Starting a business in this day and age has become a streamlined, fairly simple process. With all the digital tools at your disposal to automate half the grueling work, and with so many legal processes simplified to make it easier for an entrepreneur to start their venture, it seems that running a company has become easier. There are still many decisions any business owner needs to make that can define the success of your business down the line. It seems that everyone will focus on establishing their budget from the get-go, and rightfully so, as well as dealing with investors and collecting leads. Selecting your website's domain name can get lost in these early decisions.
However, dealing with the digital portion of your presence might be more intricate than it seems at first. Your website, linked with your social media profiles will ultimately help you become a memorable brand, one that has established a strong foothold in your industry. Getting the right domain name for your website will help you achieve just that, and so much more. Simply put, you shouldn’t rush into the first domain you see fit – do some research and you can expect the following perks to help your business grow.
Increasing security for your business
Your website will be one of the main customer touchpoints for your business. It will also be a potential window of opportunity for experienced hackers to steal hard-earned customer data from your website, and to find ways to weaken your business presence. You need advanced tech solutions for your cybersecurity strategy, but you also make every business decision with security in mind. That includes your domain name.
A trustworthy registrar selling noteworthy domain names should also come with built-in security to ensure that your business presence online cannot be compromised. Look for vendors that help you keep your business safe through your domain, by practicing ongoing domain monitoring and analytics to keep intruders at bay.
Boosting brand recognition and credibility
Business leaders need to work tirelessly to build and retain their reputation, online as well as offline. If you’ve built a brand on your personal expertise and experience, you can leverage your reputation to make your business all the more visible and memorable. For such purposes, selecting a personal domain name can help you not just stand out, but also boost recognition every time someone comes across your website.
We live in an era of personalization and transparency, so this is an excellent opportunity to personalize your business presence based on your professional expertise. Moreover, your name grants your brand higher credibility in the eyes of anyone who visits your site, and you’ll be able to further grow that professional authority in the eyes of your target audience and your peers, as well.
Building trust for your website visitors
Have you noticed that you instinctively visit websites with a .com extension, while you’d think twice before clicking on a website address with an unknown extension? Less used extensions can still be valid, absolutely, but they will start off as a little red flag for your potential visitors and might keep them away from your site. As you can see, the devil truly is in the detail.
Once you find a reputable registrar with available domain names that you can easily associate with your brand and your industry, also make sure that you can choose from a variety of extensions that will elicit trust in your target demographic. In addition to .com, you can look for personalized .me versions, as well as .org, and .net. This may seem like a minuscule decision, but it can certainly have an impact on how your potential customers see your business and if they will decide to click on any link leading to your site.
Getting creative with your brand voice
Businesses often let trends, markets, and audiences define their brand tone of voice. While that certainly makes sense when you want to build an appealing business entity when approaching customers, you should also keep your own brand vision in mind. The domain name you choose doesn’t have to be strict in that traditional sense. It can be used to express your whimsy, your values, and of course, implement keywords that link you to your industry.
Of course, the domain name should be short and sweet, in order to be memorable, but you still have some wiggle room to step out of your market’s comfort zone. This extra touch of creativity will also set you apart in the crowd!
While your domain isn’t the be-all and end-all of your digital presence, it will define your digital footprint nonetheless. Before you start growing your business online, make sure to take your time in order to select a domain name that is worthy of your personal brand, your industry, and that will attract your visitors and inspire trust. Once you have the right domain name ready, you can move on to building a stellar website that will awe your audience in the years to come.
Authored by guest contributor Jolene Rutherford, who is a marketing specialist - turned blogger, currently writing for technivorz.com. Interested in digital marketing and new technology trends. Love sharing content that can help and inform people.