As part of our series on the new domain name extensions, we’ve put together a list of questions to ask yourself about positioning and marketing your names. Simply pull out the points relevant to your situation to kick-start your planning and strategy. Follow up on answering each question by asking yourself ‘why?’, so you can be fully confident in the decisions you’re making.

Have you developed a strategy for deciding on and organising potential new extensions? (If not, you may find this post useful: Which new domain name extensions should you be buying?).

Buying a new name for an established website

• Will you be redirecting the existing domain name or the new one?
• Will you be using one name exclusively, or Name A in certain situations and Name B in others?
• If the latter, which name will have the primary focus, and in which situations?
• If the former, are you phasing out old mentions of your name slowly or doing a straight, immediate replacement? (This will probably depend on how permanent each instance of your name is, for example a business card vs. a shop sign).
• Will a new name require a rebrand or repositioning of your company? (If you missed our quick guide to rebranding, check it out here).
• How will you inform your customers, suppliers and other contacts about your name change?
• Will you be organising a marketing campaign? If so, what will that involve and what kind of budget are you looking at?

Buying a new name for a new website

• Have you planned out your new website project, including timescales?
• Have you checked the availability of the domain name in existing extensions?
• What type of name are you going for (brandable, generic, creative, authority-establishing?)
• How many names are you planning to register per website?
• Is it a name that ticks all the boxes? (Take a look at our domain name tips page for advice on registering good names).

General considerations

• Have you checked the availability of social media usernames? If not, try our 360 Name Finder.
• Will you be tracking the sources of your visitors? If so, how?
• If you’re buying domain names to sell on, have you developed a plan for contacting/selling?
• Have you got a second/third opinion on the names from someone you trust?
• How multi-purpose are your names?
• Can you imagine still using your name in five years’ time? How about ten?

We’ve got plenty more posts lined up for helping you get to grips with the new domain name extensions, so keep checking our blog for the latest tips and announcements as they come in.