Don't know what an URL is? If you asked this question it is time to get a move on. URLs (or Universal Resource Locators for the technically minded) are the name that your company lives under in cyperspace. Most companies rely on URL as their brand. What the Internet leaders are finding out though, is that the URL you brand is not necessarily the URL your customers try. Just ask Charles Schwab.
Many companies have learned this lesson the hard way as competitors register similar URLs with
Internic.net.
Think that this can't happen? Click on
OneSource.com and you won't find the nation's largest fund shopping network. Instead, you get
Business Browser, a product that aggregates business news from the Web. It has nothing to do with mutual funds. Schwab has registered
OneSourceOnline.com but its efforts are likely for naught. Web surfers guessing URLs (and most of them still do) are going to catch the wrong wave.
Even worse, many companies are finding that disgruntled customers are registering URLs that contain a trademark and then starting web sites that amount to little more than gripe sessions among unhappy customers. These unhappy clients join discussions in which they bad mouth and complain about some of America's leading brands.
This may explain the thinking behind some URLs Charles Schwab has registered.
Yes, the San Francisco brokerage firm has registered "ScrewSchwab.com" and "SchwabSucks.com" among other URLs. It looks like the Internet pioneer is trying to head critics off at the pass.
Schwab is also making sure that it covers the bases against competitors looking to ride on its expensively created trademarks. Most recently it registered "Charles-Schwab.com". It already owns "CharlesSchwab.com", "ChuckSchwab.com", and Schwab.com. In case you were wondering, the last URL is Scwhab's front door.
Schwab's URLs
 
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