Domain Name

Your Domain Name

Your domain name is one of the most important assets your business controls. What exactly is a domain name? A domain name is used to identify a particular web page. For example, www.yourbusiness.com identifies your webpage yourbusiness.com.

A Domain Is Registered

A Domain name (we also call them “domain” for short) isn’t “owned” in the traditional sense of ownership as we know it. They’re registered through a world-wide registration body known as ICANN (International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), a non-profit corporation with the responsibility for IP addresses and domain name management.

Individuals and businesses register these domains through ICANN (usually through intermediaries such as GoDaddy.com and Namecheap.com) annually. A domain can be sold like any other asset, the transfer of registration from one registrant to another is a well-established procedure that insures they can’t be easily stolen or transferred without the approval of the registered owner.

Why it’s important for a business to control its domain name.

You work hard to build your business over the years. If you’ve built your business well, sweated the details to ensure happy clients and customers and have used the internet wisely to build sales, chances are good your business website now gets many visitors each month. Visitors who turn into new clients and customers are what’s known as a sales funnel. This sales funnel that flows through your website has taken years to build and is now a very valuable asset that is controlled by you.

At this point, your domain has become valuable and other companies are always on the lookout for domains that have not been renewed!

Naturally, when it comes time to sell your business this sales funnel (the constant and reliable flow of new customers and clients to the business) will figure highly in the value of the business, and the control of the domain is a critical element. If the domain name is not under the direct control of the business then the domain, as a critical part of the sales funnel, cannot be counted as an asset that can be sold with the business.

In other words, if you, as the business owner, don’t control (register the domain yourself), then you are missing a critical element of the sales funnel that could severely reduce the value of your business at sales time.

Many local businesses let others control their domains – bad plan.

Some local businesses turn their domains over to others for registration. When that domain name becomes a part of a valuable sales funnel, chances are that the business owner will not be able to gain control over the domain name or the managing company (or person) will try to sell the business owner his own domain!

We have personally witnessed a business domain registered by a big-name internet marketing company (in the business’s own name) for a local business that was lost because the big-name IM company refused to transfer the domain to the business owner when he stopped using their services. The business owner had to start over with a new domain and rebuild his business from the ground up.

We still see long-term business owners who, after decades in business, let others control one of their most important business assets.

Need some help with a domain name? Even if your business domain name is locked away and not under your control, we still may be able to help you. Give us a call at (719) 761-4862 or click HERE to contact us.