Develop A Strategy To Grow Your New Brand
Content is a smart way to draw people to your brand and website, but you need an overall marketing strategy to really grow your business. Your goal is to use tools like email marketing, social media marketing, and search engine marketing to spread your name beyond your typical audience.
Getting started is not as difficult as it may sound. Once youve created valuable content that helps your customers, start building an email list and sending updates about your business or recaps of content published on your blog. Use social media to promote new blog posts, and to start discussions with your customers to find out what problems theyre having. Then you can target new audiences similar to your current customers using or a similar advertising tool.
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How To Choose A Domain Name
Since your domain name can have a major impact on your online presence, what you choose is a vital first step in building your brand. Finding the perfect domain name, however, can be challenging.
While its true that there are millions of domain names available, many of the popular domain names that are easy to remember are taken. Fortunately, you can still get what you need if you go through a simple process and use a bit of imagination.
Create A Website With A Website Builder
A website builder is a tool that lets you create and design a website without having to deal with code. It uses a drag-and-drop editor to alter the sites appearance and offers plenty of pre-made template options to get you started.
To access the platform, youll have to pay a subscription fee. However, one of the advantages is that it includes hosting, simplifying the process of website creation. Some website builder platforms even let users register custom domain names.
The only limitation is that you will be bound to the features that come with the subscription plan, making it tricky if you want to build a more complex site.
Therefore, we recommend using a website builder if youre looking for the simplicity of the process and aiming to create a simple site with few pages, such as an online portfolio and a personal blog.
There are plenty of website builders in the market, but we will demonstrate the process using Zyro.
1. Set Up a Zyro Account
First of all, sign up for a Zyro account. You can create a new account with your email or using a Google or account.
Then, you have to subscribe to one of the four plans. The Basic entry-level plan costs $2.90/month and comes with 3 GB of bandwidth and 1 GB of storage, suitable for small websites.
We recommend the Unleashed planif youre not planning on creating an online store. It comes with unlimited bandwidth and storage, as well as advanced features like Google Analytics,for $3.90/month.
2. Choose a Template
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Find Your Domain Name A Home Aka Find A Web Host
First things first youve bought a domain, and now you need someplace for it to live. In other words, you need to choose a host and a hosting plan.
You have two options. Look for a stand-alone web hosting service or use a domain registry and web hosting combo service.
Odds are you purchased your domain name from a service that also offers hosting plans. There are a lot of companies that offer combined web hosting and domain name purchase. Buying both from the same service offers a lot of advantages.
First, you wont have to worry about connecting your domain and your hosting service theyll sync from the get-go. Second, a business that offers combined domain and hosting services will often include extra package perks that will make your life easier in the long run.
For example, Namecheap is a popular web hosting and domain registry service.
You can register or transfer a domain name, host your website, and even create business cards all on a single platform.
Considerations For Purchasing A Domain Name
A domain name is a unique website identifier on the internet. Launching a website is impossible without choosing a domain name first and claiming it. A domain name is mapped to an IP address with the help of the Domain Name System , which allows internet users to find a certain website easily without having to remember the actual IP address of the server that hosts it.
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Make Sure Your Domain Is In Good Hands For Years To Come
Purchasing a domain name is an exciting step for a new business, but there’s more to it than just finding the perfect name. Before you begin, there are a few things you should know.
Not all companies who sell domain names are the same. Some use tactics such as hiding fees or selling your information to make more money, which can have a lasting impact on your business. The good news: With a few simple tips, you can know what to look out for before buying a domain.
Can I Point My Domain Name To Any Website
If you want to make your site accessible after moving from another hosting provider, you must point your domain to a new host. Changing the domains nameservers is a simple way to do that. The details of your new nameservers can be found in the domains DNS settings, and the DNS will propagate once it has been copied.
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Match Social Media To Everything Else
Domain name and web host check. Domain-specific email address check.
