Do you own your Domain?
As I get in touch with more and more small business that are making some effort to develop their online marketing, I understand that many of them don't own their domains (same as URL or Website name or address)!
So, what is the domain and why is it important that it belongs to you or to your company?
Comparing our lives in the web with our real lives, the domain is your Social Security Number, or TAX ID Number! Yes, it is that important. Why?
It’s how you will be identified on the web. There are many people named Robert Lee, but there is only one Robert Lee with the social security number 12-34567-12! Similarly, there can exist many websites or business named "My Shoe Store", but there is only one business that will show when consumers type "http://www.myshoestore.com". Other websites, apps and search engines will also identify your website by your domain. Developing an image and presence on the web without owning your domain means that you will be attached to the person or company that owns it for the duration of your business, or that you will lose your marketing efforts once you let go your domain. Yes, you can have visitors redirected to your new domain, but you need to count with the old domain owner cooperation for that. Imagine you moved your business and the place where you had your old store was sold. You will need to count with the new owner help to give your new address to the clients that show up there, and if the new owner happens to be your competitor, he will probably not be very helpful on redirecting your clients.
When Google and other Search Engines rank your business or website, they are ranking your domain. All the efforts you did on creating links, creating relevant content, showing on directories, getting clients reviews, are linked to your domain. If you have to change your domain, you will lose your Search Engine Ranking, and that is what makes it easy for prospects to find you on the web.
Developing an online marketing effort without owning the domain is similar to invest and upgrade a rented house. You will enjoy the benefits as long as you are living there, but once you decide to move, or the owner requests the house, you lose all that you had invested!
Therefore, my suggestion is that, you to make sure you own the domain and have access to your website the hosting account. It is OK to ask a professional to register the domain and set up the hosting for you, as long as they do it under your account, and you have the logins and passwords to access it.
Registering a domain can be very simple, and you can leave to your developer the tasks of transferring or linking it to wherever your website is or will be hosted.
Some websites where you can register and manage your domains:
