Julia, Author at TrueName by Donuts

Why Decision Fatigue Can Lead You Away From The Perfect Domain

According to Psychology Today, we make 35,000 decisions per day. Our brains hate it.

Studies show that over the course of a day the quality of our decisions begins to deteriorate due to mental exhaustion. That applies to everything from choosing gifts for your wedding registry to wartime battle strategy — and important business decisions are no exception. We choose imperfect solutions because they’re familiar, like automatically choosing a .com website domain even though it’s not necessarily the best expression of who we are or what we do.

Social psychologist Roy F. Baumeister coined the term “decision fatigue” to describe how stressful and draining it is to make even the tiniest choices.

Decision fatigue is bad for business, and your brand

This is particularly dire when you’re starting a new business and facing an onslaught of decisions about offerings, naming, brand positioning, fonts, logos, and more. Although choosing your domain name is one of the most important aspects of establishing your online presence, the number of options out there and the established “status-quo” threatens to overwhelm even the most enthusiastic entrepreneur.

Domain extensions like .services, .studio, .life, or .photos are specific, memorable, more authentic to a brand and its purpose, and more attractive for everything from social media to search results — all things that are considered essential to building a strong brand. Yet overwhelmed business owners go for the defaults of good ol’ .com, .net, or .org. Settling for “good enough” is fine for something inconsequential, but it’s a terrible approach to choices that form the foundation of your business. Why settle for the status quo when you can make a name for yourself with a more relevant, more modern, and more unique domain? Why be generic with a long, unwieldy not-quite-right .com domain when you can make a statement, branding your domain name both to the left and the right of the dot?

There’s one decision that’s easy

Fortunately, it’s easier than you think to quickly narrow down your options and find a domain that will strengthen your brand and help your business grow. Browse better domain extension options on TrueName.Domains. Find extensions that are most relevant to your product or service, or are the most complimentary to your brand or business name to the left of the dot. Head to your registrar’s homepage and search your business name adding “.”[TrueName domain extension]. A few will jump out at you as being especially relevant. From there, narrow it down to the one that’s the most accurate for your business.

Tip: Look for the TrueName shield for a domain extension that includes added protection from phishing attacks. You can brainstorm in advance by visiting TrueName.Domains, where you’ll find more than 250 options already sorted into categories.

Rather than deciding between two sub-par .com compromises, or considering “fad” country-code extensions like .co (Colombia), or .io (Indian Ocean), choose a domain that conveys something meaningful, expresses your brand, and sets your business up for the new internet.

Yes, our brains hate making decisions. But don’t let your brain chemistry result in a weak online brand. Getting the right domain might even be faster than cooking that meal kit dinner.

Find and secure a better and more memorable domain with TrueName.

Browse our categories now.

Live Streaming: 10 Numbers You Can’t Afford to Ignore

Live Streaming: 12 Numbers You Can’t Afford to Ignore

Long before COVID-19 made Zoom a household name, live streaming was a multi-billion dollar industry. Live streaming encompasses a wide variety of video and audio content broadcast in real time over the Internet. Virtually anything can be live streamed, from weddings on Facebook Live, to video game tournaments and e-sports leagues, fashion tips from Instagram influencers, and weekly live concerts from music legends in quarantine.

Now that the pandemic has forced millions to stay close to home, the appetite for video content is exploding, creating new opportunities for businesses to capitalize on a powerful medium that creates close and profitable connections with new and existing customers.

How Big is Live Streaming?

91 M

people will live stream by 2024

1.1 B

hours live streamed in 2019

Businesses Large and Small are Embracing Live Streaming

82 %

of people are using self-serve video creation platforms.

73 %

of B2B businesses already report positive ROI from live video.

Consumers Prefer Live Streaming Over Other Types of Media

80 %

would rather watch a live video from a brand than read a blog.

82 %

prefer live video from a brand to social posts.

