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Marketing Budget for the Web

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marketing budget

Imagine your small business is preparing to launch. Marketing is critical to your success. In particular, marketing for the web is critical to your success, but it’s hard to put together a marketing budget to meet all of your needs. Your first step should be to evaluate your website. It won’t matter how good or how proliferous your ads are if they lead back to a lack luster site. The core of your marketing budget should go into your website because it is often the most inexpensive and most effective form of advertising you will find anywhere. There are many ways your website can help you make money not only now, but also in the future. However, everything depends on the performance and appearance of your website.

Hosting

The best web hosting company gives you options. Many offer special plans for small business web hosting. If your business is new, then you will likely need a cheaper hosting package for the sake of your marketing budget. Keep in mind, however, that operating a business online is always cheaper than maintaining a physical storefront or office. If you need a physical location, then you may not need as much from your website, but in today’s world of multi-channel selling and mobile shopping, it’s imperative to invest in your online presence. While customers may not be able to receive personal services online, such as massages or tailoring, they should be able to set appointments, find pricing information, your phone number, your location and hours, and get a good idea of your “stock” from your website.

A website that operates as a storefront faces even greater demands. You should consider options like dedicated servers if you expect a lot of traffic or plan on selling online, because nothing kills a shopper’s inspiration faster than poor web site performance. Small business web hosting doesn’t have to be cut-rate to be affordable, and your website is critical to your success. Customers must be able to order, ask questions, solve problems, and find reasons to shop again. Like a physical store, online displays draw customers. You may not have windows to fill, that draw the eye of passing customers, but you need merchandise and design to bring customers through ads and to keep them interested in your site. This leads us to the next point.

Design

Should you design your website and your ads yourself using free or cheap DIY programs, or do you need a professional? The best websites always have professional help. No matter how good your DIY program is, at best, it can only give you a cookie-cutter website identical to thousands of others. This may feel like a good place to save for your marketing budget, but it’s one of the most important sales elements. Customers only see your product through your website. The design of the website itself will impact how they perceive your business. A creative, original website will leave as much of an impression as your product will.

The best web hosting company will keep your website up and running, no matter how popular your business becomes. Design engages customers, suggests additional purchases, and convinces visitors that you sell quality products. If these two elements are not in place, all of your marketing will be in vain. By using your website to your advantage, however, you can save enough for another round of marketing. Even the most expensive web hosting options are vastly cheaper than running even a small physical storefront. Remember, all of your marketing will tie back to your website, and that is where you need to most heavily invest.

Domain Name – Your Online Identity

Domain Names 101: Public vs. Private Registration

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When choosing the best web hosting, choosing public or private registration for your new domain can be a bit confusing. Read on to learn what to take into account when making this crucial decision for your company’s internet presence.

Let’s start by understanding the difference between these two. Regulations for domain registration require you to send your personal information such as physical and email addresses, to the registrar in order to become the legal owner of your domain. This information is then registered with WHOIS, a public database of domains and their owners maintained by the ICANN, the international organization in charge of keeping track of who owns what on the internet.

Anyone can look up the registered owner of a publicly registered domain by sending a query to WHOIS. This can lead to potential problems for you and other domain owners, such as:

  • Unwanted people knowing you own a domain
  • Unwanted visitors showing up on your property
  • Becoming a victim of data mining
  • Receiving a lot of spam
  • Domain hijacking
  • Domain slamming

Private domain registration is a service provided by your registrar that allows you to keep your information private when registering a domain. The registrar will then share its own information with WHOIS, acting as a shield to ensure your privacy and avoid the aforementioned issues. Private registration is usually a premium service you can contract for a low yearly fee. It’s affordability has made it one of the most requested additional services of registrars, and the best web hosting services will invariably offer it.

Private domain registration is a great service, but it might not be for everyone. Since WHOIS lists your registrar as the owner, your domain will not technically be owned by you. WHOIS is consulted to resolve any legal disputes related to domain ownership. Therefore, choosing a registrar or web hosting service you can trust is of paramount importance when creating a private registration.

If you own a single website or a few domains, purchasing this service is a no-brainer. However, costs can add up quickly for owners of a large quantity of domains (100+), owned either for flipping or as alternative access to websites. This can be circumvented with some legwork by setting a single or a few privately registered domains to act as proxies for the rest – though this is not implementable in every case.

The decision between public and private domain registration comes down to three fundamental factors. The first one is the security of your personal information. The second is the reliability of your registrar or web hosting provider. The third one is minimizing the possibility of harassment including spamming, stalking, and other situations that might affect you and your family.

Make sure you get the best web hosting services possible. Contact us with any inquiries on the privacy of your information. We offer the best solutions for domain registration and web hosting, and of course, we offer private domain registration services as well. Just select the option at checkout when ordering a domain from GlowHost.com and we’ve got you covered.