.com.au or .au: choosing a domain as an Australian agent
What the difference is, who can register each one, and why the ABN you use decides who owns your domain.
When a vendor is deciding who to call, one of the first things they do is search your name. What comes up shapes their first impression before you’ve said a word. For most agents the answer is an agency profile page, a portal listing and maybe an old social media account.
None of those belong to you.
Your agency page isn’t your address
Your profile on your agency’s website is useful, but it’s on your agency’s domain and under their control. If you change agencies, the page usually disappears and the links pointing at it break. Every review link, every QR code on an old brochure and every “find me online” in an email signature stops working on the same day.
A domain in your own name, like yourname.com.au, is different. It’s registered to you, it stays with you, and it can point to whatever you want it to: a full website today, a new design next year, your new agency’s details when you move.
Why a name domain helps you get found
Search engines try to work out which page best answers a search. When someone searches “Jordan Reyes real estate”, a site at jordanreyes.com.au that’s clearly about Jordan Reyes, an agent in Paddington, is a strong match. It doesn’t guarantee a top result, and no one can honestly promise that, but it gives you the clearest possible starting point.
It also helps in all the places you can’t control:
- People remember it. It’s easier to say out loud at an open home than a long agency URL.
- It looks established. An email or card with your own domain signals that you take your business seriously.
- It collects your reputation. Every link to your site from a review platform, a local article or your agency’s page builds up value at an address you keep.
Which domain should you choose?
Start with your full name. If your name is common, add a word that ties it to what you do or where you work.
| If this is taken | Try |
|---|---|
| janesmith.com.au | janesmith.au, janesmithrealestate.com.au |
| janesmithproperty.com.au | janesmithpaddington.com.au |
Avoid hyphens and unusual spellings where you can. If you have to spell it out every time, it’s working against you.
For most Australian agents a .com.au is the strongest choice, because it’s familiar and clearly local. A shorter .au is a good alternative or a second address. We explain the difference, and the eligibility rules, in .com.au or .au: choosing a domain as an Australian agent.
Make sure it’s registered to you
This matters more than the name itself. Whoever is listed as the registrant controls the domain. If your agency, a former web designer or a marketing company registers it on your behalf in their name, they own it, not you.
When you register a domain with us, it’s registered in your details, and you can transfer it to another provider whenever you like.
The short version
- Register your name as a domain, ideally
.com.au. - Make sure you’re the registrant.
- Point it at a website that’s clearly about you, your suburbs and how to contact you.
- Use it everywhere: your email signature, your cards, your social profiles and your review platforms.
Your name is the one thing that comes with you to every listing, every agency and every year of your career. Your domain should be the same.
