--- title: "Positioning Your Business Online for the Future | Grit Brokerage" description: "Why businesses should strengthen their online presence during stay at home orders, avoid relying only on social media and secure a brand matching .com domain." url: https://gritbrokerage.preview.multisites.ai/post/positioning-your-business-online-for-the-future publisher: Grit Brokerage contact: https://gritbrokerage.preview.multisites.ai/contact offer: https://gritbrokerage.preview.multisites.ai/inquiry --- [Market insights](https://gritbrokerage.preview.multisites.ai/blog?topic=market-insights) # Positioning Your Business Online for the Future Written during stay at home orders, this post says businesses of all sizes should review their online presence. Relying only on social media is risky because you do not own that presence. Grit Brokerage recommends securing the best brand matching .com, even a three or four letter acronym. By Grit BrokerageApr 9, 20202 min read ![Business owner building an online presence with a branded .com domain](https://gritbrokerage.preview.multisites.ai/_astro/a53ed9_1d1dc576591443c0a6403f38c5740227.B7SQk7z8_wfnxM.webp) Over the past month and a half I have witnessed many interesting and inspirational business evolutions as a result of the widespread stay at home orders which have caused economic gridlock for so many industries. In just weeks and in many cases only days, entrepreneurs and business owners have quickly pivoted from doing business as usual to adapting to distancing or gone completely remote with their services or products. Other entrepreneurs are launching something totally different that does not require a brick and mortar presence at all. Commerce and how we buy or think about buying has quickly accelerated to an online order and pickup or delivery model. I am now also seeing more and more services and courses being offered via remote video conferencing. It is tough to predict, but we may not return to the ‘normal’ lifestyle we have been accustomed to as quickly as we are hoping. Having the ability to adapt and take advantage of the power of the internet may make or break many in this economic environment. If it hasn’t previously been a priority, right now is the most critical time for businesses of all sizes to take a look at their online presence and figure out the best way to enhance and/or pinpoint a strategy for how they can evolve given the circumstances. One thing worth mentioning which I feel is very risky for new or small businesses is to rely solely on social media as a website. Having a Facebook or Instagram page is a great way to drive more awareness to your company and its services or products. However, if you only have a social media page and no domain or website, you do not own your web presence and are at the mercy of the social media platform. Many business owners have lost their entire online presence overnight because Facebook delisted their page or changed terms which disallowed promotion of certain types of content or products. Being in the domain business, we are of course big advocates for folks to acquire the best possible .com domain name that matches their brand, company name and/or product. Even three and four letter acronym .coms for businesses with longer names signal authority and make emailing, branding and direct navigation so much easier. Simply stated, owning and utilizing the most intuitive domain name should be a first priority for business owners instead of just settling for what is available. As we’ve expressed in previous blog posts, domain names are [appreciating](https://gritbrokerage.preview.multisites.ai/post/why-prices-of-premium-domain-names-will-continue-to-appreciate) digital assets and should be considered essential [investments](https://gritbrokerage.preview.multisites.ai/post/domain-assets-shifting-end-user-perspective) for a business, startup or organization. That said, at this moment there are great deals to be had on many premium domains. We’re always available to consult and help you best understand your options for acquiring or divesting your domain assets. ! ## Questions this post answers ### Why is relying only on social media risky for a business? If you have a social media page but no domain or website, you do not own your web presence. The post says some owners lost their online presence overnight when Facebook delisted a page or changed terms that disallowed certain content or products. ### Can an acronym .com work for a business with a long name? Yes. The post says even three and four letter acronym .coms for businesses with longer names signal authority. It adds that they make emailing, branding and direct navigation so much easier, and that owning the most intuitive domain should be a first priority. ### Should a domain be treated as an investment? Grit Brokerage says domain names are appreciating digital assets and should be considered essential investments for a business, startup or organization. It adds that at the time of writing there were good deals on many premium domains. ## Terms in this post - [Domain name](https://gritbrokerage.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/domain-name) ## Keep reading - [Domain Assets - Shifting End User PerspectiveDomain broker Michael Law explains how Grit Brokerage responds when buyers say a premium domain does not fit their budget. The post argues a premium domain is an appreciating asset with lifetime utility, SEO, security and brand alignment, not a recurring expense like a web hosting bill.](https://gritbrokerage.preview.multisites.ai/post/domain-assets-shifting-end-user-perspective) - [Why Prices of Premium Domain Names Will Continue to AppreciateGrit Brokerage defines premium domains and gives three reasons prices should keep rising: more people and business moving online, a growing pool of investors paying more, and scarcity, with registered domains near 400 million. It also sees short term opportunities for buyers with cash during economic uncertainty.](https://gritbrokerage.preview.multisites.ai/post/why-prices-of-premium-domain-names-will-continue-to-appreciate) - [Business Names Trending Back to ConventionalStudies cited in this post show startups are moving away from misspelled and made-up names toward recognized words. A Crunchbase article by Joanna Glasner says straightforward and evocative names are most popular. Grit Brokerage adds that it still sees fast growth in one word .coms being purchased and branded on.](https://gritbrokerage.preview.multisites.ai/post/business-names-trending-back-to-conventional) - [Premium Domain Names Evolving Into An Asset ClassMichael Law argues premium domains are scarce, undervalued and still not a formal asset class. Appraisals can be off by orders of magnitude, and there is no Kelley Blue Book for domains. He cites education and liquidity as the two barriers and expects prices to keep rising.](https://gritbrokerage.preview.multisites.ai/post/premium-domain-names-evolving-into-an-asset-class) - [Your Domain Name Is Your Brand OnlineGrowing companies are upgrading to exact brand matching .com domains. Discord bought Discord.com and SurpriseHR moved to Surprise.com. Noah Kagan negotiated almost seven years and paid $1.5M for Sumo.com, starting from a $50k offer. Sumo now reports annual revenue over $70M.](https://gritbrokerage.preview.multisites.ai/post/your-domain-name-is-your-brand-online) - [.com vs .ai vs .io vs .co: How to Choose a Domain Extension.com is still the safest default because buyers, investors and email systems expect it. Choose .ai if your product is AI and you accept higher renewals. Choose .io for developer tools with some registry risk. Choose .co mainly as a cheaper fallback. Whatever you pick, try to own the .com too.](https://gritbrokerage.preview.multisites.ai/guides/com-vs-ai-vs-io-vs-co) ## Buying or selling a domain? Call, text or email. Responsiveness is our trademark, and a broker answers, not a form robot. [Talk to a broker](https://gritbrokerage.preview.multisites.ai/contact) [Call (442) 500-GRIT](tel:+1-442-500-4748)