To protect your online identity first and foremost you should register www.<yourtradingname>.com.au . If it is not available you may wish to register an abbreviation of your trading name, add a prefix or a suffix, or include a hyphen (-). You may also wish to consider registering additional domain names that reflect your brands, products, services, venue, events, activities, professions, and/or trademarks. If you have a brand name that is commonly misspelt it is recommended that you also register the misspelling as a domain name and redirect it to your main website.

.com domain names may be registered by any individual or organisation anywhere in the world as they are unrestricted. Therefore, should your preferred domain name be available in the .com domain name space it would be wise to secure it as soon as practicable while it is still available.

If you provide products or services to the Australian community .com.au is recommended as it indicates that you are an Australian organisation and more so, an Australian registered trading entity. The .com domain name extension, being one of the original domain name extensions, gives the impression that your business has been around for a while and has a well established presence on the web. It is a matter of personal choice depending on what you wish to achieve. However, in an attempt to protect commercial branding it is recommended that where possible all Australian businesses secure the .com.au, .net.au and .com versions of their company and/or trading name together with the names of their major products and services.