Change Your Primary Domain For Google Workspace
If you get a new domain or rebrand your company, you might want to change the domain for your Google Workspace account. Then you can use the new domain for your email addresses, Drive sharing, Meet, and other services.
Switching your primary domain is an involved process and you might consider adding another domain to your account instead. Learn about alternatives to switching your domain.
How Do We Register A Domain Name
Domain names must be registered with the appropriate domain name administrator. For example, .co.uk domain names are registered with Nominet.
It’s not generally possible to deal directly with a domain name administrator, so instead you can register domain names via domain name registration companies. There are many of these to choose from.
Look for a company that is an accredited registrar, or an authorised reseller for an accredited registrar, and that offers the right terms and conditions for you .
The registration process is relatively straightforward. You can register a domain online – you will need to provide contact details, such as your name and address.
You will also need to pay a registration fee. This varies depending on the type of domain name you are buying.
Typically, .co.uk domain names cost around £5 per year and .com domains cost £10 – £15 per year. Some extensions can be much more expensive.
If your domain name supplier is also providing other services , a domain name might be included with your package.
Be aware that registering a domain name does not mean that you own it. You simply have the right to use it for a certain period.
You will have to renew your registration periodically. It’s also possible for other organisations to challenge your right to use the domain name, although if you take care when choosing your domain then this is unlikely .
Stay Clear Of Copyright Issues
If youre pretty much settled on a domain name, then you need to spend some time looking into the past of your domain.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- Have there been any associated domain names that have a negative public opinion?
- Does your domain name contain any words that have a double meaning?
- Are there any existing trademark issues with the words used in your domain?
The last thing you want is to find and register the perfect domain name, only to realize that your domain is creating brand confusion, or that youre accidentally stepping on someones trademark.
Double-check social media, too. You want to make sure any relevant social media handles are still available. This will help you build brand consistency and make it that much easier for your visitors to find your business on social media.
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Renew Your Domain Name Before It Expires
Its important to remember that domain name registrations are not permanent. Registering your domain name effectively works as a lease, where upon expiry, it becomes available for someone else to register. Make sure you know when your domain name expires and renew your registration prior to this date. There have been instances where a popular or well-known websites domain name has expired, to be purchased by someone else. If this happens, the new domain name holder can choose to continue to use the website or sell the domain name back to you. Either way, having your domain name expire is an administrative headache that is best avoided.
What Happens If I Change My Domain Name Should I Consider A Domain Name Change For My Startup To Be Successful
What is it that sets you apart from others? Or what is the first thing that people think of when they wish to connect with you? Of course, its your name that helps them recognize the person you are.
Everyone wishes to have a unique name thats not only meaningful but matches their personality as well. There are many instances when people grow up and change the names given by their parents for several reasons. They seek names that are more likeable, easy to pronounce, describe their personality and are accurate spelling wise too, to get more acceptance in the society and among peers.
The same story is true for domain names for businesses.
Many big industry giants have changed their business and/or domain names as in an online scenario, consumers can get easily confused by similar spelling/sounding names and this can lead to significant implications for a business.
Facebook was originally thefacebook dot com, PayPal was originally X dot com, Google originally registered google dot stanford dot edu. and later changed to Google dot com.
Less than two minutes guide of reasons to change your domain name
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Prepare For A Few Months Of Fluctuating Traffic
The reality is, even if you do everything right, theres a good chance that your traffic may drop for awhile, while Google figures out exactly what is going on.
This can be pretty scary and was my one biggest fear with the move.
Think this through beforehand, and consider different ways you can drive more traffic to your site outside of organic search, and also think about marketing initiatives you can employ that might help with some lost revenue. Examples could be social campaigns, webinars, paid traffic, or email sequences.
The good news is, if you do things right, hopefully by going through the domain name change process, it forces you to think about the structure of your site, and will improve SEO over the long term.
A couple examples of things that we improved, that should lead to a traffic boost longer term are:
- Making the switch from HTTP to HTTPS
- Instead of having multiple sites with links pointing to each, we have one larger site. So we 301 redirected our smaller sites to the Location Rebel home page, thus gaining the links from my older sites. More links=better results.
- Optimizing our URL structure
- Content updates, where were updating old content and optimizing for search
- Cleaning out bloated and unwanted pages.
How Do I Come Up With A Catchy Name
A catchy naming option is usually a short name that is easy to remember but actually also long naming ideas can be catchy. For example: Big Red Fox 3 words but it is easy to remember it and if you will have also a great logo which represents the brand, it will make the name stick in your customer minds even more.
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Importance Of Matching A Company Name To Domain Name
In the past, matching names were important. As the internet has grown, and major companies began using alternative domain website names such as Johnson & Johnson using Baby.com, it has become less important to have your business name match your domain name.
