company name or CompanyName.com for branding

[KevinC]

Well I am starting to think that CompanyName.com is better for branding as people will begin to think of the '.com' as part of your name and well this should make it very easy for them to find you.

Where as if you just use Company Name and they go to their favorite search engine to find you they could be distracted by competitors ads or even SEO attempts on your own name.

Does anybody have a different opinion?

[Wlauzon]

It seems that would also depend on the company name - and if you can even get that domain name.

If your company is called AAA Arabian Aardvarks, that might make for a hard to type name....

[KevinC]

ya well I have a long existing business, but as of late I have been moving towards using CompanyName.com more and more, especially as I start to get mentions in offline publications and tv.

[LifeinAsia]

I remember a similar discussion around 1999-2000. In 1999, everyone was rushing to add .COM to their names, even designing new logos and printing new stationary. After the .COM bust, everyone was just as frenzied to drop the .COM from their names!

I think a lot depends on the nature of your business. Are you purely an online player or are you a combination of online/offline? Do you want to be viewed primarily as an Internet company (pluses and minuses) or as an overall business?

Also, look at the length of your company name. Google.com or Yahoo.com work well, but if it's more than 3-4 syllables, I'd say it's probably better to leave off the .COM.

[KevinC]

ya well we are stictly online with no future plans to open a retail outlet and our domain name is nice and short.

I think for my situation the .com is a good idea, I am curious to hear what situations this could be a negative.

[Lobo]

I think if you are established then it is always good .. reinforcing the brand is positive...

Trying to introduce a new brand ID on an existing company can and does work, but you'd better increase your developement budget 10 fold ...