Retained Domain: For business owners who are new to the domain name game it’s important to know that they will expire if you don’t renew them. This is because you are essentially leasing the web address for a period of between one and 10 years and the lease will expire without renewal. This may not sound too inconvenient, but in reality losing your web address to expiry is incredibly detrimental to your brand!

Here, we will talk about the importance of web address renewal as a healthy reminder not to let your web address go a business with a similar brand:

Why Are Domain Names Important? 

Business domain names are essential elements of your brand. They are often the first impression that customers will experience with your brand and therefore they have to make an awesome impression. A captivatingly succinct extension makes it easy to visit your website which, resultantly, increases web traffic and drives conversions.

What’s more, search engines like Google find it easier to rank websites with awesome extensions because they can easily index them for ranking purposes. The combination of credibility and captivation is why you need a great extension that will keep drawing in the customers for years to come!

The Pitfalls Of Losing Your Extension 

Losing your extension is losing an essential branding element that can be difficult to regain. Your extension is the gateway to your website and customers must be able to easily locate it with the consistency of you having the same extension throughout your business’s lifespan.

Absolutely anyone will be able to purchase your extension if you lose it to expiry. There are three main potential pitfalls to this happening:

  1. A competitor picks up your old extension and uses it to smear your brand or redirect the page to their website;
  2. A company with similar branding picks up your old extension and confuses potential customers, and;
  3. A random person picks up your extension and uses it for nefarious deeds.

People want expired extensions, especially if you’ve built up a successful site that draws plenty of traffic. They are incredibly valuable commodities that people with the know-how will pick up and use for their own gain.

Furthermore, websites can malfunction if their extension expires. This won’t only have a disastrous impact on your brand but will also negatively affect your company’s SEO.

Finally, having to pick up a brand new extension means you will have to build all that branding once again. It’s important to know that your extension isn’t just a minor element of your branding but it actually plays an integral role in how customers perceive your business. Therefore, the last thing you want is to lose all that trust and credibility because you lost your extension.

Tips To Retain Your Domain

We know we have been pretty alarmist throughout this blog, but don’t fear, as there are numerous things you can do to ensure you retain your web address:

  • Keep web address renewal reminders on. You will receive emails that remind you that your extension is on its way to expiry;
  • You can have your extensions set to automatic renewal and this will ensure that you don’t miss any reminders or even have to worry about expiry;
  • Ensure that your billing information and payment options are updated with your domain name host. This way you won’t find yourself losing the extension if, for example, your business credit card expires.

So, you really don’t have to worry, especially as you have these handy hints to ensure that you keep your extension and build an awesome site through it!