Half of small businesses unhappy with domain name
Has your small business been stuck with some lame Web domain name because someone has already staked a claim?
It definitely isn't alone, according to a new national survey by Wakefield Research conducted on behalf of the organization behind the ".co" moniker.
Close to half of the 500 businesses responding to the survey said they had tried at least one other name before "settling" on the one they currently use for their Web identity. Slightly more than that (55 percent) indicated that they believe they have lost business as a result, while 52 percent would change their current name if they could.
The research anticipates a flood of new extensions that will become available over the next year, aside from the ones you might already know: .org, .com, .biz and so forth.
In the future, your company will need to sort through a whole slew of additional choices, such as those particular to a specific location (such as .nyc) or those that describe some value proposition of your business (such as .green).
"Small business owners who understand the distinctions among the different domain extensions, and can make the most informed choices, will be best positioned to survive and thrive online," said Lori Anne Wardi, co-founder and vice president at .CO.
Is it time to rethink your Web identity?