In this page entry my goal is to discuss the various components needed to establish a strong online presence for your business in a secure method that won’t require you to plaster your personal info everywhere.
In order to make full use of the information detailed below it would be ideal if you have a business name and core values i.e. services defined (if not no worries, please feel free to read on).
Quick Disclaimer – I myself am new to this and probably missed some cool tools that would have helped propel my business to the next level, but these are what I used for my blog YourNetworkGuru.
Secondary Mobile Number :
You will need a mobile phone number that you can use for your business. In addition to serving as a great way to separate and identify business from private calls, almost all services that you will be signing up for need to verify that you are not a bot, usually by having you regurgitate a number/string they sent you through text or call. At this point you might be thinking to yourself “why can’t I use my personal number?”, although you can indeed use your personal phone number for all the steps discussed in this page, using a secondary mobile number especially from a service provider that does a caller screening can greatly reduce the amount of spam calls received.
For my secondary mobile number I used Google Voice solely for the reason that Google provides all its users (of which I am one) with a free mobile number that acts as a forwarding number, to automatically screen then forward calls to your personal number.
When creating a number on Google Voice you will get the option of selecting the area code. This is a very important decision which you should not take lightly. I would argue that the most important asset a new business has nowadays is its image so try and get a prestigious area code, for those living in the SoCal area (like myself) that would be areas like 310 or 626.
Links:
- Google Voice – https://voice.google.com/about
- Prestigious Area Codes – https://www.keku.com/blog/prestigious-phone-area-codes/
Domain Name:
A domain name is how the world wide web will identify your business. In most cases businesses will try to have matching domain and business names e.g. Amazon Inc. whose domain name is amazon.com. Yet there has been instances where a business name wont match the domain name associated with the brand e.g. Facebook whose business name changed to Meta but their domain remains facebook.com.
Take time to think of a decent business name and once you have a business name in mind use a domain checker from GoDaddy or Google linked below to verify if the business name you decided on can also be your domain name. At this day and age you would be considered amongst the lucky few if you have matching business and domain names, even rarer is being able to buy your matching domain name with a .com or .net URL ending. Fortunately GoDaddy and Google domain checkers also show several domain name alternatives so that you are not forced to change your business name. If you selected a unique domain name I strongly suggest you purchase both the .com and .net URL endings as those are the most common URL endings.
The final step is to register your domain. In the US there are two big domain registrars GoDaddy and Google which I strongly support and most likely if you used them to check the availability of your domain they already gave you the option to purchase that domain at a reasonable price and walk you through the steps needed (its nothing special you just require a payment method).
LEARN FROM MY MISTAKE. PLEASE DO NOT USE A FOREIGN DOMAIN HOSTING SERVICE EVEN THOUGH THEY TEND TO BE CHEAPER. GO WITH A US BASED ONE LIKE GODADDY OR GOOGLE THEY PRACTICE BETTER PRIVACY STANDARDS. I HAVE BEEN RECEIVING NONSTOP SPAM CALLS/EMAILS SINCE REGISTERING MY DOMAIN UNDER MY PERSONAL MOBILE NUMBER/EMAIL AND CANNOT PREVENT IT. WHICH IS WHY I SHOULD HAVE CREATED AND USED THE GOOGLE VOICE NUMBER IN STEP 1 FOR REGISTERING MY DOMAIN.
Links:
- GoDaddy domain checker – https://www.godaddy.com/domains/domain-name-search
- Google domain checker – https://domains.google/
Website & Google Analytics
CONGRATULATIONS! If you have been following the steps so far you should be a proud domain owner.
After finalizing your domain purchase you will need to decide on whether or not you want a website attached to that domain. Most domain hosting services these days will give you the option of creating a website shortly after the domain purchase is finalized.
Although you can build a website from scratch, I recommend using WordPress to greatly reduce the amount upfront effort (webdesign is very time consuming as is), and chances are you will be prompted by your provider to install WordPress. WordPress is a very powerful yet beginner friendly no-code website builder, it offers several great themes which you can add-to using plugins or customize in order to have a unique looking website that represents your business and image.