The next step: make sure your social media presence syncs up with your new website and email address. Check all your existing accounts, create new ones, and see if your exact business name, or something close to it, is available. Youll want to make sure that the identity and tone of your , LinkedIn, Twitter, and other platforms sync up to your website.
It may be beneficial to check what social media names are available before you purchase your domain name, as its such an essential part of branding these days.
If you cant get an exact match, try adding a unique label like an abbreviation for the country you operate in, such as CoolStoreUS or CoolStoreUK. As long as its close to your business name, itll work for your social media.
Try your best to use the same name across your social media profiles, so people dont confuse your business with another account.
Your Domain Name Should Be Brandable
Your domain name needs to brandable.
Basically, when people hear your domain name, it needs to sound like a legit business in your industry and have a hip vibe.
So, for example, if you were starting a remote jobs board, you could name it www.remotejobsboard.com But doesnt remoteok.io sound much better?
Of course, you need to take industry standards into account, boring names work for businesses that need to appear formal.
Say, if you run a funeral home, then its important to be serious, no one wants to hold a wake in a hip funeral home.
However, you probably dont need to be formal, so get creative!
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Redirect Your Domain To Your Social Media Profiles
If you just dont want to invest in anything yet want to effectively use your parked domain, you can simply login to your domain registrars dashboard and redirect the domain to your social profiles like Twitter profile or Facebook page.
This can be done free of charge.
For example, https://www.facebook.com/swadhinagrawalofficial can become https://swadh.in
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Why Is Having Your Own Domain Name So Important
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Your website is the first impression you make on the Internet. A customized domain name looks professional and alerts customers that your site is authoritative and credible.
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It makes your website easier to find, as a domain name can be more easily remembered than an IP address . And if you change your web host , you will still be able to keep the same domain, making your online presence stable over time.
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Acquiring your own domain is a necessary step if you plan on getting your own business email address .
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From an SEO point of view, your domain name gives Google an indication of what your website is all about. Thus, increasing your chances of ranking higher in search results.
Altogether, these factors contribute to your online visibility, which translates into more business opportunities, and ultimately more sales. This is why registering your own domain is a crucial step to take when creating a website.
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Add Pages To Your Website
To add a page on WordPress, go to Pages -> Add New. Every site requires a different set of pages, but generally, here are the five must-have pages:
Homepage
Whether you use a website builder or WordPress, the homepage provides the first impression about your business to visitors.
That said, you shouldnt add too much information to it. Cluttered and messy homepages will deter visitors from continuing to browse as its harder to find relevant information.
Instead, keep it organized and concise and put visuals to guide visitors to the section or page that contains the information they want.
About Page
This page should provide information about your company history, vision and mission, team members, and testimonials. It helps customers, investors, or potential new hires to know more about your business.
However, avoid overexplaining your products or services. You can provide contact information here, but we recommend using a dedicated page for it.
Product or Service Page
The product or service page is crucial and decisive to convert your visitors into new customers. Provide details like features, benefits, and prices.
Product photos or videos also help make the page more visually appealing.
Blog Page
Adding a blog to your site can help drive traffic and increase conversion rates.
When writing blog posts, use relevant keywords to help your site rank higher on search engines.
Contact Page
How Domain Names Are Structured
There are two more bits of jargon you should know: top-level domains and subdomains.
Top-level domains are the bit of the domain name at the end: .com, .org, .net, .co.uk, .com.mx all of those are TLDs. There are hundreds of possible TLDs nowadays, most of them country or region-specific. There are even TLDs for industries: .design, .tech, .news, .marketing, and so many more.
So yes, if your narwhal-focused company happens to loan people money, your website address could literally be narwhalsareawesome.loan. As Im writing this, that domain is actually available.
For my personal portfolio site, I picked the .works TLD, because I thought having the ezequiel.works domain name would be awesome, and it is. I let my old domain lapse, though which was a mistake. Ill get into that later.
Now we get to subdomains. Lets say you have a table tennis team called the Narwhals, and your domain name is narwhals.team. Now, lets say you want to set up a fan community website separate from your main website, while still on the same hosting server.
