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There are many elements to consider when you are in the process of building or growing a website. Choosing a strong, SEO-optimized domain is often a top priority. But what happens after this point? Or, if you already have a domain, but it does not follow marketing best practices, you may be wondering if you should renew or change your law firm’s domain name.

Renewing a Domain

Domain names are not permanent. Their licenses need to be renewed every year. However, you can often prepay for several years in advance, which makes the frequency of renewal dependent on your business.

Fortunately, renewing a domain name is simple. A domain can be set up to automatically renew at the interval you chose when purchasing it from its hosting site. If you do not prefer for your card to be automatically charged, most registrars will send you an email when it is getting close to renewal time so that you can go in and schedule the payment manually.

If a renewal date is missed, there is typically a 30-day grace period. Beyond that time, however, the domain will be put out onto the open market for sale, and you might lose your ability to use it if someone else purchases it.

Should I Change My Domain Name?

Most law firms do not change their domain names unless there is a major shift in the company, such as a merge or in the event of buying or selling. On occasion, businesses will change their website addresses if they discover they have a weak domain and are able to get access to a better one. However, in general, law firms should not change their domain name unless their current one is forgettable, and not authoritative.

For law firms whose websites have been established for several years already, they will have been accruing what is called domain authority in the eyes of Google or other search engines. This allows them to naturally rank higher. If they do decide to make a change, they will be essentially starting from scratch. However, if they are a firm that is just starting out, they will not have had time to establish as much authority and can more easily switch to a domain name that is more beneficial to them.

Get in Touch to Learn More About Renewing or Changing Your Law Firm’s Domain Name

If you have questions about renewing or changing your domain name or other actions you can take to optimize your law firm for success, consider reaching out to us for legal marketing strategies that you can begin applying immediately. Whether you are just starting out or have been established for many years, we have an option to help you expand your client base.