What are DOMAIN names?

The Domain Name … An essential tool for Business!

In today’s business world a domain name and a web presence becomes essential because it gives you an online identity which allows internet users from around the world to locate and browse your web site 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It can be used to host your email address and your web address. A domain name can also be used as a pointer to your existing site name (ie. Maxdelivery.com may be bought as a separate domain name and pointed to your site www.maxcouriers.com. )

A marketable and brandable name is essential to create your internet presence. As internet traffic increases, businesses will realize that they can no longer ignore the internet.

When choosing The Right Domain Name.

This is perhaps the most important step in the entire process of building your online identity, and due to the ongoing demand for domain names, it can also be one of the most difficult. In choosing your domain name try to be as creative as possible so that it exhibits the type of business that you are marketing.

1. Your company name or something like it may not always be the best choice unless it’s a well-known name, or actually describes your product or service e.g. “chocolatefactory.com”.

2. A word or words which describe what you sell, such as “chocolates.com”.

3. Something which is meaningless but memorable. The auction web site “www.ebay.com” is very well known, but who actually knows what an eBay is?

Using Keywords…..Can Increase Your Business.

• Think not only of nouns, but also of adjectives and verbs that describe how your product or service is used.
• Think of words both directly and indirectly related to your product or service.
• Ask your friends, family, associates and clients what words and phrases they would be most likely to use in searching for products or services like yours.
• Investigate which keywords your competitors use. See which keywords are used frequently on their pages and in their meta tags.
• Think geographically, and include keywords that describe the area you serve.

What the correct Domain Name Can Do For You.

If you decide to purchase a domain name that matches the concept of your business (instead of the exact business name), you might draw web surfers in search of that topic. For instance, a car dealer that purchases “classiccars.com” might get visitors looking for classic cars in particular. (If you wish, you can even register multiple domain names and arrange for them all to redirect visitors to a single central web site).

Having your own domain name makes your company look professional. If you publish your site through an ISP or a free web hosting service, you’ll never have complete control of your web site or email address and you will end up with a URL such as “www.abchosting.com/mailboxservices”. Web savvy visitors will recognize that you don’t own your own brand and may question your company’s size and/or ability. In contrast, “www.mailboxservices.com” shows that you have committed to marketing and operating your business professionally. Incidentally, owning your own domain name lets you take that name with you if you decide to transfer web hosts or switch to your own house server. If you don’t own your domain name, you’ll have to switch to a new URL/domain name, which will destroy the branding that you built up with your first address.Having your own domain name indicates you’re part of the new economy, it implies that you’re technologically up to date. If perception is reality, having your own domain name might just put you ahead of your competitors.

How A Domain Name Can Help Your Search Engine Placement.

Domain names that include common keywords can improve a site’s ranking in search results turned back by major search engines. Many large search directories will not even list a site that does not have its own domain name. Also,domain names are easy to remember and customers may not have to search at all to find you.

Search engines receive thousands of submissions from sites published through ISPs and free sites each day. They accept the first few and regard all the rest as spamming. High search engine listings are essential to the success of any web site. Having your own domain name is the first step towards achieving such rankings.

Personalise your e-mail address with your own domain

Creating an internet address

What is nowadays referred to as an e-mail address used to be called an internet address. An e-mail is an electronic mail, which essentially works the same way as conventional mail you receive at your home or office. Only difference is that an e-mail is delivered to you virtually within a few seconds of it being sent whereas conventional mail can take days or weeks before it is delivered. You can create and write your own texts for the receiver to read. You can insert digital images, videos and files just like in a conventional letter. An e-mail address works just like a domain in the way that it is unique and only has one owner. No two people can have the same e-mail address unless you share it with someone. Just like conventional mail, your postal address is only yours unless you share your home with others. The access to your e-mail account is username and password protected, like a lock, to which only you have the key and it secures your mailbox. Anyone can send you an e-mail. You can have free e-mail services like Hotmail and Googlemail, or you can have your own professional email services.

Set up the e-mail addresses affiliated to your domain

Another way to get an e-mail address is to have one, which is affiliated to your website domain. If you have a website, especially for a business website, it looks very professional to have an e-mail address with your business website domain at the end. An e-mail usually consists of the name you choose for it followed by the domain of the website. For example, a Giotek domain affiliated e-mail would be yourname@giotek.co.za. This consists of your name combined with a sign to designate its designation to the website domain of www.giotek.co.za. If you register with the free service of gmail, your e-mail would be yourname@gmail.com. While Hotmail and Googlemail are great free e-mail providers, it does not look credible and professional if you want to promote your business organisation.