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A domain name cannot hurt your business. This might be the opinion of many, but in fact, it is not necessarily correct. In reality there are two ways in which people will be encouraged to visit your website. The first is a result of direct knowledge, for example, they have found it from your promotional material, in which case it is used for direct entry into your site. However, the second method is more random, namely being access resulting from Internet searching. It is in this latter method that, because of the lack of thought and consideration given to the choice of name, it can actually damage the new business. Damage in this context should be taken to mean either that it will portray your business as something that it is not, nor does it desire to be associated with, or that it limits the promotional potential of the business.

To illustrate this point, I will provide five examples where domain names can damage your business.

1. Using business names.

Many businesses have a tendency to use their business name as the basis for their domain address. Whilst for large and well recognised organisations, such as SKY. CNN and other similar sized organisations this might be an appropriate approach, because they are well recognised outside of the internet, the same rule does not apply to smaller and less well known businesses. Take for example the case of Joan Freda Kirkpatrick who, for the sake of this example, is a florist. This lady decides to build a website to promote her business, called JFK, online. She registers the domain name of JFK. What will happen when people go online to search for her business? The answer is that it will be lost behind hundreds of pages listing websites relating to the late John F. Kennedy. Similarly, if people are searching online for a plumber one has to consider the likelihood of a business that has registered the business name of Arthur Brown being found. Business names, certainly when they do not indicated the type of product or service offered, can be harmful in that they do not indicate the type of product or service. What is worse is that, because of this situation, consumer's attention will be drawn to other retailers whose sites fit more closely with the search words used. Thus, you will loss valuable custom.

2. Passing off

Many people registering domain names believe that it is a clever move to purchase one that could be mistakenly identified as that belonging to a well-known corporation. However, this could be seen to be passing

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