Kick-Start Your Online Business — First Tip To Establishing your Online Footprint

Getting started with building your online footprint can be difficult to navigate but there are many tools and resources available to help get you started and .US is here to help. Let’s look more closely as the most important tip and your first step, choosing your domain name.

When deciding on your domain name, remember that this is representative of you and your business. It should be your brand, how you want the world the find you. Your name or your company name might be the first choice to consider.

Next, do some research and check that name in any search engine to see if it brings up any competitors or sites that you don’t want to be associated with. If you want some additional help, there is a great video from the Web team at about.com is a great overview of how to choose the right name.

Step back and share some options with others to ensure it resonates. When a name becomes your web address, it can become even more memorable than your company name. There is a great article on branding with your URL to make smart choices and avoid common pitfalls that provides more guidance on choosing your identity online.

Now that you have your online name identified – use a checklist to help keep track of all the important steps to moving to the next steps. Next week, we will focus on the options for designing and building your website. There are many options to get you up and running that don’t require you to be an expert.