eBusinessmap

Now that you’ve done your keyword research and have decided what kind of business you want its time to do the paperwork. In short, you’ll be signing up with your affiliate programs, registering your business, and finding the perfect domain.

Some people might say that this is actually the first step to starting a business. But setting up your business and selecting your domain before you have done any market research is a lot like shooting a gun then aiming for the target. The saying is “ready, aim, fire!” not “fire!, ready, aim”. Unless you are in academics, then the saying goes “ready, aim, aim, aim, aim….”(just kidding).

First thing you’ll want to do is register your business with the state. Sometimes it’s a good idea to think outside one business idea when selecting your name. For example, if you are setting up an online store that sells yo-yo’s you might refrain from registering your business name as “Mr. Yo-yo”. As time goes on you might want to pursue your passion for stock investing and start a string of websites related to the topic. If you chose a generic name like “Stewart Entities” you can start multiple businesses under the same name without having to use “Mr. Yo-yo” as a business name.

Most people wonder “What business entity is best? A Sole-proprietorship, an LLC or a Corporation?” I can’t advise you personally but I can point you in the right direction. Recently on another podcast Internet Business Mastery they interviewed a lawyer/internet entrepreneur. Their guest knew a lot about the nuances of running an internet business and being legally protected. The show was a two part series and very educational. You can subscribe to their podcast or listen directly on their site at Internet Business Mastery.com. Click here for episode 20 and episode 21. After you listen to those podcasts you should have enough information to make your decision.

Once you know what kind of business organization will be best register with your state. In your search engine of choice type in “BUSINESS REGISTRATION FOR [your state]” and you should get find your state’s business registration web page. Remember, you’re looking for “.gov” websites.

After you have your business registered its time to get your hosting. You pay hosting company’s to store your website and when people type in your domain your hosting company will show them the pages you have saved there. There is a lot of competition in the hosting industry. Because of the heavy competition hosting companies offer a wide range of benefits and perks for choosing them. Personally, I like Blue Host or DreamHost. Their prices are low and they have great features. Most hosting companies include one free domain when you sign up so this is generally the only cost you’ll have for awhile. Follow the links to check out my favorites Blue Host or DreamHost
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When choosing a domain, there are two schools of thought. On one hand, people say your name should be short and easy to remember with absolutely no hyphens. On the other hand, some people like to have a keyword rich domain with hyphens. So, which one is right and which one is wrong? To answer this you have to go back to your business goals. Ask your self the following questions:

• Will most my traffic come from search engines or word of mouth?
• How big do I want my website to be?
• Will I ever do any traditional advertising? (i.e. print, radio, TV).
• Will visitors come back to my website by typing in my URL
• How much repeat traffic do I anticipate

You can see that there is no absolute rule when choosing your domain. I admit that I’ve gone back and forth on this issue and haven’t come to any definite conclusions. I will say that I am leaning more towards the “short and sweet” domain over the “keyword rich” domain. One article that changed my mind is Brad Fallon’s Google’s new link trap article. In addition to that I think the “short and sweet” domain will be more valuable in the long run.

One hosting company can host multiple domains. If you want multiple domains One & One has the lowest private registration for domains anywhere. You will need to point your new domains to the hosting company so everything lines up. If there is enough demand/interest I would gladly record a video tutorial to post on the site.

Kind Regards,

Matthew Ryan