64 %

are more likely to buy a product online after watching a video.

3000 %

increase in click-through rate when video is used in email.

39 %

of executives call a vendor after viewing a video.

59 %

of executives would rather watch a video than read.

How to Start Live Streaming

As consumer preferences shift rapidly to live streaming, how can your company break through and capture more screen time with your customers?

Follow these steps to create high-impact video content:

1. Quality over quantity is what matters, so be sure you’re creating high quality video content that your audience will relate to, enjoy and remember. That doesn’t mean it has to be of the highest “production” quality. Rather, your live streams need to be highly relevant and provide a clear advantage or benefit to the viewer, offer opportunities for your audience to participate via Q&A, and as with any content, make sure there is a clear call-to-action so your audience knows what to do next.

2. Promote and distribute your live video on platforms your customers are already using, so it’s easy for them to find and watch your content. There are many cost-effective solutions that enable you to stream your videos across the most popular platforms including YouTube, Twitch, Facebook Live and Periscope. Leading platforms that cater to startups and SMBs include:

BeLive (www.be.live)

Switchboard (www.switchboard.live)

OneStream (www.onestream.live)

3. Use new top-level domain names to drive traffic specifically to your live streaming content. This can be done in two different ways. First, you can create a URL that drives your customers directly to your live streaming content on a social network such as Facebook. The TrueName™ domain extension .live is a smart choice because it clearly communicates to your audience what they’ll get when they click on the link. Austin City Limits use the domain ACL.live to drive music fans directly to their Lounge music series on Facebook. Or, if you host live streaming content on your own website, use a deep link domain name to drive your viewers directly to the live content on your website. The Prestonwood Baptist Church uses newlife.live to send users who cannot attend services in person directly to the livestream page on their website.

There is no question that live streaming content–whether for education, business or entertainment–will continue to permeate our lives for the foreseeable future. Staying up to date and implementing the latest streaming trends will help ensure that your content gets noticed and your customers are happy.

TrueName™ domains, including .live, are memorable, descriptive, and secure domains used by thousands of small businesses to represent their true online identity.

Find your ideal live streaming domain by searching for your brand name, top keywords or phrase and “.live”.

Learn more and find your domain name today.

Data sources: Promo.com, Livestream.com

2020 is Reshaping The Internet and The Way Companies Choose Domain Names

Smart companies advance their positions during periods of industry evolution with strategic agility.

The biggest disruptors haven’t been afraid to discard what’s “tried and true” for the sake of innovation. Remember that Apple killed the iPod with the iPhone and Amazon cannibalized physical book sales with the Kindle e-reader.

We have and are continuing to see a wave of legacy enterprises make moves away from legacy domains to new-world TrueName domain names as a mark of a forward-thinking, cutting-edge, resilient and industry leading company.

Examples include ada.support and mojo.vision who raised over $60 Million, and $159 Million respectively in March 2020.

Futurists have grouped periods of technological advancement into “waves”

Alvin Tophler’s 1980 bestseller The Third Wave was the influential futurist’s take on the potential of society, technology and our culture. In 2016, the book got a modern rewrite from AOL co-founder Steve Case, who wrote from the perspective of someone living in the time that Tophler predicted. In it, Case describes a Third Wave of the internet that will transform the economy and the way we live our lives.

What neither Tophler nor Case would likely have foreseen, however, is 2020’s unprecedented period of rapid technological and cultural recalibration, set into motion by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Forget the “Third Wave,” this is the “Third Wave on Steroids.”

Data confirms accelerated growth and adoption of best-in-class, new-world domain names.

TrueName domains is the world’s largest operator of new-world domain extensions, which are on course to overtake aging .com, .net, and .org extensions. Our data insights are a barometer of online behavior, growth, and industry disruption.

To date 4.3 million of the currently registered domains using new extensions are using TrueName extensions. Most notably, TrueName extensions are used by businesses whose brand positioning is forward-thinking, well funded and agile.