Over the years I have used several WordPress themes but one thing I have always been consistent with is making sure that whichever theme I end up using has the MonsterInsights plugin installed. The MonsterInsight plugin is a tool that will automatically setup Google analytics on your website. Google Analytics is a simple free service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic like page views, time spent on a page or even the type of device a consumer used to view your page (mobile,laptop,etc), this is very useful in understanding how your consumers are receiving and interacting with your website.
Links :
- Great WordPress Themes – https://wpforms.com/best-free-wordpress-themes/
- What is Google Analytics – https://marketingplatform.google.com/about/analytics/
Purchasing a domain has the added benefit of allowing you to communicate on the world wide web as an official member of that domain. Your host (hopefully Google or Godaddy) will ask if you would like to create an email and link it to the domain. Most large domain providers like Godady or Google use popular email services like Outlook or Gmail, but there are several email services that exist so do not panic if your email service is Titan mail (it just makes you that more special).
Over my many years as an avid email user I have come across several email naming conventions and have come to the conclusion that nothing can beat the First.Last@domain.com email naming convention. Lets use a imaginary employee by the name of John Smith as an example. I would argue that John.Smith@yournetworkguru.com looks much better, is more approachable, and even conveys more information than other naming conventions (a common alternative being jsmith@yournetworkguru.com).
Social Media / Google Business Account
Much like Gary Vee (a very eccentric entrepreneur) I strongly believe in the importance of having a presence on every notable social media platform possible. These days social media will be how you reach your current consumers, update them on your business/blog, and most importantly advertise to and reach new consumers. As of 2022 the top 7 most widely used social media platforms are as follows:
- Instagram | 2. YouTube | 3. Facebook | 4. Twitter | 5. TikTok | 6. Pintrest | 7. Snapchat
Fortunately companies like Google will provide new Business Account Users with a one time $500 advertisement gift, which we can use to advertise on the above platforms.
Google Business is a type of Google account used to manage your business presence on Google platforms most commonly used to allow for people to be able to search for your business through the Google search engine. If you used Google as your domain provider and opted to create an email you already have a business account and would simply need to create, link, and verify your business using the following link (https://myaccount.google.com/intro/people-and-sharing) and picture 3. If you used Godady or any other domain provider you will need to create an account using the following link (https://accounts.google.com/signin/) and picture 1&2.
Links :
- How to verify your business on Google – https://support.google.com/business/answer/7107242?hl=en-GB&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop
Logo
In my humble opinion a business logo is just as if not even more important than a business name and eventually the two should be synonymous (think of the Nike swoosh ✔ as a good example of how a logo can be synonymous with a company).
Although you can go to websites like Fiverr and Upwork and get a professionally made company logo for under $100. I always opt for the free options whenever possible even though it might involve a little more work. In this case Adobe provides a free logo maker with a simple interface and lots of customizing options.
Once done with the logo remember to update your WordPress website (if you have one) and upload the site logo.
Links:
Adobe Logo Maker – https://www.adobe.com/express/create/logo
Virtual Address and Mail Service
If you plan on receiving mail best not get it delivered to your primary residence. I use a digital mailbox service called iPostal1 (checkout the video below) and got a friendly address which I can claim as my business address.
Once again I have to stress that a business image is the most important asset your business has (do not underestimate this statement) so make sure to get a prestigious virtual address (I pay $20 a month for a Beverly Hills address along with a p.o. box).
Virtual Office Number
At this point if you have been following this guide you are pretty much done, but go ahead and show off by setting up a business phone system that has auto-attendant, internal extensions, and many more features so that your future callers can be impressed by how much effort you placed in you up-and-coming business.
I linked my own tutorial page to help you to build your own free VoIP system powered by AWS and 3CX
Business Cards and Much More
Its inevitable you will talk to people about your new business, and they will have follow up questions. In such situations it would be great if you can leave them with more than just words i.e. a business card.
Companies like VistaPrint provide good quality individually customized goods at a fair price. In addition to premium business card you can get shirts, USB drives, posters and many more products with your company logo. VistaPrint also sells magnetic signs for you car so that you advertise your business while cruising through town.