This guide explains how to choose a domain name that fits your business. Choosing one used to be simple. Originally, most websites were US-based, with addresses that ended in .com. Over time, though, more endings arrived: .net first, then .live, .biz, .biz.au and many others. Today, you have a huge range of options.

You have probably seen .org and .org.au addresses too. The .org ending means the site belongs to a not-for-profit organisation. In fact, you have to supply proof of that status when you apply for one.

Many endings also point to a country. For example, .com.au and .net.au mark Australian sites, .co.uk marks British ones, and .de marks German ones. In other words, the ending tells search engines where a site is based and who its main audience is. As a result, local enquiries are matched more quickly.

Speed really does matter on the web. An enquiry that travels from Australia to the United States and back runs through undersea cables, and that round trip adds a noticeable delay. So a local ending genuinely helps Australian visitors reach an Australian site faster.

Domain Ownership and Fees

Whichever ending you pick, a domain name comes with a fee. Think of it as a rental agreement, usually paid once a year or once every two years. You pay an internet registration body, and in return you control the website linked to your domain name.

Say you run a site called doodads.com.au. It has a loyal following and sells plenty of doodads. As long as you keep paying the fee, that exact name is yours, and nobody can simply take it or copy it.

However, the .com version is a separate name. Unless you also register doodads.com, someone else can buy it, quite legally. They can then sell whatever they like, including their own copies of your doodads. You might not even notice.

Meanwhile, you keep spending money promoting “doodads”. Eventually a customer searches for the word, lands on doodads.com instead of your site, and buys from them. As a result, you have paid for advertising, lost the sale, and possibly handed business to a rival.

So it makes sense to register doodads.com, doodads.net and other versions early. Each one costs money every year, though. At some point, therefore, you have to make a judgement call. If sales to a particular country are tiny, that country’s version may not be worth buying.

Protecting Your Brand

Global brands take this much further. Big car makers, for example, register every version of their name that they can. That way, nobody can grab a spare address and use it to publish content the company would never endorse.

Success brings a second risk. Suppose doodads.com.au takes off and becomes a well-known brand. Domain dealers watch for exactly that. Once they spot it, they buy the matching doodads.com and offer it back to you for thousands of dollars.

Advantage of .com

A plain .com has two clear upsides. First, it reads as international, so overseas customers feel at home. Second, it is quick to register and easy to renew.

By contrast, .com.au and .net.au come with conditions. You need an ABN (Australian Business Number) to hold one. Approval also takes longer, and each registration runs for two years, although renewing is straightforward.

Advantage of .com.au

An Australian ending has its own strengths. If your product or content is mainly bought, made or read in Australia, all of that activity stays local. Traffic to a .com audience, by contrast, usually routes through the United States across the Pacific undersea cables. Those links can be congested or damaged, which adds waiting time.

Finally, you do not have to pick just one. Tekwizard can host all of your domains and point every one of them to your main website.