Being the entrepreneur that you are, you’ve decided to build a website and publish it online. Congrats! Pat yourself on the back, you’ve done great.
The next step is to choose a custom domain name to add to your business website. Domain names are vital to the health of any small business for a number of reasons. In this article, we’ll outline why every business website should have a domain.
Custom domains give your business credibility.
By separating your website from a subdomain (mybusiness.yolasite.com) and owning your own domain (mybusiness.com), you are outwardly portraying that you are a real organization. This alone gives your business more credibility and helps to establish your website’s brand name.
Domains are affordable.
In addition to giving your website credibility, domains are extremely affordable – costing anywhere from $11-$15 per year for a .COM. You also can buy multiple domains if you feel it is necessary. This might be good for your business if you are localized and would like to capitalize on local searches.
For example, if your business is in Canada, you could point two domains to your website: 1) mybusiness.com and 2) mybusiness.ca. Larger brands do this for the areas where they are localized. You’ll see that Yola.com and Yola.ca both direct to the Yola homepage.
Domains help you get found.
In addition to using a country-specific domain extension (ccTLD), domains help you get found faster. Your keywords will be directly under your custom domain as opposed to being associated to a subdomain. Google, Bing and other search engines rank websites with a custom domain slightly higher than ones without. Although there is no clear measurement as to how much the increase is, it is evident that custom domains do help your search ranking.
Domains help establish your brand.
Your business website is closely tied to your brand. In addition to having a credible brand, you’ll want to have a memorable one. Custom domains are easier for customers to remember. They also look better on business cards and other materials, giving your business a more professional look.
Domains are easy.
Owning a domain is easy to do. You purchase a one-time, small fee and that’s it. The domain is yours for an entire year. Be sure to have your domain set for auto-renewal so that it doesn’t expire. Expired domains get posted for auction and another user can purchase the rights to your domain.
Adding your domain to your website is also easy. Simply find the domain of your choice, purchase it and publish your website directly to the domain.
What are your thoughts on domains? Please share your questions about domains in the comments below.