10 Steps to a Better Website-# 1 Choose a domain name carefully

# 1 Choose a domain name carefully

From my own research, my own experience as a business owner, and my experimenting with ten of my websites; I am offering some ideas and tips on having a better more effective website. You’ll really need this info if you need to build a new site, remodel an older one or want your site to rank better in the search engines.

In today’s marketplace, a website is often the first point of contact for new customers.

While poor design can possibly drive prospects away, a professionally designed and well-managed site is an advertisement telling visitors that your company is well run and successful. That will give people the confidence and trust to do business with you. Your website is a key component of your overall marketing and it should advance your overall business strategy.

Your website needs to communicate to your visitor with words, graphics, and information about your company. Information that you feel that gives visitors your vision, your purpose, pertinent information on products, and/or service. Why not make it easy for customers to get the information they need or buy the products or service they want?

I hope these10 Steps to a Better Website will be helpful for you. They will later be made into a PDF and made available on my blog and website

10 Steps to a Better Website

# 1 Choose a domain name carefully

A domain name is your unique Internet address for your website such as www.claycampbell.biz Choose an easy-to pronounce, easy-to-spell name. Some say choose a name that reflects your business. However ebay does not reflect an online bidding site. Neither does the name google convey that it is a powerful search engine. I had a name problem with one of my sites. I had what I thought was a great name until I was running a radio campaign to promote it. It was going to take the whole commercial to explain how to type in the address. So I had to buy two new names, and use a redirect on those, to make the radio ads work.

You can have several web addresses all going to the same website. It’s not a good idea to have several web addresses going to websites with the same content. Google, Yahoo and other search engines will give search results for just one index page. (Home page) They will not give search results for the others. Trying to have multiple sites with the exact same content, and others like filling up your home page with keywords, could very well get your site banned because the search engines may see that as you trying to manipulate the search results.

You can register your name in your state before you even put it on line. If your company is already established, you should register that name asap however; you’ll find many common words and terms and great names are already taken.

I always suggest if you can, choose a domain name that has key words in it that will appear on your home page. This will help potential customers find your site when they search for those words in search engines. To find out if a domain name is currently registered, go to http://www.internic.net/whois.html Or I usually go to www.godaddy.com or www.dotser.com and just type in the search bar a name I am interested in. If it’s available I buy it right then. The cost is usually in the $5-$10 range. If the name you want is taken, be creative or find a creative person to help you. Any of the Wizard of Ads Partners could help you. Or bounce your ideas off an associate. Keep trying until you have a name that “works” and…is available.