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Archive for domain name

16 Nov

How to Switch from WordPress.com to WordPress.org and Save Your SEO Ranking

WordPress.comWhy Should I Switch to WordPress.org?

WordPress.com is a great way to begin blogging. It’s a free service, easy to set up and use, plenty of free themes and plugins, and, well, free.

But WordPress.com does have it’s limits. For one thing, your blog’s domain name is branded for WordPress (yourblogname.wordpress.com). If you’re serious about your blog and/or website, it is vital to promote your own brand name in your url. Yourblogname.com, for example, is more professional and promotes name recognition. Being your own entity is much better than being part of someone else’s.

Also, you cannot easily monetize your WordPress.com blog. For now they do not allow Google AdSense, for example. That is why a self-hosted, WordPress.org site is a much better choice. WordPress.org is also free but there are more options and functionality. You just have to find a host and pay yearly hosting fees and domain name registration. Getting a unique, professionally designed creative WordPress theme to fit your brand image couldn’t hurt either.

I’ve been using WordPress.com for a while now. Can’t I just start a new blog using my own domain name?

Of course you can. But if you’ve been blogging for a while you will have probably built up a following. Search engines will have already found and ranked you. People may have already bookmarked your site or linked to you.

You don’t want to lose that ranking or those links. And while you can and should migrate all your blog posts to a WordPress.org system using your new url, it is also a good idea to redirect your old url to the new name. That way, anyone who has bookmarked your old site will be instantly redirected to the new site. And you will maintain your search engine ranking and permalinks.

WordPress.com now offers Offsite Redirect Support for $12 per year. I am not an affiliate of WordPress and am not getting paid to promote this service. I just think it’s a good idea. But don’t forget to renew the redirect yearly. You will not get a reminder.

Blogging to promote business. Branding Helpful Hints Marketing 101 Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
20 Jul

Why You Should Consider a .co Domain Name

Starting today you can register a .co domain name.

This is known as a Top Level Domain (TLD) which started in South America but is now available worldwide.

The abbreviation .co can be interpreted as any number of things, from company, community, commerce or any other word you like that begins with “co” such as con.

Is this just another way of wasting your money?

True, some people think this is just another way of getting you to pay a premium amount of money to reserve yet another version of your domain to prevent others from getting it. While .com is the most popular choice, you also have .net, .org, .info and much more. How many people reserved a .mobi domain for mobile phones and now wonder why they bothered?

On the other hand, if you have a company name and cannot get a .com domain for it, now’s your chance to reserve a .co version. I’ve already registered creativejuices.co and cjuices.co. See if your domain name is available at my Creative Juices Domains website. And if you do reserve it there you’ll be contributing to the survival of Creative Juices since I am a GoDaddy registered reseller. Yay me.

How this plays out remains to be seen. Will search engines like this new domain extension? Will people get confused between .co and .com thinking it’s a misspelling and end up going to your competition by mistake? Do you want to take a chance and ignore this opportunity and let somebody else get your desired domain name… again?

Read “New domain .co goes up for sale” by Jennifer Scott from ITPRO for more information.

Branding Creative Juices News Marketing 101 Technology
13 Jul

15 Ways to Website Success

A lot of thought needs to go into designing your website before you put it online. Your website is who you are (or want to be). It’s often the first thing people see and learn about you and your business. It’s the first impression you give and you only have a few seconds to hook a potential client.

So here are some things to think about when setting up your website.

  1. Choose a Domain Name that is easy to remember and has meaning. It should relate to your business.
  2. Use your logo on your website. If you don’t have one, get one. Just typing your name shows very little thought went into your business and people will pick up on that right away.
  3. Put your logo on every page to maintain your brand. It’s also helpful to link your logo back to your home page.
  4. Find a reputable host. Preferably one that offers 24/7 phone service and tech support. Don’t trust those you can’t reach. Creative Juices Domains is one of thousands of places to choose from. I prefer it because it’s part of the Creative Juices creative factory of services.
  5. Make sure your website looks unique and professional. The navigation should be easy and the color scheme should match your image. Don’t just use a template. If you’re on a budget (and who isn’t these days) call Creative Juices to find ways to stand out on the web.
  6. Test your site to see if it looks good on all browsers and platforms. The main ones are Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and Chrome. There is also a difference between Windows and Mac.
  7. Have something interesting to say on your website. It’s not enough to just have pretty pictures or fancy Flash effects. You want to include information that people will find helpful. If you are a plumber, include articles on how to fix things yourself or explain why it’s better to hire a plumber and not mess up your pipes.
  8. Test all your links and make sure they work. People want to feel you’re on top of all this stuff.
  9. Include title tags, keywords and meta tags. These are important for search engine optimization. Check out your competitors and see what they are doing. If you haven’t a clue about what these are, give us a call. We’re here to help.
  10. Sign up with Google Analytics and see who’s searching for your site, what keywords they used to find you and where are they coming from.
  11. Register with the main search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing and especially target local search engines. There’s less competition there.
  12. Find directories in your field and sign up to be listed. It’s usually free and also provides links to your site which helps with your optimization.
  13. Write a blog about what you know best, preferably related to your business, and link it back to your site.
  14. Twitter about yourself, your business, helpful hints, specials and reach a whole tribe of followers who look to you for information.
  15. Add new content on a regular basis. Search engines love this and it gives people a reason to come back to your site. That’s a good thing.

When in doubt, consult a web professional. I recommend the folks at the Creative Juices factory, primarily because that’s me. And advice is always free.

Advertising Business Practices Marketing 101 Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

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