The world of web hosting and domain name registration may seem large and overwhelming if you haven’t put together too many websites. Or it may just seem like more hassle than you have time for when your focus is on the day-to-day operations and success of your company itself.

This is understandable! Something that can save you time is choosing a UK hosting company that also offers domain names services in addition to the hosting itself. This is advantageous for two main reasons:

Firstly, it may very well save you money by buying both services together. It’s just like your internet provider or phone company: you will generally pay less for each individual service if you buy them together. As an added bonus, some web hosting companies even offer free domain names when you choose to host your site with them, which saves you even more money.

Secondly, it makes it easier for you. If you buy domain names from one company and host with another, you have to be in charge of transitioning domain name access from one company to the other. But if you buy a domain name through your UK hosting company, they’ll do it all for you. Less hassle, less time.

Domain Name Registration · web hosting

Domain names are an important part of any company’s online marketing effort. When you sign up with a web hosting company, you may have the option to buy a domain name to transfer to them, or to even receive free domain names as part of your UK hosting package.

Before you buy domain names to use, make sure you understand the value that domain name registration can provide to your business, and select your domain accordingly.

Here is why a domain name matters in online marketing:

• Domains describe your business to customers. If a customer sees your website in their Google search results, the domain name helps inform their decision of whether your website is relevant to their needs and whether your site will be trustworthy and informative.
• Domains describe your business to search engines. Part of search engine optimisation (a complex process on the whole) is domain name. If your domain name contains keywords that match your site and what you want to rank well for, this can help your site get seen by more users.
• Domains can help in offline marketing that draws people online and to your site. Choosing a domain name that is memorable and easy to spell can help make your radio, television, or print advertising more effective.

Domain Names · Online Marketing

As a business owner, you know it’s a good idea to have a website. Perhaps you’ve looked through domain names, read about web hosting, and maybe even gone through the domain name registration process and hired a UK hosting company. You may have picked out a template, put some information up, and got your site to go ‘live’.

But it’s important to take a step back and make sure you are doing things for the right reasons and going about it in a way that will actually benefit your business. Don’t buy a domain name and set up a site just because you think you’re supposed to have one. Websites aren’t valuable for the sake of being websites – they’re valuable because of the function they fulfill, for the role they play, and for the value they offer to your customers.

Think of it this way: your website is your business’ online presence. It needs to give customers a sense of what your business is like and provide useful information to them, even if it’s just as basic as a list of service you provide along with business hours and contact information.

There are plenty of ways to go about building the website itself: you can buy domain names directly, or receive free domain names from a company who provides your web hosting. But before you get too involved in the building process, step back and make sure that your goals for the website match your goals for the business, and that you stay true to who you are throughout each step of the process.

Domain Names · web hosting · websites

You’re probably wondering: “What does Twitter have to do with my domain name or your website content?” The simple answer is this: separate elements of your online presence should not just relate back to your business, but should relate to each other.

Each of these three things plays a different role in the success of your website and your web hosting experience.

• Domain name is an important initial draw to the website: it sums up what the site is about.
• Website content fleshes out what you have to offer: it fills in the details and provides useful information.
• Twitter (and other social networking) builds the relationship: it’s a way to reach out to customers, and to let them reach out to you.

When you buy domain names (or receive free domain names from a UK hosting company, which some do offer), take a step back to make sure all of the elements of your company’s online presence will be aligned. For example, you should buy a domain name that clearly and succinctly relates to the content the website will contain. Your Twitter handle should be a close match to your domain name. And the things you Tweet about should be related to the things your website content addresses.

This may sound obvious, but you’d be surprising how many companies’ web presence are “all over the place” – be smart by thinking ahead and presenting a cohesive brand in everything you do, both online and off.

buy domain name · Domain Names

There is no single company who is the only good provider of business web hosting. Rather, there are many solid choices from which to choose. The most important element is to find a company that provides services that will help your business thrive, and who will do so at a price that is friendly  to your company’s budget.

Which elements are most important to a high quality business website (and therefore, are most important to a high quality business web hosting provider)? Here is a list. It’s not exhaustive, but it’s a good place to start:

• Ease of discovery. You want your customers to easily find your website, so you need to buy domain name rights to a good name for this to be possible. Look for a web host who offers domain name registration services, too.
• Ease of use. A website must be well-designed and load quickly. To make sure your site is fast enough, choose a web host who offers plenty of bandwidth.
• Reliability. Your website represents your company, so it should be secure and always available. As such, you need a business web hosting company with adequate security tools, to ensure the site is never compromised at your customers’ expense.

business web hosting · buy domain name · web hosting company

When choosing a name for domain name registration, you’ll have many of choices to make. What keywords would you like to include in the name? Will you buy domain name rights to several similar domains and direct all of them to your primary domain? Do you prefer cheap domain names registration, or will you spring for a more expensive domain that will benefit your business in the long run?

