Among the top 10 global brands in China,some of the domain names are happy and some are sad!

On July 17th, Google and Kantar jointly released the "2020 BrandZ China Top 50 Global Brands." According to the list, Huawei secured the top spot with a brand strength score of 1938 points, followed by Lenovo in second place, and Alibaba in third.

In recent years, many excellent domestic brands have been targeting the international market, and the influence of "Made in China" has been growing. Expanding brand influence in the process of globalization also depends on the power of domain names. Having high-quality domain names can effectively drive brand promotion, deepen the impression of foreign users, and establish a brand image. Today, let's take a closer look at the top ten companies on the list and their domain names!

1. Huawei

As an international giant, Huawei places great importance on domain names. Huawei owns at least 143 domain names, with its official website domain being huawei.com. They have protected a series of brand-related domains like huawei.cn/com.cn/.hk/.ai, and hold many brand-specific domains such as "荣耀" (honor.cn), "华为商城" (vmall.com), "Emotion UI" (emui.com), and "华为云服务" (huaweicloud.com/.cn), among others.

Huawei's revenue in the first half of 2020 reached an astonishing 454 billion yuan, and its current valuation is around 400 billion US dollars. Apart from developing multiple operating systems independently, Huawei has also made comprehensive strides in 5G technology. Speaking of 5G, the keyword is "fast." It remains to be seen whether Huawei, which values domain names, will acquire the domain kuai.com for its 5G technology. In any case, prioritizing domain names and domain protection ensures brand reputation and provides more opportunities for business expansion and increased traffic.

2. Lenovo

Lenovo Group, founded in 1984, is a large conglomerate diversified in the information industry. Its current market value is 54.67 billion Hong Kong dollars.

Lenovo's official website domain is lenovo.com, and they have protected domains like lenovo.cn/.com.cn/.net.cn. They also hold many high-quality domains related to their brands, including Moto.com, zuk.com (for "乐商店"), baiying.cn ("百应"), and leme.cn, among others.

3. Alibaba

Alibaba's current market value is 5.13 trillion Hong Kong dollars. Alibaba Group operates various businesses, including Taobao, Tmall, Juhuasuan, Alibaba Cloud, Ant Financial, and Cainiao Network, among others. Its official website domain is alibaba.com, and it holds numerous premium domains, including alipay.com for the Alipay platform, yitao.com for Yi Tao, tianmao.com for Tmall, and 1688.com for 1688, among others. In total, Alibaba holds 1,888 domains, including ju.cn, pp.cn, uc.cn, my.cn, and many more.

4. ByteDance

ByteDance is one of the first tech companies to apply artificial intelligence to the mobile internet. Its estimated value is 40 billion USD, and its official website domain is the composite domain bytedance.com.

ByteDance's brand-related domains are all top-notch: toutiao.com for Today's Headlines, douyin.com for Douyin (TikTok), huoshan.com for Huoshan version of Douyin, wukong.com for Wukong Q&A, baike.com for Interactive Encyclopedia, tuchong.com for Tuchong, mubu.com for Mubu, feishu.cn for Feishu, and feiliao.com for Feiliao, among others. These are all premium double-pin domains that align perfectly with their brand, significantly enhancing brand promotion.

5. Xiaomi

Xiaomi, a leader in the internet smartphone industry, has always recognized the importance of domain names. MIUI, MiChat, Xiaomi smartphones, and domains like miui.com, miliao.com, and xiaomi.com have created the "Xiaomi Empire." Xiaomi also protects xiaomi.net/.cn and miui.cn.

In order to expand Xiaomi's products globally, they spent 36 million USD to acquire mi.com in 2013. That same year, they also spent a six-figure sum to acquire the domain miwifi.com. Additionally, Xiaomi holds domains like hongmi.cn for "红米" and shouji.cn for "手机." Xiaomi's focus on domain name protection and importance is evident, and their current market value is 373.339 billion Hong Kong dollars.

6. Haier

Haier Group was founded in 1984 and is a leading global provider of solutions for a beautiful life. Haier's official website domain is haier.com, and they have protected haier.net/.hk. They also hold over 200 brand-related domains, including haiergroup.cn/.com.cn/.net.cn, haiertv.cn/.net, and more.

7. Hisense

Hisense Group was established in 1969 and is one of the first national-level technology innovation demonstration enterprises and one of China's top ten state-owned enterprises. Hisense's official website domain is hisense.com, and they have protected hisense.com.cn.

8. OnePlus

OnePlus, a smartphone brand founded by former OPPO vice president Liu Zuohu, adopts an online sales model and officially launched in 2014. OnePlus's official website domain is oneplus.com, and they have protected oneplus.cn/.net. They also hold the brand domain h2os.com for Hydrogen OS and protect h2os.net.

9. Air China

Air China Limited, abbreviated as "国航" (Guó Háng), was formally established in Beijing in 1988 and is the only civilian aviation company in China to carry the national flag. Its official website domain is airchina.com, and they have protected airchina.com.cn and other brand-related domains.

10. Tsingtao Beer

Tsingtao Beer's predecessor was the state-owned Tsingtao Brewery, founded in 1903 as a joint venture between British and German businessmen, making it one of the oldest beer production companies. It was an official sponsor of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and is on the Fortune Global 500 list. Its official website domain is tsingtao.com.cn, and they protect tsingtao.cn. They also hold domains like tsingtaobeer.com/.cn/.cc and more.

However, Tsingtao Beer's domain name is creative but relatively long, making it less convenient for memory and input. As a representative enterprise of Qingdao, Tsingtao Beer could use the two-letter domain "青岛" (QD.com). A short domain name is not only concise but also representative of the brand, making it easier for users to remember. From these perspectives, QD.com may even be more valuable than JD.com, which cost 300 million RMB for JD's domain.

High-quality domain names have always been a symbol of a company's strength, brand, and strategic vision. According to the domain names used by the top ten global brands in China, most of them use Pinyin domains or first-letter abbreviations that are easy for Chinese users to remember. However, in the process of internationalization and

globalization, Pinyin domains are not necessarily advantageous because foreign users may not be familiar with Chinese language and culture. Pinyin domains are not user-friendly for them. In an era highly dependent on the internet, domain names serve as vital gateways connecting companies with global users. Without domain names that better fit international markets, it can become a significant obstacle to brand promotion.

In the top five of the rankings, companies like Alibaba and Xiaomi, in addition to having numerous Pinyin domains, also hold many high-quality letter, number, and word domains. In contrast, the companies in the bottom five mainly hold brand domains, and many of them are creative and complex, which makes them less user-friendly for memory and input. If these companies paid more attention to the vital synergy between domain names and brands and started using short and brand-relevant premium domain names, they could improve their rankings on the list with their strong capabilities.

Just like Xiaomi's willingness to spend millions to acquire the more international mi.com, a refined, concise, representative, and globalized domain name can better capture people's attention to the brand. These two elements complement each other and lead to long-term brand benefits. It is foreseeable that high-quality, globally friendly domain names will become the preferred choice for companies to implement domain name strategies and will be a key focus of domain name reserves.