Websites

Getting To Know The Porkbun Domain Management Console

Sam TorreyLeave a comment

When you purchase a domain name, you own the keys to your website kingdom. Your domain name tells the world what your website is about, and gives you a brand name. From a technical perspective, you can do a lot of things with your domain name. You can connect your domain name to a website that you’ve built with another web service like Wix or Weebly. You can use it as a re-direct if you own another domain name. You can integrate it into eCommerce shopping platforms so that your customers only see your professionally branded storefront. However, sometimes performing these tasks can be tricky for the novice user. Some registrars don’t make these tasks any less tricky when they make you go through multiple webpages and convoluted instructions to make basic changes. To combat this, we re-engineered our domain management console to make it easier for you to manage your domain names. Read on to get to know the new Porkbun Domain Management Console. Continue reading →

Making Content Marketing and Social Media Work In Harmony For Your Small Business

Sam Torrey2 Comments

Do you struggle with integrating multiple marketing efforts to achieve maximum results? As a small business owner, you wear multiple hats—and some fit better than the others. You’re not alone when it comes to struggling with the nuances and complexities of online marketing. Taking on the role of a marketer is not easy. There are more ways than you can imagine to reach consumers online and putting all the marketing practices together to work in harmony can be challenging.

Content marketing and social media are two must-haves in a small business’ marketing kitty. You can build a strong online marketing plan by combining content marketing and social media. When used in harmony, these two marketing tactics can engage your audience and bring the good kind of attention to your business. But before we get into how to integrate the two, let’s understand the core of each channel.

Continue reading →

How to Make The Most of New Domain Extensions For Your Marketing Strategy

Sam TorreyLeave a comment

Let’s talk about Lucy. She is a pastry chef who recently moved to Chicago from Paris. She set up her bakery a couple of months ago in a quiet suburban neighborhood and is pleased with the response she has received so far. What started out as a hobby back when she was a teenager has now become her passion and profession. The business is thriving, she loves what she does and is excited about what the future holds for her.

It is likely that your brain has visualized this story as you were reading it and will retain those images for you for a long time to come. On other hand, your brain has presumably forgotten the name of this person (unless your name is Lucy or you have a specific reason to remember that name). The reason is that your brain selectively retains information that it finds meaningful and discards anything that it classifies as useless. This continuous process of dumping redundant memories and data is what makes the brain efficient. It’s not surprising that this intel into the functioning of our brain is the genesis of ‘marketing with storytelling’.

Continue reading →

The One Tweak You Can Make To Your Website Copy To Get More Customers

Sam TorreyLeave a comment

If you’ve invested a lot of time into your website, chances are you’ve probably encountered this situation before: you are happy with how your website looks, what is says, and who might check it out. You may have even noticed that you’ve earned some visits to your website. However, not a lot of people are engaging with your content; they’re not contacting you or buying your product/service. What gives? While there are plenty of tools you can use to analyze your website visitor behavior, this post discusses how you can tweak your website copy to get more customers. Continue reading →

What to Do If Your .com Domain Name Is Taken

Sam TorreyLeave a comment

 

what to do if your .com domain name is taken

Let’s face it. .com is popular. Everyone knows what it is. You don’t have to explain it to anyone. .com is associated with how we think about the internet, simply because it has been around so long and because there are 126 million (yes, million) registered domain names. Maybe you’ve had inspiration recently to start a side hustle, or to showcase your artwork. Maybe you’ve got a business plan and want to launch your brand online. Either way, when you go to register the name you want, you find that your name isn’t available under .com. This article discusses what to do if your .com domain name is taken.

Word Hacks

Your first thought might be to do the classic word hack. If, say the name you want is “Smart Link”, you could get clever and snag a .ink domain name, and your website name could be smartl.ink. Another example of a word hack is if you had the name “Show Biz”, your domain name could be show.biz. Word hacks are tricky, though, because it all depends on the name or phrase you want. Keep an open mind, but don’t rely on this option.

Browse The New TLD List

A better option is to take a look at the long list of new TLDs (Top Level Domains) available. Browse the list and see which one stands out at you. You’d be surprised to find that the domain name you want is probably related to one of the TLD extensions on the list! For example, if you have a hobby of creating glass art, you could grab a .art domain name. In fact in that scenario, a .art name would be more relevant than a .com name because it describes exactly what you do in the address bar. You make it easier for people to get that “aha” moment when their brain is deciphering what you do.

