In June 2013, Shaun McGowan’s business www.beep.com.au was turning over $60m. Five months later its turnover has increased by $40m and marketing spend has decreased by 35%.
Shaun attributes this dramatic upturn to one crucial decision – changing the business’s domain name to www.carloans.com.au. Here he shares the reasons why a premium domain name has meant so much to the fortunes of his business.
(1) What is a premium domain name?
A domain name which is so descriptive that from the moment you see it you know what the business does – e.g. www.books.com
(2) What did you change your business’s domain name from and to?
We changed from www.beep.com.au to www.carloans.com.au
(3) How much did it increase your turnover by?
Revenue shot through the roof, up 60% in 5 short months – and steadily climbing.
(4) How much did it decrease your marketing spend by?
At least 35%. We’re now able to spend money on telling people that we exist as opposed to telling people that we exist and what we do. The what we do part is explained in our name.
(5) How did the use of a premium domain name have this effect?
It’s instantly understood what we do. We don’t have to explain – whereas before we had to tell people that beep.com.au existed as well as communicate what beep.com.au was and did. We can now free up space in our ads, whether it be a 15 sec TVC or an online Google Ad, to sell features and benefits as opposed to explaining who we are.
(6) How long did it take for you to see this effect?
Immediate. The very next day.
(7) How long did it take for your investment in this premium domain name to pay itself off?
Again, a very short time. I’d say 3-4 months.
(8) Any final comments?
In summary, switching to a premium domain name from a non-descriptive but nonetheless cool domain name has catapulted our business astronomically. We now have a point of difference – our name.