business name

Ask CyberGuru: Should my domain name include my business’ service?

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Ask CyberGuru: Should my domain name include my business’ service?

Ask CyberGuru

CyberGuru has recently received some enquiries regarding what domain name a business should use. For example, should a bookkeeping company called Acme use domain name acme.com.au or acmebookkeeping.com.au?

In terms how important the word is (in this case bookkeeping), if your business is predominately a bookkeeping company, then having www.acmebookkeeping.com.au is useful to search engines such as Google as it would likely index you more accurately (through the word “bookkeeping” being added).

However, you may also wish to purchase www.acme.com.au as this is easier to manually type from say a business card or brochure, or your business was to expand from just computers in the future. These domain names could be linked in that if you were to have both, you could redirect one of them to the other.

If you have any questions or to register a domain name, please contact us today.

Considerations when starting a new business: Protecting your business name

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Considerations when starting a new business: Protecting your business name

Considerations when starting a new business

I often speak to people who are thinking of starting their own business. When I speak to them, they are usually in the early stages of identifying their goals, purpose and objectives. They are still working out what they want to do, and how to progress forward.

From the starting point, it is worthwhile considering ensuring your protect your business name. First task is your register your business name, which is performed through ASIC. Secondly, is the trademark, which is applied through IP Australia. Both websites offer the ability to search and register/apply online.

Once you have done this, it is worthwhile then securing your domain name and website hosting. This can be done through ourselves, CyberGuru. You can then look at establishing a presence online or at least a single page providing your contact details and a brief description of your business.

If you are Queensland-based Business, I would suggest looking at the Small Business Digital Grants and Small Business Entrepreneur Grants to help finance your project.

Also, both Queensland and Australian Governments have “one stop shop” portals for small businesses to find more information about starting and running a business. The Business.gov.au Business Queensland websites are valuable places to bookmark in your internet browser.

CyberGuru’s Chief Guru, Chris Jeffery, is an Advisor with the Australian Small Business Advisory Service, and an Advance Queensland Community Digital Champion. If there’s any way he or CyberGuru can assist your business, please contact us.

Should my domain name be the same as my business name?

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Should my domain name be the same as my business name?

Image of text reading "www."

One of the big decisions clients face when looking for a website is what domain name to choose. Sometimes there is confusion over whether their domain name should be the same as their business name, so let’s start by defining what each of these are.

A business name uniquely identifies a business and registering a business name serves as a means of identifying the business owners. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) maintains the business name registry. Business name registration is compulsory and a condition of trading.

A domain name is a textural address for a location on the internet which corresponds to the alpha numeric address that computers read. Businesses are required to register a domain name if they want a website or a customised email address (eg. abc@domainname.com.au). Furthermore, registering a business name does not guarantee someone the rights to register their business name as a domain name.

This gives businesses have the right to choose whichever domain name/s they want. There a few things to consider when choosing a domain name, which may affect your choice of business name if you haven’t picked one already.

  1. The domain name should be as simple as possible. If it is too long or hard to spell you may lose potential business if they can’t find you or are directed to a different website. If you have a long business name, consider abbreviating the name.
  2. The domain name should be meaningful. Either it should represent your business name or some aspect of your business.
  3. Check what domain names are available. Think you’ve come up with an awesome domain name? Someone else may have already had the same idea.
  4. Consider your audience. If you’re going to be selling locally then a .com.au address is fine, but if you want to sell internationally then you should consider buying a .com address as well.

If you would like to register a domain name, a website hosting or email hosting package, or need any assistance with your website please feel free to contact us.