Search For Your Name With a New TLD

Once you’ve spotted a few TLD extensions that are related to what you do, start searching for your domain name with those extensions. If someone makes 3D animation, for example, and they work with other people, they could get a domain name that has their business name, plus an extension of .studio. They could also get .tv or .video because they produce video, or they could get .design because animation is a form of design. These are just stream-of-consciousness examples, but you get the idea.

Spend some time to think about how your business or your activity can be categorized. What industry does it fall under? Chances are, there is a TLD that is relevant to what you do. The more closely related your business is to the TLD extension you choose, the better. Google will reward you as well, because it looks at the content on your website along with your domain name as it matches your website with users’ keyword searches.

The moral of the story is, don’t get discouraged if the domain name you want is taken under .com. There are plenty of other options that could be helpful. And it might actually be more unique.

 

 

 

 

Why A .Design Domain Name Is Ideal For Designers

Sam Torrey2 Comments

We all want to own a short, meaningful website name. Back in 1985, people could only choose from website names that ended in .com, .net, .org. Now, there are many specific domains to choose from, and there is one that is especially relevant to designers: .design. The .design domain name is becoming popular among designers because it serves the dual purpose of communicating what you do and helping you position yourself as an authority on design. Read on to learn 7 more reasons why a .design domain name is ideal for designers.

 

1.) Branding

The first reason a .design domain name is perfect for designers is business-related: it helps with your branding. Whether you’re using your first and last name to brand yourself or a unique business name, adding a .design to the end of your website URL helps create a unique image in your customers’ minds. If you’re a designer inside a company, having a .design domain name for your personal portfolio website will help position you as an expert in the minds of future employers when they evaluate your work.

2.) A .design domain name shortens your URL

If you already have a .com website name with the word “design” in it, you can easily rename it to [YourWebsiteName].design. Your website name will be shorter than before and easier to remember. It is an elegant solution to the ever-too-common problem of people forgetting what your website URL is. For example, http://www.toaddesign.com could be toad.design. Most website hosting providers make it easy for you to change your domain name and keep the same website you already have. No hassle. Your website content stays the same and you get a shorter domain name.

3.) Availability

Since .com has been around since 1985 and there are over 326 million .com names already taken, it might be hard to find the name you want. By owning a .design name, there’s a much higher chance that the name you initially searched for may be available with .design.

4.) Makes your website more dynamic and engaging

Owning a .design domain name for your website serves as an impetus to add content that is dynamic and engaging. It gets people excited that they’re not going to a standard, run-of-the-mill website that they’ve seen many times before. .design is both a motivator to share your design projects and a reminder to focus on your objectives. Which leads us to the 5th reason why .design is an ideal domain name for designers…

5.) Relevance

The .design domain name acts like a sidewalk sign, instantly identifying yourself to customers before they enter your store. More importantly, this concept aligns with how Google provides search results. A google search connects people who are searching for your type of design service to your website. In most cases, the visitors you want are potential clients or future employers, so the easier you make it for them to connect their searches with your website, the better their overall experience will be. And the more likely it is that they will take the actions on your website that you want them to take, like contacting you.

6.) Boost SEO rankings

Google has spent years refining its algorithms on how it displays search results and websites. While it’s not as easy as simply purchasing a domain name like graphic.design and stopping there and waiting for clients to magically roll in, a .design domain name does help with standing out in search engine results. For example, google will bold search results that have the right keywords that they user typed in. If your website name was madridgraphic.design and someone typed in “graphic design services in Madrid,” there’s a high chance your site would rank on the first page with the results being bolded by Google. That simple act of highlighting your website name to match the user’s search dramatically increases your visibility

7.) Inclusive

.design can apply to all types of designers: web, graphic, product, motion, industrial, architectural, and more. .Design is specific enough to let people know what you do before they even arrive to your website. And it is general enough to include all different types of designers. Plus, even companies that don’t primarily focus on design as their core service or product can use a .design domain name. Many large, brand name companies have adopted a .design domain name to showcase the design work from their design departments. For example, facebook.design, or airbnb.design.