Should Domain Names Be Short?
While it is generally better to have a short domain name, there are many examples of companies that chose a longer domain name.
▶ What Is a Domain Name?
Let's look at two iconic companies: International Business Machines, also known as IBM, and Bank of America.
The primary domain name of International Business Machines is ibm.com, very short, just the initials of their company name. However, the leading domain name for Bank of America is bankofamerica.com, and not bofa.com.
Why did IBM chose their initials, and Bank of America did not?
Since I was not part of their internal discussions, I can only speculate. I guess the reason for their diverging approaches lies in their different branding strategies.
▶ Why Your Visual Brand Identity Matters
How often do you hear or read International Business Machines? Never, I suppose. Not many people even know what IBM's initials stand for. The reason is that IBM uses these initials on all marketing materials, annual reports, email signatures, and company communication. So, when we as consumers think about the company International Business Machines, we automatically think IBM. These initials are so central to their marketing that the company also registered them as a trademark.
The same logic applies to General Electric, whose initials GE are also their primary domain name.
Don't try to buy the domain names for the long form of their company names, though. IBM and GE already own these domain names but have redirected them to ibm.com and ge.com, respectively.
Bank of America seems to follow a different strategy. Instead of promoting the initials BofA, they use the full company name on their marketing materials and customer-oriented communication. Although the bank has registered both domain names, customers will be redirected to bankofamerica.com when they enter bofa.com in their browser.
Should a domain name be short?
The answer is: not necessarily.
Whether your domain name should be short depends on how you market your business.
If your company goes consistently by its initials, you should also make them your domain name. If not, well, there is nothing wrong with following Bank of America's lead and use your full company name as your domain name.