In 2020, TrueName published data showing that a trend of industry disruption in decentralized finance is being closely reflected in the .finance extension, which has seen a 700% increase in monthly registrations since the beginning of 2020. During the same period, the DeFi industry overall saw growth soar by nearly 1,000%.

Modern day futurists and technology pundits speculate we’re experiencing multiple decades of advancement in a matter of months, with various industries set to undergo unrecognizable disruption as we adjust to what is the new normal.

How were the technological waves defined and how does it relate to domains?

As defined by Topher and Case, the First Wave saw the creation of the foundation and infrastructure of the online world. Crucial hardware and software was created. Online pioneers had to convince people the internet was worthwhile and relevant.

This is also where we saw the first websites created and the legacy domain extension, .com, created as an abbreviation for “commercial.”

Cut to the Second Wave at the turn of the 21st century, online marketplaces, social media and mobile devices allowed people to access the internet wherever and whenever they wanted.

The Third Wave sees us integrating the internet into everything we do, also known as the Internet of Things (IoT). Coinciding with this wave is the implementation of hundreds of modern day alternatives to .com, allowing businesses to eliminate unnecessary suffixes to their brand, utilizing the space to the left and right of the dot, in addition to re-democratizing internet real estate after decades of over-saturation and manufactured value in legacy domains due to the lack of availability.

Make your mark and secure domains for the new internet with TrueName domains.

What Business Owners Need to Know to Prosper in the New Normal

Life in COVID lockdown has forced most of us to remain in or near our homes for months. Now, new research shows all that time spent inside has had a profound impact on how we live, work, shop, and entertain ourselves.

McKinsey & Company took a look at how COVID-19 is changing consumer behavior, and what businesses can do right now to prepare for–and prosper in–the “New Normal.”

Here’s a look at a few of those areas and how savvy entrepreneurs are leveraging domain names, particularly new Top Level Domain names to attract customers seeking their products or services.

Life and nesting at home. Online usage at home is surging. Home has been recast as the new restaurant, entertainment center, and coffee shop.

Communications and information. In-person meetings are in decline, home media replaces real-world engagement.

Play and entertainment. Preference for digital entertainment, channel shift to streaming, additional play time.

Learning. Education will be one of the industries with the most significant shifts due to COVID as schools nationwide are in various stages of opening.

Health and wellbeing. COVID-19 has led to an increased focus on health, hygiene and fitness--all on demand.

Shopping and consumption. COVID created a huge surge in e-commerce shopping, but many consumers preferred to order from stores closer to home.

Amazon is clearly the biggest winner of the COVID-19 lockdown, as are big-box stores Like Walmart and Home Depot, but a significant number of small and medium sized businesses moved quickly to distinguish themselves online and find new customers. The fastest-growing TrueName top-level domains from March to June 2020 were .boutique and .delivery, evidence of the shift in preference by consumers to “shop small” and support their local businesses.

If you’re a small business owner looking to weather the COVID storm and prepare for the “Next Normal,” find the right domain name at TrueName™ now.

Learn and Replicate the Secrets of Amazon’s Keyword Domain Strategy

We all know when retail behemoths like Walmart or Target move into town small businesses suffer. As we move further toward a world of “digital-only” during COVID, “town” is anywhere that WiFi can reach.

How will your business withstand the Walmart Effect, now that there are no geographic limits?

Small and medium sized businesses are battling the ever-growing market share being secured by big-box retailers and online marketplaces. Up against billions of dollars of revenue, unmatched buying power and market dominance, how can any new business, bootstrapped or funded, make their mark and capture market share?

Replicate the power of Amazon’s keyword domain name tactic.

The genius strategists at Amazon have employed a deliberate 301 redirect keyword domain name strategy as an organic SEO tactic. This is a strategy available to businesses of any size or sophistication.

