Role and Value of Global Domains

The Internet is an intangible world, one in which goods; services and information are easily purchased and disseminated. What will separate the successful company from the rest? Brand name and product reach. Extending a company’s branding strategy to international domain names is a critical step to an organization’s international online marketing success.

Marketing Value

Improved Performance in Local Search Engines

Localized domain names can positively impact a company’s web site and e-commerce performance in country specific search engines. Most local search engines only showcase locally relevant content by filtering the search results to include local country-code domains only. Having a local domain helps to ensure your web site appears in local search engines.

Brand Awareness

Locally branded domain names further increase brand awareness, domain name recall and ultimately brand sales and loyalty. For instance, www.dell.fr (which is in French) is much easier for the French online users to remember and transact business through than, say, www.dell.com/countries/europe/france (especially if the .com site is entirely in English). Having local and consistent use of a brand name in corporate global communication and marketing is crucial to overall business success.

International Presence

Localized domain names convey to the local online audience that the content on the web site is regionally relevant. They convey a local presence, which is a key ingredient to international online marketing strategies. Registering domains is the first step in corporate Global 1-to-1 online marketing strategies that cater to local languages, content, and customs.

Intellectual Property

By registering domain names in local countries, companies avoid potential brand name dilution and trademark infringement on the Internet. Unlike the “traditional” trademark environment, which requires continuous global surveillance, registering a trademark as a domain virtually eliminates the need to have continual monitoring. Once a domain is registered in any particular country, others are inhibited from using that domain name in that country.

Unfortunately, many companies are still relying on international trademark law to protect their brand names from being registered as domain names by third parties. This has resulted in thousands of instances of domain names being registered by competitors, cybersquatters or other companies with the same or a similar name. In a well publicized international court case, America Online (AOL) lost a trademark infringement lawsuit against a Brazilian ISP competitor with a trade name America On Line. The Brazilian America On Line has been marketing their services under the domain www.AOL.com.br. All of these instances could have been prevented had the companies registered their domain names in the country code domains.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does registering international domains increase the effectiveness of my online marketing efforts?

Registering international domains allows “local” search engines that focus on country specific content to pick up your domain and web/e-commerce site in their searches. For example, in Denmark the leading search engine is Jubii.dk, and in the France the second most popular search engine is Nomade.fr. Both of these search engines focus on content that is specifically marketed to their home countries. For this reason, companies without local domains may fail to reach consumers or businesses searching for “local” content and business products/services.

Our trademark is already registered in the .com domain. Aren’t we protected?

While a company may be protected in the .com domain, a company brand name / trademark is still vulnerable in foreign country domains. Many countries like the United States, UK, Switzerland and Russia assign domain name solely on a ‘first come, first serve’ basis without regard to brand names and trademarks ownership. Consequently, in these country domains where local presence, tax ID number, or proof of registered trademark is not required, a company's brand name / trademark is highly vulnerable.

Why does our brand name/trademark need to be registered as a domain name on the Internet?

The Internet is the worldwide communications medium of the future. To effectively market your products and services to the international audience, one of the keys will be to leverage your brand to extend your marketing capabilities. An important part of leveraging your brand in foreign Internet markets is first to protect it from being used by others. Registering the local domain is also the best way to protect against unauthorized use of your name. Secondly, marketing to a worldwide audience involves using as many outlets as possible to reach your clients. Local search engines are a clear way to reach more potential clients by leveraging a local domain.

Why should we register our domain name now?

Some companies do not entertain the thought of registering international domains until they find out their brand is being used by a third party. By that time, the cost to recover the domain, either through legal action or private buyback, far exceeds the cost of being proactive and registering the domain first. An excellent example illustrating this point is a recent international court case involving America Online (AOL) and its imitator, a Brazilian ISP doing business as America On Line, over the use of domain www.aol.com.br. The Sao Paolo courts ruled in favor of the local ISP citing that the country’s ‘first come, first serve’ domain allocation policy presides over AOL trademark infringement arguments.

Why should we register domain names in many countries when our business is mostly domestic?

The Internet has eliminated many traditional barriers in international business. As the move to the digital economy accelerates, domestic companies are facing competition from around the globe. Companies are forced to compete globally whether they choose to or not. This increasingly more competitive environment dictates that marketing reach is crucial to a company’s success. Local domain names can help increase a company’s competitive position in the international market.

Couldn’t we have our distributors and VARs register our domain names?

Yes, a company could opt to register international domains themselves or through their distributor/VAR network. There are also potential conflicts from competitive Distributors/VARs in the same country over the right to the branded domain. Moreover, centralized control over the domains, ensuring consistency in the international online communication throughout the world, is essential.