If your “dream domain” is already registered, you’ll be faced with the question of whether to register an alternate version of it that includes special characters. Including special characters in domain name registration is something that some people recommend against, but others advocate. Here are the basics of what you need to know about this strategy:

• The only characters allowed in domain name registration are letters, numbers, and the “-“ character. Nothing else (such as  _ ‘ ? : or an empty space) is allowed.
• Advantages of including “-“ between words is that it lets you register variations of successful domains, including popular keywords that are already taken.
• Advantages are that customers may forget the characters and end up visiting a competitor’s site instead of yours when they attempt to return.

buy domain name · cheap domain names · Domain Names Registration · Domain Search

There are two major concerns every website owner and web hosting UK customer should have about the possibility of stolen domains. First of all, you want to ensure your domain name is not stolen out from under you. Secondly, you want to make sure you do not accidentally buy a stolen domain name that actually belongs to someone else.

How can you do this? Well, let’s first look at keeping your own domain safe. Ensure that the business web hosting service you hire to buy your domain for you has your most current information associated with the domain. If you sign up with the registrar using an email you end up later cancelling or abandoning, it’s easy for someone to break into your email, request the domain password, and steal your domain name from you. Also, keep up to date with domain renewal ahead of time.

For domain names you buy, check with your business web hosting service for help on verifying the domain’s authenticity. Only buy domains from someone you know and trust (such as a reputable company). If someone appears to be less than trustworthy, they very well may be trying to sell a domain they have stolen. Be smart and thorough, though, and you should have no problem.

business web hosting · buy domain name · Domain Name · register email · web hosting UK

As everyone knows, marketing can be wildly successful or incredibly ineffective. Having a plan and knowing the right way to go about something can make all the difference in the world. After you’ve mastered the practical elements of creating an online presence (domain name registration, finding good web hosting, etc.) it’s time to start interacting with your online community.

Here are three tips for effective social media marketing:

1. Emphasize “social”. This isn’t a place for advertising. People want to be talked to and listened to. They’re not going to “fan” or “follow” you so that you can pitch ads to them all the time. Make sure you communicate accordingly.
2. Double-task when possible. Social media is a good way to build natural SEO since you’re putting up regular postings anyway. Don’t jam with keywords, but incorporate keywords and links on occasion, where appropriate. It can’t hurt.
3. Stay consistent. Remember, just because it’s “social” marketing, this doesn’t mean you can be un-professional. If your marketing angle is that you’re a community-oriented family business, don’t post a political joke on Facebook. If your marketing angle is that you’re helpful and sincere, stay helpful and sincere and don’t post complaints about anything on Twitter. The internet isn’t anonymous when you represent a business, so don’t do yourself more harm than good.

Domain Name Registration · keywords · marketing · natural SEO · SEO · social marketing · Social media

Marking for an online business is not exactly the same as traditional marketing for a business in your community. But while the mediums are different, many of the same principles apply. In fact, the internet provides an opportunity to have an even closer marketing relationship with actual individuals than print marketing allows. Used together, they can be particularly effective.

Principals of good marketing:

• Present a cohesive message. You want your company’s image to be clear and easy to understand. Remember, you’re not just selling a product or service; you’re selling your company.
• Keep it fresh. This means billboards that aren’t out-of-date, and social media marketing that keeps up with the times. Stay present and active to show you have a business that is active as well.

For online marketing, everything you do is a part of your branding endeavor, even the very first step: choosing to buy a domain name. Yes, even the domain name registration matters, as your domain name will tell both site visitors and search engines what kind of website you’re running. Keep this attention to detail up within every choice you make, and you’ll be well on your way to successful online marketing of your website in no time.

Domain Name · Domain Name Registration · online business · search engines · social media marketing

When you run a web-based business, staying on top (or near the top) of search engine results is absolutely essential to staying successful. If you look at domain name registration statistics, thousands of sites are being bought and created each day; plenty of them will compete with yours.

Cheap domain names and cheap web hosting make it easy for anyone to start a business. (Yours was easy, right? You did a domain name search, picked a name, hired a web host, and create a web site. That means the competition can easy start to chase after you, too.)

But you have an advantage over the new competition. You’ve been online longer. So you do you stay on top when new sites are created every day?

• Don’t get lazy. It took more than just choosing to buy domain name rights and hiring a website for your site to reach its search rankings, right? It’ll take more to stay there. Keep working on your site, even after you’ve reached your goals.
• Stay relevant. The best site is one that is useful to users and always growing. Adding fresh content makes you more appealing for both search engines and users.

buy domain name · domain name search · web-based business