Keyword domain tactics like this leverage search behaviors and algorithm insights to capture intent-driven delivery search queries, increasing the odds that searchers end up converting on your website.

An example could include type-in or voice search for “long beach delivery”, the query can skip the google search results page and land the new customer on amazon.com same-day delivery page since Amazon owns www.longbeach.delivery, rather than bidding on google AdWords to rank for the keyword set.

By setting up a 301 redirect page, Amazon has linked one domain to another, keeping the SEO value established by Amazon.com, combined with the specificity of the user’s search terms.

Multiple Keyword Domains as 301 Redirects.

Amazon has secured over 100 high value keyword domains, primarily using new top level domains to facilitate this strategy. They fall into three categories:

Geographic. Examples include, charlotte.delivery, austin.delivery, london.delivery, american.delivery, miami.delivery.
Natural keyword phrases that are highly valuable for both search engine type-ins and voice search, include order.delivery, takeout.delivery, local.delivery, sandwich.delivery, diapers.delivery.
Keyword sets to optimize the experience of people looking for Amazon or other services under the Amazon umbrella, including, amazonflex.delivery, primefresh.delivery, amazongo.delivery, primepantry.delivery.

Amazon is also using keyword domains for its descriptive, keyword-rich, and next-gen offerings with domains like Amazon.Care, Amazon.Jobs, AWS.training, Prime.Video, and over 100 more as keyword rich 301 redirects.

How Can You Replicate This Strategy For Your Own Business?

Choose a domain registrar. In the U.S., the main players are GoDaddy, NameCheap, Name.com, Sav.com and more.
Search for short, descriptive keyword sets that your ideal customers search for when they look for the product or service you provide.
Use new keyword domain extensions (rather than legacy extensions like .com) to get more effective, memorable and meaningful domains that reflect the products or services you provide. Create your ideal longtail keyword pair by using both the left and the right side of the dot.
Set up your 301 redirect to direct to the relevant page on your website. In most instances, this will be available to you to quickly set up in a few simple clicks after the domain has been purchased.
Attract high purchase-intent customers by positioning your brand as the number one product or service for a high value search query.

Following these straightforward steps can help attract and retain new customers. While it won’t make you a trillion dollar company overnight, you can sure act like one.

To register your own .delivery, .contact or other highly targeted and accurate TrueName top-level domains, visit TrueName.domains or sav.com, name.com or any of your other favorite registrars.

DeFi Looks to Disrupt Financial Services with Blockchain and New Domains

The financial services sector–one of the most powerful forces in the global economy–is under siege by a wave of startups looking to permanently disrupt the traditional frameworks of banks, brokerages and government regulators around the world.

Decentralized Finance (or DeFi) is a movement to create an independent financial system that offers alternatives to every financial service currently available–including banking, securities trading and insurance–without the need for central authorities. It’s a system with no middlemen that anyone can access with a smartphone, and it’s growing exponentially.

By its very nature, DeFi breaks all the rules–and so do DeFi entrepreneurs. Rather than being tethered to an antiquated system, they’re taking a page from the Bitcoin playbook and building their own next-generation financial platforms on blockchain networks. Even the domain names these cutting-edge companies are using defy convention.

Among major players in the space, including companies like Compound and Yearn, the .finance domain name extension is taking off like a rocket. In fact, three of the top 10 DeFi startups are using .finance and only one uses .com.

TrueName™, operator of the .finance and other financial industry TLDs, has seen a 700% increase in monthly .finance registrations since the beginning of 2020. During the same period, the DeFi industry overall saw growth soar by nearly 1,000%.

0 %

INCREASE IN .FINANCE REGISTRATIONS

0 %

DEFI INDUSTRY
GROWTH

Sources: Dune Analytics and TrueName Business Intelligence

DeFi entrepreneurs are establishing future-facing and unconventional brand positioning, and it’s paying off. Compound, for example, has raised more than $30M in funding to date, while other hot DeFi companies using .finance include Neco and Idle.

