Clients occasionally ask us to review “cold call” emails they have received from a third party advising that “someone” has applied to register their domain name or offering to sell them a variant of their domain for a significant sum.

Another popular tactic is a domain name expiration notice sent from a party other than your actual domain registrar that your domain is about to expire and outlining the negative consequences if you don’t act (e.g., sites going down, someone else getting your domain and so on). These emails then offer help with renewals, which means changing registrars usually at a cost well above what you are currently paying. There’s nothing wrong with attempting to get new business but doing so by raising alarm bells about sites going down when these companies know full well that legitimate registrars send out notifications about upcoming domain renewals is a tactic that should raise alarm bells about the companies that employ it.

We’ve also seen situations where a third party will contact a firm and offer to help them secure the .net, .org or occasionally the .law for their site. To evaluate whether that’s appropriate it’s useful to understand what different extensions mean. Extensions generally tell you basic information about the site you are on. For example, a .ca tells a user that they are on a Canadian website and .coms are businesses that may be located anywhere. Many firms adopted .coms because in the early days of the internet that is what people were used to seeing. The .law extension was introduced awhile back but we haven’t seen huge uptake.

In our experience, the .com and the .ca for your domain are the fundamentals. It’s possible you may want to consider others depending on the circumstances.

Best Practices

If you are choosing a domain name for your firm or a subsite, draft a list of potentials that includes the firm name or some reference to your practice area or services. Don’t forget to the check the legal marketing rules for your jurisdiction to ensure you aren’t inadvertently breaching any naming rules.

The reason for a list is that when you move to step 2 (researching what’s available), you may find the domain you want is already registered. You can confirm whether a domain is available for registration on any reputable registrar. Our registrar of choice happens to be Hover.com. All domain registrars will have a search feature that allows you to check what domains are available. Type in the domain you want to check and the registrar will provide a list that tells you what’s gone, what’s available and how much it will cost you annually. Generally, the cost is very reasonable (or should be). We had one case recently where a third party contacted a client with an offer to register the .net extension for their domain for 10 years for $500USD. That might seem like a reasonable deal but when we checked on the domain independently the actual cost was $200CAD. Side note, it’s not difficult to register a domain so there is zero justification for a $300USD price tag to do it. Moreover, a .net in that case was not useful.

Own your domain

We recommend that you never have a third party register your domain unless they are registering under the firm name and login credentials so that you retain ownership and access. Think of your domain as the keys to your office. Copies should only be given to those you trust. In some cases, there’s no ill intent but consider what happens if you work with a web developer who owns your domain and you part company or they go out of business. It can cause unnecessary headaches. So, own it and give access only to those you trust.

When registering a domain, use an email owned by the firm and record that information for safe keeping. When you register a domain, even if you set up autorenewal, diarize the renewal date to ensure someone involved in managing the firm knows to check on credit card information at renewal time to ensure the card the registrar has on file remains valid. It’s not uncommon for cards to be changed due to expiry or having been compromised.

The importance of domain naming

Keep in mind how easy the domain is to type out, how it looks to the eye, whether it is easy to pronounce AND easy to remember. Shorter is generally better and try to avoid hyphens. It’s also worth a reminder that capitalization doesn’t apply to domain names (or email addresses either for that matter).

It is also wise to conduct a general Google search to see what else is out there in terms of firms or businesses with similar names. These search results are what potential clients may also see. Side note here that there is no “single” Google search. Remember that what comes back in SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) will vary according a person’s IP location and search history. Nonetheless, a little googling will give you some context that may prove useful. This is particularly so in cases where you plan to use a domain based on a firm name that includes last names that are common in the profession and in your geographic area.

What domain extensions should you get?

In the “old days” firms rushed to grab domain names that had geographic identifiers and practice area keywords in them as they were thought to help with SEO. Key words in URLs (a domain name as part of a URL) don’t matter as much these days. See: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/ranking-factors/urls/.

Consider registering both the .ca and .com of whatever domain you want to go with. If either the .ca or the .com of your preferred domain is already registered you may want to revise your choice. Check whether there is already a website associated with the domain and if it’s a law firm, think about whether having a domain similar to another firm is going to confuse your potential clients. If yes, rethink your options.

The cost to secure additional extensions is usually under $20USD. We consider this cheap insurance against having a competitor (or worse someone with a grudge) grabbing the domain and using it. We have seen situations (not many thankfully) where someone with a bone to pick has set up a domain and proceeded to put disparaging comments or inappropriate content on it in a bid to damage the reputation of a firm.

You can put redirects in for additional domains so that they guide people to your main domain. Do NOT purchase a whole whack of related domains thinking that pointing them back your website is an easy way to increase your back links. This was an old black hat SEO trick (sometimes called link farming) and should definitely be avoided as it can result in getting you penalized in Google search. The goal should be to make sure your brand is protected from the competition and internet trolls.

Choosing an Appropriate Registrar (Cheapest is not Always Best)

Not all domain registrars are created equal, and while it can be tempting to go with the lowest price, reliability, transparency, and support matter far more in the long run. Your domain is a critical business asset. If something goes wrong, you want a registrar that is easy to work with and responsive when issues arise.

Look for registrars that offer clear pricing (including renewal rates), straightforward domain management tools, and strong customer support. Some providers lure customers in with very low introductory pricing, only to significantly increase renewal fees or charge extra for basic features like WHOIS privacy, DNS management, or domain transfers.

We often recommend Hover because of its clean interface, transparent pricing, and Canadian roots. To be clear, we don’t receive any referral fees or incentives—we simply find it reliable and easy for clients to manage. For those who prefer a fully Canadian option, Internic.ca is another registrar worth considering.

Whichever registrar you choose, make sure:

• The domain is registered in your firm’s name (not a developer or third party).
• You have full access to the account and DNS settings.
• Renewal notices are clear and easy to manage.
• Transferring your domain out (if needed) is straightforward and not subject to excessive fees or delays.

A good registrar should make domain ownership simple and secure—not complicated or risky. Saving a few dollars upfront isn’t worth the potential headaches if you lose access, miss a renewal, or struggle to get support when you need it most.

Need Help Researching and Securing an Appropriate Domain Name?

Skunkworks regularly helps clients with domain names issues as part of our website development services and we are happy to assist.