Creating a successful online business starts long before the web design process begins.
Unfortunately, many new business owners dive in without thinking about choosing the right domain name that will work best for their business, and also don’t realise that just because you may have a business name registered doesn’t necessarily mean you are entered to a domain of the same name.
It starts with the right domain name.
Let’s first look at the facts about domain name registration, and what will rank best…
These days there are many different domain name extensions available beyond just the traditional .com and .com.au, but ensuring you select the right one for your business can be critical.
If you’re an Australian business and planning to provide a local service in Australia, then you are always best going for a .com.au domain name. If you plan on providing international commercial services then you would be best to secure the .com domain.
See, Google measures your ranking based on a number of factors and this includes your physical location and the service rank you provide. And particularly for local shrive results such as on mobile devices, Google Maps and Google Assistant results, for an Australian business, you’ll always rank better with the local domain name.
The issue with .com domain names is that anyone can register any domain name. You don’t necessarily have you have a business name registered closely to the domain name like you would with a .com.au, so you may find the .com domain you want is not always going to be available.
There are many other options also available such as .net, .org, or even .co as well as a host of others now available, however you’ll usually find these will rarely rank as good as the .com domain names.
Your Sunshine Coast AUDA-registered domain name services.
We’ll help get you started with the right domain name and advice for your Sunshine Coast business website.
auDA (AU Domain Administration) Registered Associate Member Australia
Smartfish are an Associate Member of the auDA (AU Domain Administration) of Australia, which helps give a voice to the future of the .au name space and business websites.
First decide what you want your business to be known as. Then look at the number of words in the domain you are choosing. You should choose a word that is unique, easy to spell, easy to remember, and it is spelled exactly the same as the company name.
If you are going to build a web site, try to think of what words or phrases are relevant to your field of work. For example, if you sell toys you might consider Toystore.com as your domain name. If you sell software products you could name it Soft.com. Or, if you sell real estate, you could call your web site Realtor.com. Ensure it is something that people will easily remember and is easy to spell.
Always register a .com or .com.au domain name for a commercial entity.
It can last up to five years. A domain name must be renewed before it expires or you risk losing it.
No. A domain name is not considered to be intellectual property, however you can, and should, trademark your business name. This helps ensure that if someone was to contest the domain name you are more likely to win if the domain name is closely related to the registered/trademarked business name.
It is advised to do an IP search of business names before choosing your business name or domain name.
This usually depends on the registrar. With our registrar service the domain name is usually registered in a matter of just a few minutes
In fact, you can register a domain name, your hosting and set up your email accounts in less than 15 minutes with Smartfish!