There are a number of ways to do that, but one of the easiest is with a subdomain like fans.narwhals.team. Thats literally all a subdomain does: it adds a bit of text before the main domain. Then, that subdomain can be directed to an entirely different website but remain under the narwhals.team branding.
Want a real-world example? If you use Google Drive to store any files at all, you might be familiar with drive.google.com.
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Have A Domain Name But Want To Make Some Changes
Transferring Your Domain Name Between Registrars
You might get the impression that once you buy a domain name with a registrar or hosting company, its stuck there and you have to use that domain, with that company, forever. Thankfully, thats not the case. All domain name registrars offer the ability to transfer domain names from one service to another.
So you can move your domain around from company to company, if youre not happy with the service you have now. Just keep in mind that every transfer will cost extra cash. Thats one reason why some people might choose to register their domain name with a domain-focused company like GoDaddy or Namecheap, and buy their hosting from a company like Hostinger.
That way, if one day you find a hosting company youd rather use instead of Hostinger, you can just log into GoDaddy and direct your domain to the new hosting companys DNS servers. No transfer fee required.
But if you do want to transfer your domain name between services, its usually easy enough. The actual process for transferring a domain name is different for every company. You often have to tell the company that currently has the domain name that you want to move it, as well as telling the new company that you want to transfer your domain to their service.
Actually, its a lot like keeping your same phone number while switching phone providers.
Using a Different Domain Name for an Existing Site
People do like their conveniences.
Selling Your Domain Name
Why Should I Own One
As I learned first-hand, having a custom domain gives you an instant credibility boost. It doesnt matter whether youre using a personal site to help you land a job, increase your visibility in your field or industry, find freelance gigs, showcase your work, or promote your brand: The more credibility you have, the better.
Plus, custom domains are usually far easier to remember than generic ones. Imagine you told someone you met at a networking event to check out your site, janedoeportfolio.squarespace.com. Hell probably forget the link by the time he gets in front of his laptop. However, janedoe.bio will be a cinch to remember. These names also look much more sleek when you put them on business cards, in the header of your resume, or anywhere else you might be directing people to learn more about you.
A domain that incorporates your name also helps others find you in search results. When someone enters your first and last name into Google, theyre much more likely to see your website if its domain matches their search. When you search Aja Frost, for example, my site is the first thing that comes up:
This gives you the chance to really own the conversation around your personal brand, making sure people see what you want them to see first.
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What If My Domain Name Is Taken
The most important thing is not to panic. You dont have to start all over. At least not yet.
Your first option is to pick a different extension. If Ginospizza.com is taken, think about using Ginos.pizza, or Ginospizza.biz instead.
If that doesnt work for you, you can always go back to the drawing board. Its okay you might come up with something better!
Here are a few tricks to help:
If those dont work, you can always try to purchase your domain from the current owner. Look them up using Who.is. Who.is, is a directory of who owns what domain name. Every domain owner is listed there unless theyve purchased Domain Privacy through their registrar or web host. In which case, you can reach out to the listed registrar and work through them to try and buy the domain name from the current owner.
You may also be able to secure an expired domain via backorders and/or auctions.
Submit Your New Website To Search Engines
Since search engines use web crawlers to find new and updated content, they dont rely on manual submissions to find a new site. However, submitting your site gives it a better chance of appearing on the result pages.
To do that, you need to create a sitemap to help search engines find your website pages and content. It lists the pages, videos, images, and other relevant content on your site, as well as the relationship between them.
Most search engines use links to discover new pages and index them. This can be an issue if you have a lot of pages that are not linked to each other, as they can be invisible to the crawlers.
Thus, submitting your site is a great idea when you change the websites pages and structure. It tells search engines that they need to crawl the website again.
We have a complete guide for submitting your site to search engines. However, to sum up, here is what you need to do:
Submitting your website to search engines is only part of the work. For the website to rank high, youll need to optimize it. Here are some of our SEO tips:
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