Do you buy up all the .Net, .Org etc for your domain name?

All I own is the .COM for my name and I noticed the rest like .net and .org of my domain name is up for grabs. Do you think it's worth buying to protect my brand? Also could I use them to help redirect more traffic to my site?

Thanks,
Ray

 

Yes I did. I did not want anyone to start using the wrong url so there is no re-direct from them, but I did not want to leave them available for other people to buy.

I've thought about putting up a small forum that could be used in emergencies but that would be another headache.

 

Thanks,

I went ahead and picked up all the main ones like .net and .org. They even through in some other one for like .89 a year. I'm not hosting them just yet but I think I'll just set on them so people like you said want get confused.

 

I guess if the domain was popular enough the smart thing would be buying the whole pack, no?

Though I wouldn't nor did I do it. I would if the site became big enough.

 

Not only did I pick up the ones of my domain but I bought the non .com ones of my competitors and redirect them to mine.

 

I don't generally do this, but I have once or twice. I also sometimes buy the hyphenated version even if I have the non-hyphenated version.

 

I thought about that one my self :lol::lol:

My main competitor owns everything but I'm checking out some other competitors as we type.

 

Usually I don't unless/until the site is running successfully and it becomes worth the investment.

Gnatster pointed out exactly why it is a good idea to protect variations of your domain: competitors may come about at any time and snatch them to divert your traffic (by way of using alternative TLDs) to their site.

 

You realize if you buy a .net .org version of your competitors and redirect it to yoursite, you're setting yourself up to lose the domain especially if they have their name trademarked, or want to be total pricks.