An additional benefit of these new domain extensions is their availability and cost compared to their .com counterparts, and DeFi companies will likely find their brand keyword available at their registrar of choice, as opposed to dealing with resellers in the .com aftermarket.

And .finance is far from the only highly-relevant extension choice for DeFi entrepreneurs.

Other meaningful options include:

.network

.capital

.cash

.exchange

.fund

.investments

.loans

.money

Entrepreneurs seeking to make their mark in this growing new arena and show their true DeFi identity can secure a .finance domain name at registrars such as Name.com, sav.com, and GoDaddy. .Finance is part of the TrueName brand of domain names which have increased memorability, availability and security. All TrueName domains come with built-in anti-phishing protection.

Find your domain at TrueName.domains.

How Smart Entrepreneurs Pivot in the Time of COVID-19

Savvy entrepreneurs are starting or adapting their businesses in response to new consumer behaviors driven by the COVID-19 pandemic by using highly relevant, descriptive and secure TrueName domains.

In order to survive, businesses need to adopt a “digital only” mindset when crafting their branding and marketing strategies. And while the pandemic will eventually end, consumers’ shift to digital and virtual engagement with businesses will not.

Smart businesses must make the right moves now, prioritizing customer experiences and establishing brand loyalty among an existing and new customer base.

Successful small businesses and startups are nimble by nature, and we’re seeing strong evidence that entrepreneurs are adapting to the times. We looked at the top website builders and ecommerce platforms, as well as TrueName domain growth trends. It was no surprise to see that website growth is hot in 2020 versus 2019 for each of the top five providers:

Web Building/E-commerce Percentage Growth Year Over Year 2019 – 2020

Sources: Forrester, ROI Revolution

As small businesses establish or expand their online presence, the crucial domain decision must be made. Finding a brandable, memorable and descriptive domain is a non negotiable step to future proof a digital presence. In times of uncertainty, small businesses need domain options that not only meet their needs, but aren’t excessively expensive. It’s commonly perceived that the combination of these elements does not exist.

While we know the pandemic was driving a significant spike in domain name registrations, we wanted to look more closely at the extensions they were selecting.

Business owners with varying degrees of knowledge about online optimization understand one fundamental thing; they want to be as close to the top as they can in a Google search for the keywords their customers enter when searching for their product or service.

What we found as reflected by the top most registered top-level domain extensions secured by businesses between March and June 2020 confirmed a number of pandemic-related trends in consumer behavior; the desire to support small businesses, get almost anything delivered to their door, and to connect with large groups in a way that doesn’t risk spreading the virus.

Fastest Growth Of TrueName Top-Level Domains March – June 2020

A prime example is Radish, Canada’s fastest-growing restaurant home delivery service. The company uses the radish.delivery domain name to distinguish its service while offering an alternative co-op model that is equitable for restaurants, drivers, and consumers.

Those who make their living by doing public speaking or professional training found out very quickly that virtual appearances were the only way to keep their businesses going during the pandemic. Many of them turned to Be.Live (be.live), the leading professional live streaming platform. Be.Live has helped its customer base — which has surged by nearly 60% since March — engage with more than 700 million viewers over the last three years.

And of course the pandemic has turned the education system upside down. With millions of children attending “virtual” classes and colleges and universities struggling to contain new outbreaks, online learning is the new normal. The Engineers Academy (engineers.academy) knows that a flexible, online curriculum helps busy engineering professionals get a leg up in their careers on their own time.

It will be fascinating to see how small business owners continue to adapt and expand their reach both during and after the pandemic. And while we can’t say with 100% certainty exactly which keywords and top-level domains will trend in the near future, we do know that entrepreneurs will always find new ways to build their businesses and achieve success.

If you want to register a .boutique, .delivery, or any of the fastest-growing TrueName Top-Level Domains, visit your favorite registrar.

Author: Julia