Why I Spent $1.5 Million on Our Domain It's a lot of money, but worth the cost.

By Noah Kagan

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

izusek | Getty Images

SumoMe.com is now the former SumoMe.com. After six-plus years and 1.5 million cold hard dollars, we have finally rebranded as Sumo.com.

Yes, you read that right. It cost us $1,500,000 for that domain name. That ties Sumo.com with Russia.com for the 83rd most expensive domain purchase ever. But it's not like we just chucked a briefcase full of cash at someone to make it happen. It was way more work than that. We hired multiple private domain sleuths to help us acquire the domain (#failed); we bought SumoS.com to help make us feel better (it didn't); people sent fake emails on our behalf to see if the owners would sell (they didn't). And, I sent this email every six months for seven straight years:

Related: The Psychology Behind Choosing a Killer Domain Name

Finally, after all that effort, we got the domain name we wanted.

Which is funny, because when the sale went through I thought of everything we could've bought with that money. A McLaren F1 supercar. A NetJet private membership. Five houses in Austin. You can't even sleep inside Sumo.com! But still, I knew it was the right decision. Here's why:

1. It's one word.

Mark Zuckerberg hired me to work at thefacebook.com. The name sounds weird, doesn't it? Mark thought so, too. He realized how important it was to own Facebook.com, so he went out and bought every Facebook domain available. A friend of mine (who'll go unnamed) owned Facebook.org. He ended up selling it for 3,500 shares of Facebook. Let me do the math for you. That's now worth more than $800,000. Just imagine how much they spent on the rest of the domains...

Anyone can have a two or three word name. But one word names? They carry more prestige. Just ask Madonna.

Related: 4 Branding Lessons That You Don't Want to Learn the Hard Way

2. Those four-letter words.

Get your minds out of the gutter. Four-letter words are impressive and easy to remember. But I never believed that until a few years ago.

When worked with Aaron Patzer at mymint.com I was vehemently against him buying Mint.com. I didn't think it customers would care. "It only matters that you have a great service and product," younger Noah said.

Fortunately, Aaron was the founder and gave 3 percent of the company to acquire the domain. At the closing sale of Mint.com, that was worth $8.1 million. That's how important the domain was to Aaron. To his credit, which domain would you trust more: Mint.com, which sounds like a trusted finance company, or Wesabe.com, which sounds like an ecommerce fetish site?

The point is, at the time Wesabe was our biggest competitor. When's the last time you heard about them? Exactly. That four letter domain sounded more trustworthy than that weird competitor's name. There's just something about those four letter words.

Related: How to Find the Perfect Domain Name, Create Infographics and More

3. Plant your flag on top of the hill.

Do you know how many companies have "Sumo" in their name? It's a lot. You wouldn't believe how many times someone has come up to me and said, "Oh, are you also like (completely unrelated to us) sumo?"

You may find yourself in the same situation where there are tons of variants of your name. Standing out just gets harder when people confuse you with other companies. That's why we went right to the source. There are many copycat Sumo names in the market but by owning Sumo.com (free marketing tools for websites), we're positioned as the original. We are the Sumo.com.

Ultimately, $1.5 million is a lot to spend on a domain. But Sumo is a brand we will have forever. I've come around on the importance of branding because it shows our customers, future employees and competition that we're serious and here to stay.

What does your name say about you? Go see what $1,500,000 looks like. Visit Sumo.com, free marketing tools to grow your online business.

If you want even more behind the scenes, check out my podcast episode.

Wavy Line
Noah Kagan

Co-Founder of Sumo.com, Director of TEA (Taco Eating Association)

Editor's Pick

A Father Decided to Change When He Was in Prison on His Son's Birthday. Now His Nonprofit Helps Formerly Incarcerated Applicants Land 6-Figure Jobs.
Lock
A Teen Turned His Roblox Side Hustle Into a Multimillion-Dollar Company — Now He's Working With Karlie Kloss and Elton John
Lock
3 Mundane Tasks You Should Automate to Save Your Brain for the Big Stuff
Lock
The Next Time Someone Intimidates You, Here's What You Should Do
5 Ways to Manage Your Mental Health and Regulate Your Nervous System for Sustainable Success

Related Topics

Business News

'I Am Just Floored': Woman Discovers She Won $1 Million Lottery Prize While Checking Her Email at Work

Initially, she thought the email was a scam, but went to lottery headquarters and walked away with a six-figure check after taxes.

Business News

'I've Got the Bug for Business': See All of Mark Wahlberg's Entrepreneurial Endeavors, From Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch to Wahlburgers

Mark Wahlberg owns businesses in several categories, including entertainment production, apparel, fitness, and nutrition.

Business News

Google Wants Employees Back in the Office, Considering 'Attendance' in Performance Reviews

In an email, a Google executive reportedly told employees that many new features and products unveiled during Google's developer conference last month were "conceived, developed, and built by teams working side by side."

Business News

South Park Creators Spent 'Infinity Dollars' Renovating Iconic Colorado Restaurant, Set to Reopen Soon

Casa Bonita, a long-time favorite of South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, went bankrupt during the pandemic. The duo purchased and painstakingly renovated the Mexican spot "like a piece of art," Stone said.

Business Models

What New Aviation Practices Can Teach Us About Collaboration and Innovation

By identifying niche markets, embracing technological advancements and fostering collaboration, entrepreneurs are changing the aviation industry.

Growing a Business

14 Easy Ways to Rank Your Website Higher on Google

Despite Google's algorithm and regular updates, you can quickly boost your website's ranking with these tips.