Index
Why the domain matters more than it seems
How to choose the domain name
Which extension to choose: .es or .com
Which mistakes to avoid in the name
How to check that the domain has no problematic history
Where to buy the domain and what to set up when registering it
What to do once you have the domain
Dealcar and the integrated website with no technical hassle
Frequently asked questions
Why the domain matters more than it seems
The domain has three different functions. The first is direct navigation: when a customer who already knows you types your address straight into the browser. If the domain is long, has hyphens or is hard to spell out over the phone, that direct navigation is lost. The second is ranking on Google: the domain is a signal that search engines use to understand what the website is about. A domain with relevant keywords can give a small initial advantage. The third is brand image: a professional domain conveys credibility before the buyer has seen a single car in your stock.
The domain also determines the business's email accounts. A dealership that operates with a Gmail account loses credibility compared with one that has ventas@nombredelconcesionario.es. That detail affects the perception of professionalism in every communication with customers.
See also how to build a local brand for a car dealership.
How to choose the domain name
The most important criterion is that the domain is easy to remember and to spell out over the phone. If you have to say "with a hyphen between the two words" or "with the number two" when someone asks for your website, the domain is too complex.
The strongest option for an independent dealership is the business name followed by the extension. If the dealership is called Automóviles García, the natural domain is automovilesgarcia.es. If that domain is taken, the most reasonable alternatives are adding the city (automovilesgarciamadrid.es), adding "coches" (cochesgarcia.es) or using just the surname if it's distinctive enough (garcia-coches.es, although in this case the hyphen already complicates the domain).
For dealerships that don't yet have a recognised brand in their area, including a geographic or sector keyword can help initial ranking: cochessevilla.es, ocasionbilbao.es, compraventamurcia.es. Those domains rank faster for local searches but have the limitation that if the business grows or moves, the domain may stop being descriptive.
The ideal length is between 6 and 15 characters, not counting the extension. Above 20 characters, memorability drops significantly.
Read also how to improve a dealership's local SEO.
Which extension to choose: .es or .com
For a dealership operating in Spain, .es is the best option if it's available. The .es extension conveys local presence to the Spanish buyer and has a positive effect on ranking for searches made from Spain. A buyer searching for "used cars in Alicante" who sees two similar results, one with .es and another with .com, will tend to associate the .es with a business that is closer and more locally established.
.com is perfectly valid if the .es for the name you want is taken. It has the advantage of being the most recognised extension globally and doesn't cause any ranking penalty.
What's worth avoiding are less well-known extensions such as .info, .biz or .online, which can make the buyer distrustful and rarely have a ranking advantage over .es or .com.
If the business can afford it, registering both the .es and the .com of the same name and redirecting one to the other is good practice: it prevents a competitor or a speculator from buying the version you haven't registered.
Which mistakes to avoid in the name
Hyphens in the domain are the most common mistake. A domain like "coches-garcia-valencia.es" is hard to communicate verbally and reduces memorability. If you need to separate words for readability, look for a name where the words flow together without ambiguity: "cochesgarcia.es" is cleaner than "coches-garcia.es".
Numbers in the domain also cause confusion: if the number is part of the business's real name (Automocion3, for example) it may be unavoidable, but if it's added simply because the domain without a number is taken, it's better to look for another alternative.
Accents and the letter ñ shouldn't be used in domains. Although it's technically possible to register domains with special characters (IDN), browsers display them differently and they can cause confusion. "automóvilesgarcia.es" with an accent can show up as a string of strange characters in some contexts.
Very generic domains with no differentiator (coches.es, automoviles.com) are already registered or cost thousands of euros. And even if they were available at a normal price, such a generic domain doesn't differentiate the business and can confuse the customer trying to remember where they saw that car they liked.
How to check that the domain has no problematic history
Before buying a domain that isn't completely new (business name + extension with no previous history), it's worth checking that it has no history that could harm your ranking.
The Wayback Machine tool (web.archive.org) lets you see historical snapshots of the domain. If the domain was previously used as a spam page, for adult content or for suspicious activity, Google may take that history into account and penalise the new website even if the content is completely different.
The Whois tool (available in any registrar's search) shows when the domain was first registered and whether it has had previous owners. A domain with many years of clean history has more initial authority than a completely new one.
For domains that are simply the business name followed by .es or .com with no previous history, this check isn't necessary.
Where to buy the domain and what to set up when registering it
The most widely used registrars in Spain for .es domains are DonDominio, Hostalia, GoDaddy and Ionos. For .com, any of those plus Namecheap. Price differences between registrars for standard domains are small (between 5 and 15 euros a year for .es or .com).
When registering the domain there are four settings to check. The first is that the domain is registered in the name of the business or the business owner, not in the name of the hosting provider or the web designer who manages it. If the relationship with that provider ends, the domain has to be transferable without problems.
The second is to turn on automatic renewal. A domain that expires because nobody remembered to renew it can be bought by a speculator or a competitor. Automatic renewal avoids that risk for the cost of the annual fee.
The third is to turn on WHOIS privacy protection if the registrar offers it. Without it, the domain owner's contact details are public and accessible to anyone, which can lead to unwanted sales contacts.
The fourth is to register the domain for at least two years from the start. Google considers domains registered for longer periods a sign of greater seriousness and stability.
What to do once you have the domain
The domain on its own does nothing. For it to work as the website's address, it has to be connected to a server where the website is hosted. That process is called DNS configuration and is usually handled by the hosting provider or the platform the website is built on.
If the website is going to be built on Dealcar, the domain connection process is included in the onboarding support: the Dealcar team configures the DNS so the domain points to the dealership's website without any technical knowledge needed.
Check what a dealership website needs to have to generate leads.
If it's going to be built on another platform (WordPress, Webflow, Shopify), the connection process varies but follows the same principle: in the registrar's panel you have to change the DNS servers to the ones indicated by the platform where the website is.
Professional email accounts (ventas@tunombre.es, info@tunombre.es) are also set up from the domain panel. Most registrars offer email accounts linked to the domain for an additional annual fee, or you can use Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 by pointing the domain to the corresponding mail server.
Dealcar and the integrated website with no technical hassle
If the website is going to be built with Dealcar, the domain connection process is part of onboarding and doesn't require any technical management on the dealership's part. The stock syncs automatically with the website, website leads arrive in the same CRM as portal leads and the website is optimised for local SEO from day one.
You can see how it works at dealcar.io/web-concesionarios or request a demo at dealcar.io.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a domain cost for a dealership?
Between 5 and 15 euros a year for a standard .es or .com domain at the usual registrars. Premium domains (very short names or ones with high-value keywords) can cost much more, but for a dealership with its own name the cost is always the standard one.
Can I also use the domain for the business's email?
Yes. Once the domain is registered, you can create professional email accounts linked to it: ventas@nombre.es, gerencia@nombre.es. The process is set up from the registrar's panel or by connecting the domain to an email service such as Google Workspace.
What do I do if the domain with my business name is already registered?
First check whether the owner is using the domain or whether it's inactive. Inactive domains can sometimes be bought by contacting the owner directly or through the registrar's domain marketplace. If the domain is in use, the alternatives are changing the extension (.es instead of .com or vice versa), adding the city to the name or using a variant of the business name.
Do I have to register the domain before creating the website, or can I do it afterwards?
The domain can be registered at any time, but it's best to do it before you start building the website so you don't have to change the address halfway through. Registering it beforehand also prevents someone else from buying it while the website is being developed.
