Don’t be restricted by a geographical web address

Why a .cpa domain beats .us, .ca, and others

Today, there are more options than ever for firms looking to distinguish their online presence through a new web domain – a welcome development in light of the dwindling availability of preferred web address names using .com or .net domains.

It's easy to imagine why many firms are considering country-specific domains such as .us, .ca (Canada), and .ie (Ireland) to establish the firm’s legitimacy and commitment to current and prospective clients in these countries. But this may not be the right move.

Mutual recognition agreements in the global accounting industry are making it easier for qualified accountants in these countries (and others) to practice in the U.S. and vice versa. Combined with the continuing rise of remote work, mutual recognition agreements are contributing to a boom in accounting firms expanding into new global markets.

Country-based domains: Unintended consequences and limitations

Ultimately, relying on country codes may backfire, unnecessarily limiting these firms’ potential client and hiring pools. Consider the U.S.-based firm that expands into Canada and relaunches its site with a .ca address. What happens when their existing U.S. clients and prospects encounter their new .ca domain? At minimum, it can lead to confusion. Worse, it can lead to distrust. The new domain can also hamper search engine optimization (SEO) efforts by competing with the firm’s established website.

The .cpa domain: A smarter approach

There’s an easy way to avoid the unintended consequences and limitations of moving to a country-based domain. The .cpa domain, launched in 2020, can serve as an overarching “umbrella” domain for all current and future country expansion strategies. Some of the benefits of using a .cpa domain instead of a country domain include:

• Better SEO: Keep your current SEO strategy in place with a .cpa domain, rather than starting over with a new country-based domain.
• Stronger brand attributes: Your .cpa address tells visitors that your firm is distinct, safe, trustworthy and tech-savvy. In contrast, a country address primarily conveys that your firm is based in, or doing business in, a particular country.
• Multi-domain strategy-ready: If there are strong reasons for your firm to have a country address, it can have both. A .cpa domain can work seamlessly alongside separate country domains. If you already have a strong brand in yourname.ca, for instance, you can add a .cpa domain specific to your industry focus (e.g. Dental.cpa) and reap the rewards of additional SEO results without feeling like you need to change your identity.

Today, the .cpa domain is available for licensed individual CPAs and CPA firms in the U.S., Ireland, and Canada, with more on the way soon. That means that rather than having to adopt individual country domains, your firm can adopt a single .cpa domain that works easily in each of these countries. In fact, adopting this domain is one of the easiest actions a firm can take to improve its brand while also attaining practical technical benefits in other areas such as security and risk management. It also helps ensure that as the web continues to change, CPA firms will not be left behind on the technology front – regardless of the countries in which they are operating.

For firms looking to make this relatively simple update to their sites, CPA.com has made it easy to search for available domains and apply. Learn more about the .cpa domain and check your domain’s availability at cpa.com/knowledge-hub/resources/.