You've done a lot of work on your law firm's website. You know the SEO, link building, and social media ropes. With this knowledge, you have built your web-presence castle, word by word and brick by brick. In fact, at this point, you can look over your work and see it as a kingdom—a sprawling, impressive land full of web treasure, blood, sweat, and tears.

But just when you thought you "got" attorney web marketing and that your kingdom was impervious to attack or sabotage, you hear about new domain extensions—those few, crucial letters that follow the "dot" in a web address.

Now you need to make a difficult decision: Will you purchase and use a new, distinct domain name? It's tempting, as your new web address could improve your kingdom and set it apart from neighboring kingdoms.

Taking your kingdom down this route could be an excellent move. Purchasing and embracing a new domain extension may well offer the following benefits:

  • Enhanced brand distribution
  • Better brand recognition
  • Improved user experience
  • The opportunity to foster trust among potential clients

All of these are good things. But, like anything desirable, there will be those who scheme to fleece your kingdom and cash in on your hard work. These people are called domain squatters.  

The Trouble With Squatters

Every internet kingdom has a problem with squatters, and with more domain names—really an endless combination of them—becoming available, many are concerned that squatters will take over empty domains and sit on them.   

What domain squatters do is buy domain names that they believe will be desirable. This drives up the price of certain domain names, making them extremely expensive.

There is also the possibility that people, even your competitors, could buy new domain names that are very similar to yours. So, if you are dallasattorneymikegreen.law, an unsavory character may buy up a common misspelling of the name, such as dallaslawyermikegreen.law.

This is called “bad faith” domain registration, and its sole purpose is to siphon business away from your site. This, along with domain squatting, is already done, and there are concerns that more schemers will take advantage of the situation and try to make a buck off your good name. 

Will Squatters Try to Take Over Your Kingdom?

We aren't totally convinced that this will happen. It's not that your brand isn't awesome. It's just that squatters tend to take over homes in the most desirable neighborhoods. They are looking to cash in on big, national brands and should leave your domain alone.

However, it never hurts to be careful. So, if you like, go ahead and buy a few domain names with new domain extensions. You shouldn't have to pay a king's ransom to get a domain name that works for your law firm. It's very possible that "yourlawfirmname.legal" could be bought for a single dollar.

A distinctive domain name could set you apart from your competitors, advance your brand, and instill a sense of trust in your audience. All of this would help expand your kingdom and, as part of a solid attorney SEO strategy, dominate your competition.

At Foster Web Marketing, we are excited about the possibilities new domain extensions could provide. For more advice on how and when to get in on the gTLD game, call 888-886-0939. Our team would love to help you compare possible domain names and, if prudent, buy a name and put it to use.

Cody Moulton
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Digital Marketing Strategist
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