Domain Name Registration

What is in a name? Everything.

Domain names are highly prized pieces of Intellectual Property. For the history and technological aspects of domain names, please click here.

Domain name prices can range from as little as $20 to register a name from a registrar, to millions of dollars to buy a domain name from a previous owner.

How should a law firm choose a domain name? First, a law firm should register as many domain names as possible that relate to its core business. For example, a law firm should always attempt to register its:

1. Full name <marburymadison.com>;
2. Hyphenated name <marbury-madison.com>;
3. Abbreviated name, <mm.com or mmlaw.com>;
4. Critical practice areas <constitutionallaw.com> or <firstamendmentlawyers.com>; and
5. Any other name that can be registered.

Note that if your firm registers 100 domain names, then the cost might be expensive to maintain these domain names per year. However, most firms should have between 3-5 domain names that they can use to point to there web site.

Why do you need this many domain names? Registering domain names that are similar to your firms names allows your firm to control content on those sites and diminishes the likelihood of a user typing in a mistake.

For instance we have the following domain names that point to the same web site:

lawwebdesign.com  -  lawfirmdesigns.com
lawfirmwebdesigns.com   -  lawyerdesign.com
lawyerwebdesigns.com  -  attorneydesign.com  
attorneydesigns.com  -  attorneywebdesigns.com

While this does not increase our search engine ranking, it does prevent third parties and/or competitors from adopting similar domain names.

Should your law firm register a .net, .org, or other gTLD domain name (.cc, .tv, .ws)? Maybe. Only if the domain name is short and to the point. For example you would not want to register a long version of trademark-law-attorney.com as a .net or .org. However, if estateplanning.net was or laborlaw.org was available, we would recommend registering those domain names immediately.

How much should a domain name cost? It depends. Many small domain registrars promise domain names for $5 to $10. We have found several reliable domain registrars that offer consistent service for a very low price.

Quite simply, register as many domain names as possible that are RELEVANT to your law firm. Once you have registered at least one domain name, then it is time to pick a web designer.