Thu 21. Nov 2024, 19:44
The latest study ‘Insights on Domain Names Backed by Deep Audience Research’ by domain consultancy Atom.com (formerly Squadhelp) shows that consumers from the USA have more trust in brands with .com domains, but that this trust decreases when brands with the same name are active under other endings.
Atom.com describes itself as a comprehensive start-up ecosystem in which domains and start-ups are brought together. In the current study ‘Insights on Domain Names Backed by Deep Audience Research’, Atom.com investigated the trust and familiarity that consumers and investors have in domain extensions, how a domain should correspond with a brand and the influence that a domain has on securing funding rounds for start-ups. As far as can be seen, the majority of respondents in the study were American consumers and investors. The study does not provide any information on the exact number and distribution of respondents.
The results show that the .com ending is the most popular ending among both consumers and investors, followed by .org and .net. Only in fourth place is the Colombian .co, a national ending that is marketed as a commercial ending. It is followed by .io and .ai as well as .xyz. As already mentioned, US consumers were surveyed, who have a different view of domain endings than Europeans due to the dominance of .com. This is shown by the comparison of the survey with regard to company websites. At this point, a distinction is made between US consumers and consumers from the UK. The difference in perception could not be clearer: while 82 per cent of US consumers place more trust in .com domains, 78 per cent of UK consumers place more trust in the .co.uk extension. Atom.com says that country-specific top-level domains such as .uk, .de and .jp can be worth considering for brands with a purely local market, but can be a hindrance when trying to reach a global audience.
Another key finding of the study is that 77% of consumers' trust in brands is damaged when other brand owners use their same brand as a domain name under different extensions. Brand owners who have secured their brand under different endings are in a better position because the brand is more consistent. The study also found that domains with hyphens or numbers are less trusted. Again, this is the view of US consumers. The same applies to the demand for clarity placed on domains in relation to the brand: if the brand and domain are identical, consumer trust is greater, with consumers between the ages of 18 and 24 having higher expectations than older respondents.
The Atom study provides even more data, plenty of figures and additional detailed information on the individual areas. A differentiation was also made here and there according to professional fields; for example, it was found that the .io and .ai extensions are very well known among employees in technical professions and are considered trustworthy. However, the data basis on which the survey is based (the number of respondents and the age groups) is not revealed. With this in mind, the study should be read critically, especially as it was predominantly conducted among a US target audience and therefore does not take the European perspective into account. Nevertheless, we recommend reading the Atom study.
The Atom study ‘Insights on Domain Names Backed by Deep Audience Research’ can be found at:
https://www.atom.com/radar/domain-name- ... -insights/