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I get many requests from business owners that want to know how they can get their company online. The following are steps necessary to get your business online so you can take advantage of this new marketing tool called the internet. |
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Select and Register Your Domain Name.
A Domain name is like a piece of internet real estate. The better the name is, the better your location is. Domains in the US used for commercial business have a .com at the end. Networks have a .net at the end. Organizations have a .org at the end. There are others such as .edu for schools and .gov for government agencies but we are really only interested in .com domains here. The National Science Foundation contracted with a company called Network Solution or InterNIC to organize and control a database to keep track of registered domains. Domains are available on a 'first come' basis with one exception. If you registered a domain that is an exact match to a registered trademark that you don't own, the registered owner of the trademark can take the domain from you. (example: microsoft.com or generalelectric.com) InterNIC charges $70 for the first two years of registration and then bills you $35 a year thereafter. (Very cheap real estate!) To register a domain, you need to establish the following:
Domain names can include all lower case letters, numbers or a hyphen. No spaces are allowed. They cannot exceed 26 characters including the .com at the end, so you have 22 characters to work with. In my opinion, a good name should not have words with ambiguous or incorrect spellings. I have a domain for my antique store called oldstuff.com and another dealer took oldstuf.com spelled with one 'f'. When he tells someone about his site, many times all they will remember is 'old stuff' and end up at my page instead of his. Not a good choice in my opinion. I like domains names that are the same as your established business name or something that is easy to remember and related to your service or product. You can register more than one name and direct both to your web page. For example, I have a customer that registered thebeadmerchant.com and beadmerchant.com for her bead store. Either way they get to her site and she doesn't have to worry about a competitor taking the similar name and getting some of her traffic. Don't use hard to spell words or words with questionable ie or ei combinations in a domain name. You can use my InterNIC Database Query page to see if the names you are considering are taken already. If the search returns with registration information, that name is taken already. If it returns with 'No Match', that name is available and you should register it soon. There are over 4 million names registered already, and they continue to go at about 4000 a day. Don't get disappointed if all the names you think of are already taken. Be creative and you are certain to find one just right for you. If you need some help, feel free to contact me for some free advice. Once you find a name, and it appears to be available, I suggest you contact me soon thereafter and I will register it for you at no additional charge. You will still get the $70 charge from Network Solutions for the name registration but I will process the form properly for you (You will be the Registrant and Administrative/Billing Contacts) with no additional cost to you. (back to top) Select a Domain Hosting Service. A domain hosting service is a company that provides high speed 24 hour a day connections to the internet and designates a space on their computers that holds all the files and custom programs used to make up your web site. If you are using someone outside your business to design and maintain your web site, it is usually a good idea that you use the same company to host the site if they offer that service. We offer several hosting options that can fit almost any business need ranging from $10 a month to $50 a month. Most business sites we host are at $30 to $40 a month. A one time set-up fee for each domain hosted can range from $35 to $50. The largest factor to consider is the speed of the connection your ISP has to the internet. If you are using a local service provider, your site might load very quickly for you. But consider how fast your site might load for an internet surfer 3000 miles away. Our internet servers are centrally located in the United States with the fastest internet connections available. (more info) (back to top) Design a Suitable Web Site If you are already knowledgeable in HTML design and CGI programming and just need some space to work so you can put your site online, we can set you up with an FTP account or virtual server and you will be on your way very quickly. If you are planning on hiring a service to professionally design your site, we offer many levels of service for you. Contact us for a free consultation of what options and features are available to you. We have many successful sites that we designed and manage for other businesses that can help show you what is possible. (back to top) Promote the Site on the Internet Again, the saying "If you build it, They will come" does not apply on the internet. You can have the ultimate site of the net, and if no one knows where it is, they won't come. Most internet traffic to a specific site is generated with the use of the Search Engine sites like Infoseek, Yahoo, Excite, Lycos and others. We register all our customers sites with over 200 of the most popular search engines on the net. (Actually only the top 12 search engines are important). This service is included in all our hosting options. We have other internet promotions including banner ads and our own proprietary techniques. (back to top) Promote the Site From Your Business You have a little work to promote your site's success too. Your URL (Universal Resource Locator) address, or domain name must be printed on all of your business paper and advertising. That means it must be on your business cards, sales slips, monthly statements, mailing labels and envelopes, packing lists, flyers, telephone directory listings, note pads, hats, tee shirts, advertising pens, radio ads, newspaper ads, television ads, answering machine greetings, and anywhere else you can think of. I have had many out of state customers that came in my store while on vacation and now continue to buy from me by browsing our online store. It works! (back to top) Maintain and Update Your Web Site Like everything else in life, things that don't change become boring. To be successful your site should be different all the time. The site should rotate the inventory, rearrange the layout, highlight new items and include specials, closeouts, sales, online coupons or contests. This will give your customers a reason to check back to your site regularly and hopefully make another purchase. All of our domain hosting options include a complete weekly statistical report that will show you which pages on your site had the greatest traffic and the lowest traffic. This is a great marketing tool to see what people are looking for and where the demands are. (back to top) |
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email inquires to: getonline@grantspassonline.com
©1999 John Noveske. All Rights Reserved. |