Help your small business get ahead online with .au

The numbers are in and they paint a clear picture: Australian consumers overwhelmingly prefer to shop online with businesses that have a .au website. auDA's 2025 Why .au? report reveals that half of all Australian consumers will only shop at a website ending in .au. This reinforces just how crucial a trusted online presence is for small businesses and how.au can help your business get ahead in the digital market.

We explored these matters and more in a recent webinar with industry experts Rachel Colaso, General Manager of Business Growth from Business Chamber Queensland, Duncan Rusby, Founding Director of Sagacity Research, and Bruce Tonkin, CEO at auDA. Below we set out their top takeaways.

In today's digital world, an online presence is no longer a luxury for small businesses—it's a necessity. Australians, and consumers worldwide, rely on the internet to find products, services and information.

With highly digitally engaged businesses earning more revenue per employee and growing 28 per cent faster than those with poor digital engagement*, the advantages of a strong online presence speak for themselves.

A business website is an important part of any business’ online mix, with auDA research finding three in four Australian consumers will only purchase from a business online if it has a website. In our webinar, Bruce noted "having a website shows you’re a real business and that you’re credible. A social media page can be good for brand awareness but a website holds key information that customers rely on before making a purchase.”

Aussies choose a .au domain name to anchor their online presence because it is Australian, recognisable to their customers and trusted. In fact, as evidenced in auDA’s Why .au? research, three in four Australian consumers are more likely to trust a business with a .au domain.

Duncan from auDA’s research partner, Sagacity Research, explained that “half of Australian consumers surveyed say they will only shop at a website ending in .au and two in five consumers check a .au website first when seeking to buy online.”

Duncan also spoke to the importance of trust in the current climate stating that “with rising levels of disinformation and an increasing decline in consumer confidence, consumers are looking for legitimacy.”

Rachel highlighted the significance of trust for small businesses saying that "trust and credibility is everything in business. In the online world, a website is a business’ front door. It’s really important to have a professional-looking website to help establish credibility and trust.”

The panel discussed that a .au website is a simple yet effective signal to help build online trust, and, as Rachel noted, .au websites are promoted higher up on search engines in Australia, meaning .au can help you establish trust locally in a crowded space.

Rachel noted a business website doesn’t need to be complicated. It can be as simple as a professional looking webpage or two that clearly showcases your products or services and the most important information sought by your customers.

Rachel recommends “putting yourself in your customer’s shoes”. She said “Make it an easy journey for customers. Give them the information they need, build that relationship up and make sure to maintain it.”

Of course, when setting up a website, it’s important to do so with website security front of mind.

auDA works to maintain high levels of security for .au, helping ensure it is one of the most secure domains in world. Bruce noted that one way auDA maintains a secure .au is by “administering the .au Licensing Rules and ensuring they are adhered to”. This is one component of auDA’s best practice cyber security approach which you can read more about in our A Secure .au report.

Whether you’re creating a website yourself or enlisting the help of an IT professional, be sure to keep website security front of mind. This starts with simple steps such as applying security updates as soon as they're available and using strong passphrases for your website and email accounts. Learn more about how you can keep your website secure.

These are just some of the ways .au can help your small business get ahead online. To find out more, read auDA’s 2025 Why .au? report, and watch the webinar recording on the auDA website.

• There’s a .au for everyone, learn about which .au domain name best suits you
• Get started registering a .au domain name
• Stay secure online with .au

*Towards 2030: Positioning Australia as a leading digital economy and society, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Quotes have been edited for brevity and clarity