SMEs - Website domain name increasingly important and cheaper than you think!

“If you have a web site, it makes your small business look big.”

Natalie Sequera

The .uk domain name is now 25 years old and is a must for digital business.
Sedo has revealed in its latest domain market study that domain names are more important than ever, especially to small businesses.
Findings from our quarterly domain market study reveal that Britain’s country code top-level domain (ccTLD) still holds excellent value and is one of the most popular extensions traded on the domain market.

The .co.uk domain is currently the second most traded ccTLD, behind Germany’s .de extension and when it comes to the top selling domains, TVs.co.uk represented one of the highest sales of the quarter (including all .com addresses) and was auctioned for £51,000.

While this shows the value businesses are prepared to place on a domain, extended media coverage around the expensive web addresses can make SMEs feel that acquiring decent domain names is out of their price range. The reality is quite different and many web addresses come onto the secondary domain market at a more reasonable price; the median reported sales price of all .co.uk’s is £348 - a price that certainly wouldn’t break the bank and would help a SME ensure an optimal digital presence.

Developing a strategic domain name is crucial for brands to steer their online presence in the right direction. Top words should be identified in the given markets, develop a list of target domains and purchase URLs that available immediately

Keyword domains related to search terms will often rank highly in natural search listings and receive a higher quality value than those run through paid search campaigns.

Good domains will also increase the number of listings of a brand in search engines and assist with link building.

A full domain portfolio will hinder competitors’ online standing in a particular market place and minimise brand damage. Companies such as Sainsbury’s (taste.co.uk), the Times (news.co.uk) and Barclays (bank.co.uk) all use this strategy and it can be very usefully be applied to SME also, when .co.uk domain names are available to buy at an average price of £1,338.

Businesses should consider domain names as a cost-effective way to increase conversion, boost sales and drive traffic in their quest to build a strong and attractive digital presence.

Our domain name represents what we endeavour to do; support you in your endeavors to become a better business with SAP Business One and Intelligent Essentials.

www.beabetterbusiness.com

Are SMEs missing out on the benefits of the cloud?

SMEs appear to remain unconvinced that they should consider Cloud and Cloud-Like alternatives.

Independent research, commissioned by Rise, investigated opinions among small businesses towards cloud computing. It found only 42% of small businesses have heard of cloud computing and as many as a quarter (26%) of those who have heard of it, said they don't really know what it is.

Of those who have heard of Cloud Computing, 26% said they are skeptical about its benefits and only 4% of small businesses said they use Cloud Computing and are happy with it.

The hype around Cloud Computing could be the issue in terms of assuring SMEs of the true benefits that they could potentially yield.

What is cloud computing and why should SMEs be interested?

“Cloud computing means that instead of all the computer hardware and software you're using sitting on your desktop, or somewhere inside your company's network, it's provided for you as a service by another company and accessed over the Internet, usually in a completely seamless way.”

Chris Woodford, 2009

Here are some of the cited advantages from a number of sources.

Lowered Costs – Cloud Computing offers tremendous advantages to small and medium size business in terms of reduced costs. You pay for what you use.

Greater level of security - Cloud computing can be more secure than traditional IT. It's all about economies of scale - many established cloud suppliers employ leading security experts, invest vast amounts of money into securing their applications and develop technology beyond the means of any small business.

Scalable Storage Options – You can scale your companies storage needs seamlessly rather than having to go out and purchase expensive hardware.

Automatic Updates – There is no need for IT to worry about paying for future updates in terms of software and hardware.

Remote Access – Employees can access information wherever they are, rather than having to remain stationary much of the time.

Green Computing - Cloud Computing uses less energy than traditional data centers which is important to many in this day and age.

Ease of Implementation – Without the need for implementation of hardware and various other components which can take several hours. You can be running your business in almost as much time as it takes to setup a facebook account.

Skilled Vendors - Would you rather these guys manage and protect your data – Microsoft, Google, IBM, Yahoo, Sales Force and Amazon or an incompetent over paid IT staff?

Response time – Cloud computing accomplishes a better response time in most cases than your standard server hardware.

Even playing field for small startups – This allows small companies to compete more effectively with some of the larger businesses. This balances the playing field.

A more collaborative way of working - Using cloud computing applications, people can work more closely together, accessing and working in the same documents in real time - without the need for hundreds of emails with attachments.

Performance and Durability - Run your websites and saas applications at a much faster rate with the benefits of using a much more durable service.

Improve Customer Satisfaction and Sales - Cloud computing offers opportunities for businesses to take full advantage of the latest user-friendly marketing and sales tools available on the Web with the hassles and pains of software installations and maintenance.