Hello, and welcome to the 21st Century. The days of having your AOL e-mail address on your business card are long gone. If you still don’t have your own domain, you’re missing out on a lot of opportunities. It doesn’t matter if you have a website or only use e-mail. If you are doing anything requiring any level of professionalism and business savvy, you need to have your own domain. While it may seem like a daunting technical task, companies like MadEZdomains.com are making it, well, “Mad EZ” to get your domain name registered in no time flat.
What’s the Process?
It’s fast and easy. Visit the domain registrar’s website, choose the domain you want, pay a small fee and you’re done. Most of the time they can also point the domain to your web or e-mail host if you have that information. If you don’t, there is typically some sort of technical support available with your host to get it done.
“OK, I get it. It’s not hip to not have my own domain… but why do I really need one?”
Here’s the thing: everything you say or do is establishing some form of brand identity with your clients. If you are hoping to develop a brand that sticks, you need to have your own domain, at the very least. Ideally, your domain would be your company name. Sometimes it isn’t feasible because your company name is too long, or maybe someone else took it a long time ago. If that’s the case, try to think of something else that will help to brand your business.
For instance, if you are a writer, you might want to buy a domain like, fastaffordablewriting.com. If you are a carpenter, you might want to register a domain like, solidqualitycarpentry.com. If you own a sandwich shop you could use superawesomesandwiches.com. Use this concept to come up with an idea for your business if the business name is already registered as a domain for someone else.
Why Can’t I Just Use a Subdomain?
A subdomain allows a visitor to navigate to your website, but it provides nothing memorable. Having your own domain name helps to ensure the customer will know exactly who you are. When you brand it as suggested above, it also lets them know exactly what you do. In the early days of the Web, companies were scrambling only to register their domain name. Domain squatters snatched up thousands of these domains and made it impossible for some to claim them. That is what started the branded domain trend. Today, companies like Verizon, Comcast and even the United States Government are using branded domain names to make an impact.
The bottom line is clear: if you don’t get a domain name of your own, no matter what it is, you are going to look like an old “fuddy duddy,” out of touch with the times. One thing is for sure – if you pass your business card my way and it has an aol.com e-mail address it will end up in the circular file.
