3 Tips for Establishing Your Online Presence

by Rahimah Sultan

So what do you need to establish your online presence?

You want people to know about you, to know you are open for business online. People need to know you exist in order to connect with you.

Setting up shop on the Internet entails the same process as creating an offline business. You have to come up with a name, find a suitable location, and advertise it.

Following are three tips for establishing your online presence.

Address

Just as with an offline business, you first need to decide on a name. Your online address or domain begins with buying virtual real estate so you can brand yourself. You need to look for some online real estate to which you can attach your name. This means purchasing a domain name that is unique, easy to spell and sound out, and not already taken.

You need a name that defines you.

Make your domain name relevant to your content, service or business. Keep it short and look for an exact match. Ideally, you want your own name. If it’s not available, look for something as close as possible.

You can use your name or place a hyphen between your first and last name or use your name along with some aspect of the business.

Choose wisely or it could become costly or even impossible to change it later. Use the “com” extension as opposed to “org” or “net” for business names whenever possible.

There are many domain name providers you can use. Run an online check for a few and compare prices. When buying a domain name, purchase the name only and do NOT sign up for anything else they offer like web hosting special security or other available services.

When you select a web hosting account, you’ll have access to what you need for setup.


Location

Now that you have your domain you need to choose a web hosting account. This is where your domain (website / business) will be housed. This will be where your shop or business is located online.

Buy your own hosting package so that you have total control. Once you have your hosting you can then install a WordPress blog for free, as it will be part of your package. It is the most popular blogging software in the world, it has unlimited plugins and themes, free templates and much more.

This is your asset that is totally under your control, and it can be monetized. Do not use free blog hosts, as you will have absolutely no control if you later decide to change anything. Any work you do on it will be for nothing. I suggest a WordPress blog over which you have total control.


Advertising

If you have an offline business that you are bringing online, use blog posts to talk about how to perform what you do. It could be consulting, making jewelry, presenting seminars, speaking engagements, writing books, affiliate marketing, creating online courses, writing eBooks, etc.

You can monetize your blog by including an appropriate link, in your posts, to something you are selling. This can be your own products, affiliate links or other offers.

You can get visitors to your site (blog), through social media, visible content on search engines, reading and commenting on other blogs, linking to other blogs, and regularly blogging. Post a minimum of once a week, especially, when just beginning to blog.

There are many advertising resources available both free and paid. Know that you will not develop a huge following overnight. It takes time, patience and perseverance. In time, some of your site visitors will become buyers.

You want people to know that you exist, so create your online presence with a domain name appropriate for your business, get a hosting package, set up business on a WordPress blog, and advertise to let people know what you have to offer.

Use these three tips for establishing your online presence.


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