Buying a domain name for your business is probably one of the most important things you can do. Especially if online is the only place that your business can be found (if you do not have a brick and mortar business).
Buying a domain name is quite simple. Go to one of the popular domain registrars (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Bluehost, etc.) and see if the domain name you want is available.
If it is, then register pay the relatively inexpensive registration fee of $10 or so dollars for the year. Then you’re all set!
That’s it your done!!!
Not so fast my friend.
Let’s take a step back and discuss a little further on why a domain name is SO important for your business and what nobody ever tells you about it.
Untold Truths Of Buying A Domain Name For Business
Your domain name is by far the most important part of your online presence.
And I am talking about more than the name itself.
The whole goal of a website is to attract new leads, which turn into customers, so on and so forth. Or it’s a place to publish articles that people want to read and you generate income via display ads.
Bottom line is it’s a vehicle to make money.
There are a gazillion domain names on the internet including yours.
So, how does Google determine which ones carry the most weight and are relevant for whatever you type into the search box?
Besides using a bunch of algorithms and a whole host of ranking factors, that we’re not going to get into here the most important metric is domain age and domain authority.
Domain Age
What is domain age?
This is self-explanatory in that it is simply how old the domain name is. For example the domain maybe 1,2,3,5, or even 10 years old.
The older or more seasoned the domain name is the more weight it carries in the eyes of Google.
Which means if there are a bunch of websites who have the same content you do, but are not half as old, then you’re more than likely to appear in the search results before them. You’re perceived as more credible.
Much like the 50-year businessman is perceived as more credible than the 22-year old whipper snapper fresh out of college.
Make sense?
Awesome sauce.
Let’s move on to….
Domain Authority
What is domain authority?
Domain authority is a number from 1 to 100 that your domain name is assigned based on its’ domain age, amount of content on your website, and how many other websites link to it. The more websites you have linking to you, signals to Google that you’re important and/or popular meaning you’re considered an “authority” in whatever your website is about.
Are you picking up what I am putting down?
Cool beans.
Can you increase domain authority?
Yes, but it can take years and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears.
So, before you run out and buy a domain name for your brick and mortar business or your new online adventure you need to know how important this is and that $10 investment may not be the best choice for you.
Also, you may buy that $10 domain, get your website up and running and have no one coming to your website as you have no domain authority and your niche may be full of aged domains or those with authority.
You don’t want that to happen to you.
On to our next item.
Only buy top-level domains or TLD’s for short.
What are some examples of TLD’s?
.com
.net
.org
These are the highest level of domain names of the internet. Anything else is a waste of your time!
If you cannot register the domain name you want in either of those 3 options, pick another domain name.
Period. End of story.
Now that we’re done with the untold truths of buying a domain name let’s talk about domain name brokers where you can buy aged domains with authority.
Domain Name Brokers Where You Can Buy Domain Names For Your Business
All of the brokers listed below are reputable within the industry and a couple of them will give you lists of additional domain brokers you can connect with. I would advise you to go through each of them and be thorough in your research before pulling the trigger.
domainholdings.com
domainsherpa.com
dnjournal.com
domaininvesting.com
If you decide it makes sense to go and get a brand new domain from a registrar, well I have you covered with the following infographic.
Top 5 Domain Registrars For Domain Names
Conclusion
That will do it for our conversation on buying a domain name for business. It’s wise to take your time and move slowly through this process. Because your decision has profound ramifications on the long-term health of your business online.
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