Welcome to Your 2021 Online Business Plan – Step 3! In Step 1 we’ve shown how everything starts with a domain name. Step 2 explains how to build trust with customers by hosting your own inexpensive website and email. Now it’s time to sell it!
A domain name is integral to your business brand. It’s your name and your address, conveying instantly not just who you are, but also how to find you. Depending on the domain extension you use, it can also carry further meaning, “to the right of the dot”.
For example:
- .IE – this tells people that you are Irish, or that your site is aimed at the Irish market
- Similarly with .EU, .CO.UK, or city-related domain extensions like .BARCELONA or .BOSTON
- There are hundreds of new generic top-level domains like .FUN, .GARDEN, .DESIGN, and .DEALS.
Your domain name is mindshare
Your domain name is mindshare, a chance to put this information in your customers’ heads: not just who you are, but also what, where, and more.
So tell the world about it. Put your domain name front and centre, on your logos and signage, on your stationery and labelling, on your vehicles and clothes. Your domain name is your first step online. It can also be the first impression your customers form about you.
Most importantly, your domain will also become the repository of the value you create in building your brand and reputation. It’s more than just goodwill. A well-run online business will attract positive reviews and inbound links, enhancing its ranking on search engines. This is real value, sort of like real estate development, and a high ranking domain name can be sold for a high price. But, just as a real-estate property must be maintained, so must an online reputation, as search engines continuously monitor rankings to ensure a positive experience for their users.
And remember, if you attract business through social media platforms, it’s important to remind your visitors there what your domain is, so they can still find you, even if the social site goes down, or blocks you.
This is the third step in Blacknight’s Online Business Plan for 2021. We’ll publish three more steps on 21 January, all about Technology for Remote Working. The final steps will cover Cloud Infrastructure and will be published on 4 February. Got questions? Call us in Carlow – we’ll be happy to help.