and gave me the peace of mind to go into this transaction without having to worry.
This is how Domeinenbank helped me claim the domain name of my dreams: Nico.nl!
