As seen in headlines today, John Lewis has had to apologise to betrothed couples across the UK as their wedding gift list site disappeared. Instead, website users were presented with error messages due to the expiry of the domain name registration, with some even being invited to renew the lease themselves.
The problems John Lewis were having soon went viral, with one user writing "The lack of information from John Lewis was concerning - I had to join Twitter to try to get more information”. Unfortunately for John Lewis, this highlighted not only the problem, but the lack of customer service which followed.
The importance of not only creating the right domain name, but also ensuring it is maintained is vital when it comes to brand identity and customer loyalty. With this in mind, we’ve decided to get our Operations Oracles to look at the top ways your domain name can improve your business.
How can a domain name boost my business?
On a basic level, domain names are important to organisations because the Internet’s addressing system is not very effective without them. Creating the right domain name, whilst also ensuring any competitive domain names are bought, can help build your brand and organisation.
So first thing’s first, the importance of getting a dot-co-dot-uk domain name can be vital. When it comes to potential investors and users, many tend to see this as an indicator of the credibility of your business. Depending on where you are operating, the size of your organisation and the potential for growth, this is something worth considering when choosing and maintaining a domain name. It is also worth noting that the having a dot-co-dot-uk website can aid with national SEO if it is hosted within the UK, which is an important factor for small and large businesses alike.
Second point we like to consider is the spelling, pronunciation and length of your domain name. If you get these three things wrong, it can greatly hinder any potential users and decrease the chances of people finding your website. The golden rule to remember when it comes to this is that it must be easy to say in conversation, and should be something that can be easily remembered. If you can’t pronounce or spell your domain name, it could lead to both a domain and branding problem.
Finally, we like to think about key phrases. This shouldn’t define your chosen domain name, but should be something worth considering. If your organisation offers a particular service then having this in the domain name can boost the SEO of the website as a whole.
So what about maintaining this?
At BBI we ensure your domain names are continuously updated and re-registered before the expiry date sets in, so that you have peace of mind when it comes to your business. We also take into account potential domain names that could become a threat to your brand and business, and advise you accordingly on how best to act based on your needs and plan as a business.
If you’d like to find out more about some of our domain name services we offer, take a look at some of our work, and see for yourself.