On the most basic level, domain names are essential because the addressing scheme on the internet is not that efficient without them.

Every computer in existence has what is called an Internet Protocol (IP) address. This IP address is a unique string of numbers. Think of it as the address on your house. The difference between house addresses and IP addresses is that they are not as individual as you may think. Indeed, the physical address on your home is not the only one in existence. Let’s take an example of 123 Main Street. While this may be a unique number in your town, there are other 123 Main Street addresses in the world. That is where the domain comes in. Merely writing 123 Main Street in a letter will not get the message to your friend’s house. You must add more precise instructions to the post office. That means you are going to have to remember their full address. While this is a possibility for your close circle of family and friends, it can be more than daunting to remember these numbers to the websites you visit frequently. Much like we have done our best to differentiate towns and states to distinguish addresses better, internet experts have created domains.

The next question is how this pertains to online reputation management. The truth is most internet reputation management companies will hesitate to tell you. On the other hand, I am going to be as open as I possibly can. Look at the reasons below, and the picture should become clear.

Credibility

Not that you will be trying to fool anyone but having your domain will lend credibility to your company. If you were to publish your website on any free web hosting service, you would be a subdomain of their domain. In other words, it would look something like https://theirdomain.com/yourcompany. Anyone that is looking to find out more about you on the internet will notice right away that you don’t have your website. If the past has taught us anything on the internet, it is you don’t trust sites like this. They have zero interest in your wellbeing. They can set up the website and be off with your money before you even know what happened. Then, they can set up another website and do the same thing to someone else. So, take the time and invest a small amount of money into your business and buy your domain. There are several web hosting sites out there. Take the time to research them all and see which one best fits your budget as well as your needs.

Forward-Thinking

Having your domain shows that you are forward-thinking. In other words, it will show your customers that you are up to date on technology. They know if you have a website, they will be able to find you in other places on the internet. That will allow them to interact with you at any time directly. Customers like to be in contact with the brands in which they do business. Also, it will allow them to leave reviews on the service or product they receive from you.

You may think that this is a bad thing. The reason is that you have seen a bunch of negative reviews all over the internet. While some of them are deserved, many of them are not. Don’t worry, if you do right by your customers, they will leave you glowing reviews. Don’t think of this as a way for your customers to say bad things about you. They may want to say good things. Besides, all the feedback from your customers is a good thing. Make sure you allow them to make these comments. It will only make your company better in the future.

Mobility

An often-overlooked advantage of having your domain is your ability to move it around. Take, for instance, the free service we talked about before. If you were to find a better deal or a hosting service that better suit your needs, you would have to abandon your website. That’s right! That website will only ever exist on the free services domain. This kind of lends itself to being forward-thinking.

Making your domain will give you the freedom to move web hosting services as you see fit. That means you can continuously be on the lookout for the best web hosting service for you. If you find a cheaper or faster service, you will want to make the switch. Without your domain, you are not going to be able to.

Attraction

With the right domain name, you can attract unexpected attention. Of course, we are only going to talk about the right kind of attention. Let’s say you have a sporting goods store. Instead of having the name of your store as the domain, you have the domain tents.com. This domain will bring customers to your store that are looking for tents. While you are still going to want to have your company domain, you can redirect from other domains to your store’s domain. That means, when they click on tents.com, they are automatically sent to your main website. Think of this as the keywords that you buy.

Building

The most important thing to remember when it comes to domains is that you are building a brand. In the online reputation world, this is key. Just by having your name on a dozen websites, you will be building your brand. The sites do not have to be domains that you own, but it does help. So, when you are thinking about ways that you can build your brand, do not overlook buying your domain.

Final Thoughts With the millions of businesses that are out there, you are going to want to do everything that you can to make sure you stand apart. Doing simple things will make this happen. We are confident that you have thought about having social media profiles. Well, now you should see the importance of having your domain. The benefits of your domain are immeasurable.