Customize your online presence with your own domain name

A domain name is a component of an Internet address, usually the descriptive part of a web address or an email address. So, if you look at the URL www.investmentexecutive.com, and the email address editorial@investmentexecutive.com, “investmentexecutive” is the domain name. Creating your own domain name is a way to customize your Internet address.

“Choosing a domain name is the obvious first step to creating an online presence,” says Andrew Lionis, digital director with Toronto-based Wickware Communications Inc., a marketing firm that specializes in the financial services industry. Lionis suggests using a variation of your proper name or your company name to make your website easy to find.

Lionis’s recipe is simple: boil it down to as few characters as possible. “You can use your initials to shorten long names, or abbreviate words,” he says.

Laura Curtis Ferrera, head of marketing with Toronto-based Macquarie Private Wealth Inc., suggests a strategic approach.

“Before you select a domain name, figure out what your unique selling proposition is,” Curtis Ferrera says. Start by indentifying what you do and what makes your business unique. Then reduce it to a word that reflects your brand.

“Be careful that your domain name is not so hard to remember that people can’t [remember how to] type it in and, as a result, get rerouted to another website,” she says.

One way to make your domain name easier to read, Ferrera recommends, is to break it up by capitalizing the first letter of each word.

Choose an extension

The extension is the final component of a Web or email address. Ferrara and Lionis agree that the “dot com” extension is the most desirable. It is the most popular, and it gives your website the ring of authority, Lionis says.

Ferrara suggests that you also register your domain under the popular Canadian “dot ca” extension as well as “dot net.”

“That way, nobody can register your domain name under one of the other extensions,” Curtis Ferrera says, “which might result in your clients or prospects being diverted to a site you would not want to be associated with.”
@page_break@Register your name

Once you have picked a name and a few alternatives (just in case your first choice is already taken), you have to find a domain name registry. Ferrera recommends doing some research before settling on a provider.

Make sure the company is registered with the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (the organization that manages Canada’s Internet policies), she says.

“But still, use common sense,” Curtis Ferrera adds. “You’ll most likely have to pay with a credit card, so make sure that you feel comfortable with the company before handing over your information.”

Costs should run between $25 and $40 to own a domain name, Curtis Ferrera says, and another $30 to $50 to host the website. Other factors to consider are whether the providers offer an easy interface, for moving your files to their site, and 24/7 support.

Lionis recommends Go Daddy (www.godaddy.com), a reliable, easy-to-use and inexpensive domain registrar and Web-hosting service that offers services for as little as $11 per year.

Check with your dealer

The Web is still largely an uncharted territory, but most investment dealers and financial planning firms have set up rules governing domain names and web hosting.

“Advisors need to understand what their firms’ internal marketing and IT policies are in terms of setting up domain names,” Curtis Ferrera says. “Especially if they want to host some sort of personal site that is independent from the corporate servers.”

Get the word out

Once your website is up and running be sure to promote it to all your contacts.

Says Curtis Ferrera: “Off-line marketing can be as simple as including your custom domain name on your business card and in your email signature.”

IE