From artificial intelligence to augmented reality, the world we live in is increasingly mediated by technology. Whether we’re shopping or socializing, the internet plays a fundamental role in our daily lives, and domain names are the portals people use to find their favorite brands online.
Domain names are virtual real estate, and no less important than the choice of location for a physical store. Just as physical location determines passing traffic and, with a prestigious address like Madison Avenue, denotes trust and prestige, a strong domain name helps customers find you and put their faith in your business and products or services.
Domain name is an important early consideration for new businesses and new domain name research reveals everything you need to know to choose the right domain, first time. Here’s how to get your business off to the strongest start in 2025.
The Importance of Exact Match Domain in 2025
Exact match domains, also called exact brand match domains (EBMs), should be every business’s first intention when choosing a domain: over three-quarters of consumers say that it’s important for a brand’s domain name to be an exact match of its operating business name. An exact match domain creates a strong sense of brand consistency across digital interactions and enhances brand awareness and recognition. These domains, particularly when matched with a .com extension, gives customers an implicit understanding of your domain name and maximizes the number of people finding and accessing your website.
The alternative to an exact match domain is to use an add-on word, incorporating your brand name and a short, active noun or verb to create a dynamic and informative domain name that stays on brand. For example, shopbrand.com, getbrand.com or brandapp.com (where appropriate) have all been historically favored by startups — but brands tend to migrate to their exact match domain as soon as they have the funds available. Shahed Khan, co-founder of video messaging tool Loom, for example, recently detailed his brand’s journey from useloom.com to loom.com on XAn add-on domain may be a sufficient placeholder to grow your brand, but we found that add-on words impact trust for 78% of consumers. They’re also harder to remember, and you’ll bleed a proportion of traffic to whoever owns the exact match address.
Choose Name and Domain Together
Exact match domains offer significant value to businesses, making their domains easier to recall and more trusted among consumers — they also preempt costly transitions away from add-on domains at a later stage. This shows that domain name can’t be an afterthought, and available and affordable exact match domains should be considered before you choose your business name. Validate your shortlisted name options based on domain availability and at the very least rule out any name with an active .com EBM so as to avoid brand confusion, as well as trademark issues.
Domain Extension
Matching your domain name to your business name is one important piece of the puzzle when choosing your domain — the other question is what comes after your business name. Domain extension, also known as top-level domain (TLD), refers to .com, .co, .ai, or any of the over 1600 existing options for ‘after the dot’.
Domain extension is hugely significant, impacting both trust and memorability among customers. It even indirectly impacts SEO (search engine optimization) as stronger TLDs support better metrics such as click-through rates and time on page.
While there are over 1600 TLDs in existence, very few are recognized by customers and businesses alike as credible options. We found that 76% of people agree that familiarity with a domain extension enhances trust in a brand, so it’s essential to choose from a proven shortlist of extensions that your target audience knows and trusts. In this regard, .com is the gold standard, which makes up almost half of all websites — and two-thirds of recently funded startup domains.
Considering Alternative Domains
While .com domains should be your first consideration, they’re hard to pair with strong exact match domains. Brandable .com domains are hot property and if you’re opting for a short business name, under 6 - 8 characters, say, they often command a five-figure price tag or more.
This drives many new businesses to opt for alternative domains and a small but strong contingent of options are emerging for companies in various industries. Even big-name brands such as dating app Hinge (Hinge.co) and AI assistant Claude (Claude.ai) are finding success at non-.com extensions.
While .com has universal recognition, alternative domains are appropriate only for certain specific industries and audiences, and must be chosen appropriately. We found that:
- 81% are familiar with .org domains.
- 51% are familiar with .co domains.
- Just one in four are familiar with .xyz domains.
Meanwhile, for .ai and .io domains, of the general population, 40% are familiar with .ai domains and .io domains. For those in the tech industry, familiarity surges to 89% for .ai domains and 77% for .io domains.
For brands considering alternative domains, these are appropriate options for the given industry:
- .org — nonprofits and charities.
- .net — appropriate for any industry, but has fallen out of fashion.
- .co — a more modern generic option for brands looking beyond .com.
- .ai — genuinely AI-first services.
- .io — software and tech startups.
Some extensions have an actively negative reputation, and even though .biz stands for business, it should be avoided by serious brands. Whichever domain you choose, it should be validated by audience surveys as well as established use.
The Case for Owning Multiple Domain Extensions
With so many domain extensions to choose from, there is a very real chance that consumers might end up typing your brand name plus an alternative TLD into the address bar. For this reason, and to establish total brand dominance over an online space, some brands choose to own multiple extensions for their exact match domain.
While this is generally only a relevant consideration for global brands, it maximizes your traffic and enhances brand recognition. Owning alternative domains such as .org and .ai can also emphasize relevant elements of your business, including investment in social programs or new technology. Hubspot, for example, owns Hubspot.net, Hubspot.co and hubspot.io, and redirects traffic from these domains to their primary domain Hubspot.com, while Hubspot.org redirects to their sustainability page at hubspot.com/sustainability. Similarly, Google.ai takes users to a page detailing the ways in which Google is using AI to ‘help everyone’.
Other brands operating in global markets may want to register relevant country-code domains (ccTLDs), such as .de in German, .in for India, and .co.uk for the United Kingdom. In some markets, users see ccTLDs as more credible than their .com neighbors. For example, 78% of UK consumers consider .co.uk domains more credible than .com domains. This approach builds local credibility for global brands.
The downside of owning multiple domain extensions is the cost of registering additional domains, plus regular domain renewal and web hosting. For international brands with bigger budgets, however, there is a strong case to be made for transnational dominance of your exact match domain.
Tips for Choosing Your Domain Name
Half of consumers say that domain name is a very important factor when they engage with a brand online, so it should be chosen carefully. As we’ve seen, an exact match to your business name is a key business asset, so brands should make domain name a primary consideration when choosing their business name.
Alongside aligning business name and domain name, there are some other important considerations:
- Simplify spelling and pronunciation to ensure your customers can easily type and share your domain.
- Avoid numbers and hyphens: 35% say that a hyphen impacts their trust in a website.
- A shorter domain name is easier for customers to remember and spell. 8 to 13 characters is a sweet spot where domains are affordable, but still have strong brandable options. The strength of a short domain was recently demonstrated when OpenAI paid around $15M for the four-letter chat.com, which redirects to the seven-letter chatgpt.com.
- Use creative misspellings (such as Lyft.com) or compound names (such as YouTube.com and FaceBook.com) to find available, brandable .com domains.
- 73% of investors say that a single-English-word domain helps significantly or is a major factor in securing funding, so if you’re looking to be an industry leader, consider investing early in a powerful name. Matching single words with .co or .ai domains makes these names more affordable.
Finding the perfect domain name might seem challenging, but in fact the constraints can be a creative aid. Brainstorm for the perfect business name and use domain availability as a way to validate your shortlisted names.
Wrapping Up: A Platform for Success
According to Forbes, almost one-third of all business takes place online in 2025 making your domain name an important piece of your brand identity. It determines how your target audience finds you, whether or not they trust you, and how likely they are to return as a loyal customer. A strong domain name is a piece of prestigious online real estate, and an exact business match domain paired with a proven and trusted extension ensures you stand out above your competitors in the online space.
What’s more, strong domains almost always retain their value. They are a scarce commodity and, in a world that’s ever more online, can be an appreciating asset. Understanding the value of a domain name and acquiring the right domain early in your startup journey is an investment, and lays the foundation for acquiring funding, expansion into new markets and long-term success.
