These are called "descriptive domain names" or "generic domains" or category-defining domains. Here are some great examples (link).
- Aspirin.com - Bayer
- Baby.com - Johnson and Johnson
- Bikes.com - Rocky Mountain Bicycles
- Books.com - Barnes and Noble
- Bras.com - Calvin Klein Underwear
- Buffet.com - Country Buffet
- Burgers.com - Carl's Jr
- Chips.com - Intel
- Computers.com News.com - CNET
- CreamCheese.com - Kraft
- Dentures.com - Fixodent
- Eat.com - Ragu
- Educate.com - Sylvan Learning
- Floors.com - Mannington
- Gift.com - JC Penny
- Gourmet.com - CondeNast Publications
- History.com - The History Channel
- Jobs.com - Monster
- Laundry.com Toothpaste.com - Procter and Gamble
- Lift.com - Otis Elevators
- Loans.com - Bank Of America
- Malts.com Rum.com Scotch.com - Diago
- Meals.com - Nestle
- Money.com - CNN
- Motorcycles.com Scooters.com - Honda
- Movies.com - Disney
- News.com Computers.com - CNET
- OfficeSupplies.com - Office Depot
- Pens.com - National Pen Company
- Pets.com - PetSmart
- Priceless.com - MasterCard
- RentalCar.com - Enterprise
- Rum.com Malts.com Scotch.com - Diago
- Salads.com - Foxy Fresh Vegetables
- Scooters.com Motorcycles.com - Honda
- Scotch.com Malts.com Rum.com - Diago
- Shades.com - Sunglass Hut
- StudentLoan.com - Citibank
- TennisShoes.com - K-Swiss
- Toothpaste.com Laundry.com - Procter and Gamble
- Trailer.com - U-Haul
- Treadmills.com - Woodway
- Vacations.com - Travelocity
- Visit.com - CityBreak
- Vitamins.com - Puritan's Pride
- Weather.com - The Weather Channel
- Weddings.com - The Wedding Channel
- Wheelchair.com - 1-800-Wheelchair
- Word.com - Merriam Webster
- Worldmaps.com - The Map and Globe Store
Vitamins.com is far more effective than Puritan's Pride (puritanspride.com), but both operate in tandem. You can be quite sure they'll never give up an additional descriptor to their competitors. Once purchased (for somewhere between $1000 to $10,000,000), it costs only $10 per year!
Firms in Britain are often happy enough to build on the .co.uk extension (link), but .com is much more valuable & recommended!
If we imagine the main website for a Swedish biomedical firm, for example:
Biolm.com
can be enhanced by additional domains, some of which redirect to the main website, others that contain different information. These descriptive supplemental domains build and better-define the top brand.
Using the example above, supplementary domains could be:
biodynamicbrand.com
biomedSweden.com
biolipid.com
biogesic.com
Swedenbrand.com
Swedensown.com
etc.
A real estate agent such as
Click Realty
can buttress their position, depending on office location & focus, by adding domains such as:
goodflats.com
sunnysandy.com
housingbrand.com
placeauthority.com
penthousebrand.com
Asianpenthouse.com
farmhousebrand.com
brandhawaiian.com
brandmaui.com
oahubrand.com
waikikibrand.com
etc.
Buying such supplemental or generic domains quickly pay net dividends, if just one or two referrals each month are attracted to a business. They work worldwide 24-hours every day for years! And if you own it, your competition forever loses a big chance.
Remember, the supplemental domain can simply point / redirect to the main website, or work in parallel. Each format adds important support to your business & sales.Best you own it -- don't leave it for your competitors to fuel their operations.