Why You Need Your Own Domain Name
For many small business owners, especially those with full time day jobs who are trying to grow their business on the side, using a Facebook or similar profile as your website makes sense. You're probably on there anyway, and it's easy to just set up a Facebook page or add information about your business to your personal profile.
At the same time, I always recommend that you purchase a domain name of your own to promote as your business website. Here's why:
- It's easier to remember. Even though you can personalize your Facebook URL to be more user friendly (www.facebook.com/yourname), it is still easier to tell people to go to www.yourname.com (which can then forward seamlessly to that profile). If you're using other social media platforms or free website services then the name could be even longer (for example: www.freewebhost.freeserver.com/freehosting/123456/yourname). While I made that name up, I have actually seen similar free hosting service names that are at least that long if not longer. Can you see how that could be very hard to remember? Not to mention how awful it would look on a business card!
- It helps build your brand. On the web many people are known as a web address rather than a company name. When you use a name like Facebook/yourname as your website you are building THEIR brand rather than your own.
- It is more professional. If you want people to take you seriously in business you have to put forth a professional image. Having your own domain name will definitely help with that. It gives you credibility and sends a message that you are serious enough about your business to invest some money in it.
- It sets you up for expansion later. Sure that free website or social network is fine for right now but what about if you decide to switch to a different platform (like from MySpace to Facebook for example). Or how about when your company grows to the point that it makes sense to build your own, independent website? If you already have the domain name in place you won't have to switch everyone over to the new one (kinda like switching phone numbers or e-mail addresses.... invariably some people will get lost in the shuffle).
Ok so how do you do this. It's easy and it only costs about 10 bucks for a year. Simply follow the instructions below and in no time you'll have your very own domain name :)
- Go to my hosting website. I use GoDaddy for all my own websites and the websites of most of my clients. A little while ago I found out that by becoming a GoDaddy reseller I could discount their prices and pass the savings on to you. Pretty cool, huh? So click here and go to my hosting website, where you'll choose your domain name, create an account, and set things up to give your business a more professional image.
Choose your domain name. A little down on the page under the picture, you'll see a box similar to this one ==>
Type the name you want in the box and click "GO" to find out if it's available. These tips will help you choose a great name that will serve your business for years to come:
- Choose a name that is descriptive of what you do and includes keywords (words that people would use to find you). If your sell chocolates for instance it would make sense to have a domain name that includes the word "chocolate." If the exact name you want isn't available then keep trying different variations until you find one that is available (Hint: Often plurals work well - it's amazing how often these are available when the singular form is not.)
- In most cases shorter is better. The longer a name gets the more likely people are to misspell it. It's also a good idea to stick with common spellings and avoid hyphens if possible. Again it's a matter of being easier to remember.
- Avoid using words that create double letters, for instance www.myyellowcattales.com. See how easy that would be to misspell? Of course the double "l" in the word yellow is fine because it's part of a normal word.... you get the idea.
- To give your business a local or regional flare you may want to add a city or state name or abbreviation to your domain name. This also comes in handy if the exact name you want isn't available. Examples: www.chocolate.com isn't available so try these alternatives with a local flair: www.bestcincinnatichocolate.com, www.ohiochocolate.com, www.chocolateincincinnati.com.
- Use your company name only if it is descriptive of what you do. For instance, www.SmithEnterprises.com is not descriptive of the chocolate business at all, but www.SmithsAmazingChocolates.com is.
- Stick with a .com, .net, or .org extension rather than those other ones. These are the 3 original domain extensions and they are still the ones most searched for. For instance, if your domain name is www.SmithsAmazingChocolates.biz and someone forgets and types in www.SmithsAmazingChocolates.com they will end up on your competitor's site. You don't want that! So even if you have to play with the name a bit, stick with .com first, followed by .net and .org. The exception to this is a non-profit or charitable site in which case you want to go for .org first.
- If you are worried about competition, consider buying multiple extensions. On some sites I own all 3 variations of the name. This is a little more expensive but it's a safety precaution against someone with else coming in and stealing my traffic.
- Purchase your domain name. Once you've found an available name that you like, go ahead and set up an account and purchase it. If you're purchasing one domain name for one year the price should be less than $10. If you purchase multiple names for multiple years then of course it will add up to more. When purchasing, ignore all the other stuff they try to sell you. For what you're doing you don't need it. Just keep saying "no thanks" and heading to the checkout. You can pay them via Paypal or any major credit card.
Note - at some point during the checkout process it will ask you if you want to automatically renew your domain name each year. If you think you'll forget then go ahead and check yes. This will insure that you keep your name for years to come. You can also check no, in which cases they'll send you a reminder when your domain is about to expire. - Set up the forwarding. Now that you have your domain name, you need to set it up to forward to your Facebook account (or wherever your website is). From the hosting page, log into your account (you will have received an e-mail about that when you registered) and click on "My Account" and then "domain manager" (on the left). Then click on your newly purchased domain name and you'll be taken to the "Domain Information" screen. Look at the icons across the top and choose the green arrow that says "Forward." You'll be forwarding a domain (not sub-domain). A window will pop up... simply put your current URL in that box (you can copy and paste), check the box that says "Update my DNS settings to support this change. (Recommended)," and click ok. Wait about 30 minutes for the change to take effect, then type your new domain name into your browser and hit enter. It should bring up your current website (Note - sometimes it takes more than 30 minutes but it should never take more than a day or so).
That's it. You're now set up with a professional domain name that points to your current website. If you change sites later all you have to do is log into your account and update the forwarding address. Couldn't be easier :)
One final note. This very easy for me because I do it all the time but I do know that it can seem overwhelming if you've never done it before. If you need help just shoot me a line and I'll be happy to assist you. As long as you register through my reseller link there's no charge for my service of setting up the forwarding so it will only cost you the price of the domain name. Pretty cool :)
