Starting your very own business from home is a wonderful way to take charge of your life and make a living doing what you love.
But, before you start posting flyers around town,
there are a few things you need to take care of first. To start, you’ll need a domain name.
A domain name is the online address for your website – it’s the first thing people see when they find your site.
In addition, it can be used as an easy way to identify your company or product on social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook.
1. What is a domain name?
A domain name is the name of your website. It’s the address that people will type into their browser to access your website.
And if you don’t want to register your own domain name (and prefer to keep it as anonymous as possible),
you can purchase one. For most businesses,
it makes a lot of financial sense to have a.com (or.org) domain name rather than a local,. org, or other TLD.
From real estate fluctuation to Mario anglers to open source publishing, you can think of many domains’ names from household names to actor names.
Fact is, you never really know when you’ll need to pull.com off the shelf and start using it.
There’s no harm in hitting up your local domain registrar and drop a few bucks to have your business name automatically created for you.
Managing your online presence is a critical step in starting up your business.
While setting up an email account can be easy, some may not wish to be connected to their online surroundings daily.
Encourage tenants to set up email accounts by offering to set up their account for them if there are any emergencies they need to coordinate.
E-commerce websites, like Amazon and Zappos,
have become some of the most popular online spaces.
They are often powered by WordPress blogs
or Mingles (generic storefronts), which makes it really convenient for eCommerce websites to be installed on a property’s website.
Anytime you collect rent online or anytime a customer is searching for your business across the innerwebs, you should be celebrating by integrating your online presence.
While some landlords just want to link to their website from their listings, some landlords take pride in promoting their online properties.
Promote your website using a website link directory, and be sure to tag relevant keywords in your website’s internal pages
with the keywords you want people to click so they can get to your property’s website.
2. Why does a domain name matter?
A domain name is important because it’s the first thing people see when they visit your website:
it’s like the address to your home and it’s what tells people where they can find you.
A great domain name is short, memorable, and easy to spell. It doesn’t contain your company name, slogan, or any other unnecessary keywords.
Another thing your domain name must contain is keyword content.
Keywords are what people use to find your website and the keywords surrounding your domain name
will help get searchers to your website.
Once you have a domain name that sits on top of powerful phrases,
it will be easier for search engines to decipher what your site is about and lead searchers to it.
So, make sure your domain name is as memorable and search engine-friendly as possible.
Your business name and domain name are extremely important pieces of online marketing.
They are the building blocks on which your online presence is built.
Be sure to take the time to make sure your domain name, your title tag, your website content, and the copy of your landing pages are all keyword- and keyword-intensive.
Click the image below for a detailed best practices on researching and building a strong website using relevant keywords.
(Please note: The content of this example will be outdated right after a domain migration – please visit www.everybodysweetsite.com for a current best practices guide)
Rebecca Kelley is the content marketing manager for Intego, a Mac software company. She also guest-blogs/freelances at various places and runs a couple hobby blogs for shits and giggles.
3. What are the different types of domain names?
There are two main types of domain names: country-specific domains (ccTLD) and generic top-level domains (gTLD).
ccTLDs are specific to a country,
like .co.uk for the United Kingdom or .cn for China.gTLDs, however, correspond to generic top-level domains.
There are many different types of GTLDs, including Name.com, TLD.org, and International Top Level Domain (ITLD).
More on that later.
There are a few ways to register your website without one of the popular domain names already taken.
Method # 1 – Register Your Domain With a Name server It’s possible to register your own website without branding your business on the internet with no real assets.
For some, this might be an attractive option – especially if you don’t feel like having a permanent address and business name.
We’re already on to Method # 2 in terms of solid branding,
but let’s not forget about our very own company for a moment.
You can register a domain severer (a computer owned by another company providing web hosting) at very low costs.
You won’t be able to use it to create a website or host anything other than your own domain,
however, but if you’re REALLY just starting out,
this probably isn’t worth it.
If you’re looking to create a business community and host services, this is one of the best forms of domain name investment.
Method # 2 – Buy a Pre-Built Domain Name If your plan for launching your business is affordable, you might have a choice of pre-built TLD names to use.
Boasting a brand like Two Bit Canteen or Breaking Bad Café Canteen probably wouldn’t be very profitable
if you have very little in reserves.
Even if you aren’t ready to launch a whole website
for the home-based digital marketer yet,
you need to think about whether a recognized brand for the home market might be a nice thing to have. For example, Google owns Google.com which is a country-specific TLD.