In fact, in many cases, it is better to NOT match the two names. Read on to learn about when to match or not match your business and domain names.
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Search For Llc Name Availability
As you learned above, one of the legal requirements and rules for LLC names is that they must be unique and not taken by another business registration in your State.
There are two ways you can search:
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- LLC Name Search Easy & Free Use my recommended service Incfile that costs 0$ for LLC name search and setup yes it is true! You only pay the required State fees
- DIY LLC Name Search Use your States business registration database and search for your LLC name availability. Use my links to your US State LLC Name databasesKnow that there are complex legal rules that differ by State. These types of slight word variations listed below do not qualify as creating distinguishability and thus will not be acceptable as LLC names uniqueness because they are deceptively similar:
- Single, Plural and Possessive Words
- A, An or The
- Hyphens, Periods and Commas
- Alphanumeric
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Create A Plan For Announcing To The World
While search traffic was my biggest concern with the move, a close second was how my audience was going to react to the move.
I have thousands of readers who knew me and my brand by the Location 180 name, so how would they react when all of a sudden the site was completely different?
Here are some things to consider when youre creating your plan for rebranding:
Top Domain Registration Tips From Cira’s Support Team
Our support team is really nice, but you can save yourself the trouble of having to call them by following these tips to avoid common domain name issues.
Always register the domain name yourself.
Don’t let a third party register it for you. As the business owner, create your registrar account yourself and using your contact information. This gives you full control over managing the domain.
Provide accurate contact information.
When you register a domain, you have to provide information like a phone number and email address. Make sure you provide accurate information so your registrar can contact you for important domain name updates. And if your info changes, update it in your profile.
Use a separate email address.
That is, don’t use as the contact email for the domain moose.ca. Avoid a potential black hole of domain despair: if you unwittingly let your domain expire, your email will stop working so you won’t be able to use that email for validation to get your site back up and running.
Choose a strong password.
It should go without saying, but choose a strong, unique password for your account with your registrar. You can also refer to our ultimate domain name security checklist for more tips like setting up two-factor authentication.
Don’t let your domain name expire.
Contact your registrar if you run into issues.
If you have questions, it’s usually best to contact your registrar first, because theres only so much CIRA is able to help you with.
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How Do We Buy A Domain Name From Someone Who Has Already Registered It
If you want to buy a domain name that someone else already owns, you have three main options:
Be aware that negotiating to buy the domain name will almost certainly mean that you would no longer be able to use a dispute resolution procedure to get it. Finally, if you do agree a deal, it is essential to ensure that the registration is properly transferred to you.
Which Naming Options Are The Best
Names that are easy to remember works very well with word of mouth marketing. People will easily remember your company and they will share their experience with their friends. If you are not a creative person, no worries! We can help you to come up with great naming ideas that will work well in the business world!
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What To Do If Youre Starting A Totally New Business
Be flexible You might not get your first choice name. A huge number of domain names have already been taken. Draw up a list of potential business names based on the criteria above and work your way through them to see which is available.
Dont get obsessed by .com True, .com is the most popular domain extension but thats both a benefit and a drawback for it. Although people feel comfortable with .com websites, the fact there are so many around means it will be harder to get the name you want. Dont be afraid to go for a .co or .net.
Keep your location in mind Including your location in your domain name can help you differentiate yourself competitors with similar names. You can also use your domain extension to do this for example if youre only going to be doing business in the UK, you can go with a .co.uk name. With new domain extension such as .London, you can also incorporate your location in that manner.
Think ahead Even if you dont want to launch your site right away, you might want to buy the name now to make sure no one else gets it.
How Is It Decided Who Has The Best Claim To A Disputed Domain Name
Domain name administrators and registrars operate on a first-come first-served basis.
Over time, using a domain name will in itself establish some rights to that domain name, particularly if you also publicise that domain name .
However, the fact that someone has registered a domain name does not automatically mean that they have the best right to it. If the domain name incorporates a registered trademark, the owner of that trademark may well have stronger rights to the name.
In many cases, several businesses could have rights to a domain name, particularly when a domain name describes a product rather than using a company name or trademark.
Two other important factors come into play in many domain name disputes.
- You are more likely to win a dispute if you can show that the other party registered it in bad faith. Bad faith might include registering a domain name using your trademark in order to sell it to you , or to pass their website off as being related to your business.
- Large companies, with deep pockets, may be prepared to run up large legal bills pursuing a domain name. If faced with such an opponent, it may be in your interest to negotiate a settlement.
As disputes can be complex, you should take legal advice on your particular circumstances.
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