What’s in a (Domain) name?
You should never let go of an old domain name, even if your business changes names, or the project you needed it for ends, or you register a better one. Here’s why.
Sometimes you end up with more than one domain name – you change your business name, you retire the product or project that uses it, or you find a new domain name that suits your business better. In these cases, you can have your cake and eat it too. And you should.
1 You don’t have to
A lot of people don’t know that you can point a former domain name to your new website. The process to do this is quick, and most webmasters should be able to do it for you in 15 minutes to a half hour if provided all the necessary log in information. It doesn’t matter if you have rebranded, the old brand domain name will point to your new brand and once there, people will see your new website name and address.
2 It’s cheap
Once the domain is pointed, the cost to keep it registered is about $20/a year or less. If you get even one good customer a year from keeping the old domain name, it’s easily worth it.
3 Don’t waste the links and reputation you’ve built online
People who have your old business card, or who click on a link to an old article you published a long time ago will be able to still use those old links to reach your new website. Web traffic and links can be slow to build and establish credibility for your organization, and are invaluable don’t waste them.
4 People may use it to make you look bad
I had a client who had two variations on their domain name, a dot com and a dot ca. When they switched over to the .com domain they let the .ca domain lapse. A year later, they discovered that someone had used their old domain name to publish a site that pretended to be them, which mocked and disrespected their brand. There was nothing they could do about it because the new owner had bought the lapsed domain legally. More benignly but potentially even more damaging, a competitor could point your old domain name to their website, to steal your name and traffic.
My advice?
If a domain name has been in use for several years, it has gained value and domain authority. Preserve that value by keeping it registered and point it to your freshest content, even if your branding or focus of business has changed.
Need advice on your website or strategy? Give me a call. 604-813-7674 or email
Sophia Kelly is a highly experienced WordPress website developer based in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Photo by Ross Findon on Unsplash