We’re living in the digital age where nearly everything is performed online. With the rapid increase in users of Internet, there now exists a vast base of audience waiting to be tapped for your business.
Whether you own an existing business or are planning to start a new one, you require a strong online presence. Conducting a web search is generally the first thing your potential customer will do when searching out your product or service on the Internet.
If in case your website is easy to find and navigate, you’ll significantly increase your chances of a sale.
As the dynamic of marketing has changed significantly in these recent years, it is through a well-developed and maintained website, a business reaches its potential customers. From a marketing and branding point of view, you can create a lasting brand image with a suitable domain name.
It has now become imperative for businesses to own a high-quality domain name. A premium domain protects your brand and makes it look more professional. It also boosts search engine rankings, drives traffic and acts as a virtual asset which tends to increase in value over time.
Let’s now have an overview over the basics of domain registration.
What is a Domain?
A domain is the sole and unique physical name of a website. It can also be referred as the combination of letters, number and symbols a user types in his browser to access a specific web address directly.
It can be said that it’s the most important part of your website. Much like a home address or a phone number, domain names are unique and can’t be used identically by another website.
Only the domain name owner, also known as domain name registrant, can access and use the backend of domain names. Domain names are assets that can also be bought and sold in domain name auctions.
Instead of using an IP address, which is a long-winded string of numbers and letters computers use to recognize a website, a domain name helps users to easily browse the internet and open a specific website.
Every domain name has an economic value and it can be purchased, sold or exchanged through different online marketplaces. A good domain name is important and its scarcity creates a higher demand for quality domain names.
gTLDs (Top-level generic domains) and nTLDs (new top-level domains) are the last sections as well as extensions of your domain name. Top-Level Domains are often referred to as domain suffixes and they communicate the purpose or location of a website.
Some of the popular domain extensions include-
.com
.net
.org (non-profit organizations)
.co
.in (for Indian websites)
Choosing and registering a domain name shouldn’t be done in hurriedness. A domain name is a priceless marketing and search tool that effectively guides customers to your site.
You should ensure that you carve out your slice of the online market with careful deliberation and research.
Reasons Why Domain Name is Important for your Business
Gone are the days where digital marketing was considered an additional option, today it’s a necessity for any business to survive in 2021 and beyond. Unfortunately, there are many small businesses that still don’t have their own website.
The rapid increase in adoption/usage of mobile technology and social media has prompted businesses not just to have a website, but to have a mobile-friendly website and an active online presence.
Internet has become a place to buy everything. Consumers turn to the internet before purchasing anything — from what movie to watch to which dress to wear for an occasion.
In short, if you run a business, you need a website.
Turns out a website cannot exist without a unique domain name. So you also need to choose a proper domain name that best highlights the name of your business or brand.
A domain name is more than just an arbitrary web address users can use to access your website; it’s a great opportunity for businesses to create a brand identity and improve the consumer experience.
Also Read: What Is Website & Why It’s Important For Any Business?
Adds Credibility to Your Business
A company can look and project itself as a highly professional body once they have a personal domain with proper extensions.
Generic addresses fail to stir confidence in clients, thus refrain from making a poor choice as it would directly reflect on the business that’s being promoted.
If you still choose to go with generic addresses, your potential customers might think that you’re not willing to invest in your business; therefore they arrive to the conclusion that your products and services are also low quality. You need to ensure that you avoid this risk.
A high-value domain for your website and your company’s email address helps build authority, both online and offline. Owning an easy to remember premium domain ensures your consumers notice that you are an authorized, legitimate business and as a result trust you more easily.
With a unique domain name reserved for your business, you can create and use domain-specific email addresses. What many small business owners do is that they still use free email services like Gmail or Yahoo to communicate with their customers.
Consumers being tech-savvy, expect any businesses they use to exhibit a certain level of professionalism. In such an extremely competitive market, small differences like having a business email can be an advantage that steers consumer decision in your favor.
Builds your Brand
A business’s domain name subconsciously plays a part in growing its brand. Just imagine, how powerful would the Amazon brand be if it had a domain name like buyproducts.com?
A domain name is an opportunity to cement your brand identity into visitors’ minds effectively.
Not only is Amazon.com the ideal domain name to grow Amazon’s brand, but it’s easy for Internet users to remember and type in their browser when they want to visit the website directly.
While selecting a domain name for your business, look for branded names whenever possible — particularly if you can find an exact match brand name.
Improves Your Marketing and Visibility
A branded, short and, easy to remember domain name is of high-value as it gives users and search engines an easy and intuitive way to remember and find you.
Having a great domain name for your business gets you high visibility, reputation and natural traffic that too without any recurrent cost.
Increase in Website Traffic
Right domain names have a lot of potential to steer traffic towards their website. This traffic predominantly comes from direct type-in or referral traffic.
Type-in traffic essentially means that someone who’s looking for a particular product decides to evade the search engine by typing the keyword of the product they want directly into their browser.
Type-in traffic the best type of traffic as it is highly targeted and costs minimal efforts to obtain.
On the other hand, Referral traffic is a type of website traffic that usually comes from links from other websites. Many premium domain name are aged sufficiently enough that they come with high amounts of back links ensuing in a large amount of quality traffic.
Also Read: Types of websites you can create in 2021
Helps in Free Advertising
Your domain name not only helps you in having a more professional email address, it also gives you the chance to advertise your business year round for minimal cost.
Once you have a domain name, you could list it on your business cards and other marketing creative such as brochures and company profiles.
Printed materials having your domain name listed, provides a way for customers and prospects to learn more about your business’s products and services.
Customers and prospects don’t have to wait for working business hours to find out what’s currently on sale. Also when your domain name has relevant keywords in it relating to your offerings, prospective consumers can use their search engine to find your website online and discover where your business’ office is located, and what the working hours are as well.
Helps Reduce Cost
Through a domain name, your business reduces a wide spectrum of general costs, especially when you attach the domain name to your website.
E.g. you can insert an electronic version of your product catalog on your website, with no limit on size as website space is considerably cheaper than printed catalogs.
You can also offer extra product photos and descriptive text. Errors and typos can be swiftly corrected without reprinting the catalog, and products can be added or removed as required.
Protects Your Brand
Your unique domain is an investment in your brand and it will protect your intellect rights for years to come. Refrain from choosing such a domain name which is similar to your competitor’s, instead choose a unique one that highlights your brand and its offerings.
Increase Your Search Engine Ranking
Keyword-rich domain names are more likely to rank high in the search results. Try to select a domain that is stuffed with high-quality keywords.
Conclusion
Ensure that you give a lot of thought prior registering the ideal domain name for your business or brand. A domain name can be thought of as a tattoo – it will be there for a long period of time, it is reversible, but the procedure would be excruciating and would cost you extra resources.
Need any help in domain registration, website design/development or web hosting? We at Sampark Infoways are at your service, we are leading IT solutions company in Raipur and Mumbai providing expert solutions to clients worldwide since 2010.
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