When It’s Critical To Own Your Product Domain Name

By
Elliot Silver
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6

Some companies argue that as long as they own their brand domain name, it’s much less important to own their product domain name(s). They may believe this because they carry many products, and it’s easier to manage one domain name and website than a group of them. In my opinion, when a company’s product is more well known than its manufacturer, it’s critical for them to own the product domain name, as that’s what consumers will obviously be looking to find when searching Google or typing in the domain name.

Case in point. I read an article in the Boston Globe yesterday about a new cleaning product called “Spaghetti Scrubs.” This cleaning product is apparently less abrasive than steel Brillo pads, and it molds to whatever pot or item you are cleaning. The idea is that it takes less effort to clean your pots and pans than if you were using a sponge, and it can cause less damage to your pots and pans.

The article mentioned that Spaghetti Scrubs were invented by a Japanese designer, and it named a couple of stores where it’s available to purchase. However, the key takeaway for me is the brand name’s domain name, SpaghettiScrubs.com, is unregistered. From direct navigation and SEO standpoints, this is a mistake. There really is no reason why the manufacturer shouldn’t spend the $10 to buy the domain name. Even a simple forward to the Crate & Barrel website would be better than nothing.

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6 COMMENTS

  3. @JB…Someone (not me) was quick. It was registered about 20 minutes ago (~3:30pm EST)

    Domain spaghettiscrubs.com:
    Whois Privacy Services Pty Ltd
    Domain Hostmaster, Customer ID : 31451265740744

    GPO Box 1717
    Brisbane, QLD 4001 AU

    Administrative contact:
    Technical contact:
    Billing contact:
    Whois Privacy Services Pty Ltd
    Domain Hostmaster, Customer ID : 31451265740744

    GPO Box 1717
    Brisbane, QLD 4001 AU
    Phone: Phone: +61.730070090
    Fax: Phone: +61.730070091

    Record dates:
    Record created on: 2010-04-07 19:26:52 UTC
    Record modified on: 2010-04-07 19:26:50 UTC
    Record expires on: 2011-04-07 UTC

    Nameservers:
    ns1.fabulous.com:
    216.34.131.142
    ns2.fabulous.com:
    216.34.131.168

  4. “Someone (not me) was quick. It was registered about 20 minutes ago”

    They also regged the singular version.

    —

    “There really is no reason why the manufacturer shouldn’t spend the $10 to buy the domain name.”

    So right.

    Especially since almost a year ago they paid the fees to file a trademark for “THE ORIGINAL SPAGHETTI SCRUBS”.

    Add UDRP or Court filing fees if they want the domain now.

    Foolish.

  5. Sad to see that any idea mentioned on a site with domainers is 100% sure to be registered quickly.
    This article can be 100% fictional & still someone will register the domain.

  6. “Add UDRP or Court filing fees if they want the domain now.”

    And hide behind privacy services.
    Oh, yeah, that works.
    Now that will cost them an additional $25.
    That’s fee Fabulous charges to send crawl mail
    for disputed domains.

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