Unlocking Gold In A Domain Name For Your Business
Some business owners may consider domain name registration to be marginal or non-critical to their company’s success, but nothing could be further from the truth. If the Internet has revolutionized the way the United States does business around the world, then registering a domain name could be considered one of the most important steps in generating new leads and customers in these difficult economic times.
Further, business owners should also recognize innovation taking place in domain name marketing which includes the recent report by ICANN, the body controlling domain name policy, stating that, “today marks an historic moment, not only for the New gTLD Program, but for the Internet as a whole today, the first new generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs) from ICANN’s New gTLD Program were delegated, or introduced into the Internet’s Root Zone.”
The Web is Getting Bigger
Why is this big news? Because, said ICANN, it signals the beginning of the largest-ever expansion of the Domain Name System (DNS).
“A change that promises to promote global innovation, competition and consumer choice. It means you will soon see the Internet grow from the 22 gTLDs that we have now (e.g., .COM, .BIZ, .ORG) to more than 1400 new possibilities.”
These 1400 new possibilities in a sense mimic the energy present around a gold rush or oil discovery. It offers companies a new way to brand and market their company, service or product that were just not possible before.
These include the ability to purchase a .Manchester, .London or .Nike, which offer very precise ways to control a branding experience online.
“In addition to facilitating competition and innovation through the new gTLD Program, one of ICANN’s key aims is to help create a globally inclusive Internet, regardless of language or region. For this reason, we elected to prioritize the processing of IDN applications and their delegation.”
A Domain Name = More Leads
But putting aside this significant moment in domain name expansion, just the basic act of purchasing a relevant domain for your business on an accredited web hosting provider is the first step in the process of building a new website or e-commerce store that can help you grow your customer base and generate new sales.
While you may be used to marketing your business in the yellow pages or through a newspaper ad, registering a domain name allows you to take advantage of new marketing channels in the form of Google search results and Google Adwords. These are just two areas which allow a business owner to funnel traffic to a new website present on a registered domain name.
If you think the process is complicated and expensive, think again; searching, purchasing and registering a domain name can take less than 10 minutes. Within a few hours a business can be online with a new website. Within a few days that website name will begin to show up on Google searches, which ultimately means more traffic and potentially new customers.
Also consider that many web hosting companies offer discounts and other price-friendly features if you purchase a domain for more than one or two years. These allow you to lock-in long-term discounts and generate new leads without breaking the bank.
If you have not registered a domain name for your business, now is the time to do it. Failure to act now could let a competitor in the door, which will not only be embarrassing, but it could mean you lose online customers.