Originally written by Partner Content on Small Business
Here at the UK Domain we have pioneered an exciting programme which aims to recognise great UK small businesses and charities who are making the most of being online.
So, if you’ve just created a fantastic new website, are already online or know of another business or charity you’d like to nominate, read on.
What is the UK Domain Leaders programme?
The UK Domain Leaders programme aims to celebrate small businesses and charities by sharing stories from real-life organisations on how they are successfully using a website and online presence to grow. It could be telling customers where their local store is, showcasing fantastic testimonials or using Instagram to promote products. We showcase the stories from real-life businesses in a series of case studies.
By taking part in these case studies, UK Domain Leaders get a platform to share their story and experiences with other SME and charity owners. We aim to support these businesses by creating a community, showcasing and promoting their case studies across online channels and giving them the chance to get involved in wider campaigns and content pieces.
Who are the UK Domain Leaders?
There are already some fantastic businesses and charities who have joined
Tag Archive for Getting Online
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Building and designing your perfect website
by Partner Content • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Partner Content on Small Business
With so many templates, themes and options out there when it comes to building and designing a website, it can be overwhelming to know where to start and what exactly your new business website needs to do.
Similarly, it can be easy to get carried away and add all sorts of funky features that could potentially impact your website speed and confuse your customers.
Here are some of the main points to consider when you begin thinking about designing your website, with links to handy articles and guides.
Who will design and build your website?
There are a couple of options for you to consider when it comes to the actual building and designing of your new website.
Many online web builders allow you to create your own website using simple drag-and-drop functions and themes. You can investigate some of the top options to use here. When you buy a domain name from a registrar, occasionally they will offer web builders as part of a package, so keep an eye out to explore that option too. These options allow you to have more control over how your website looks and functions, as well as being the more cost-effective
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How can you get your website on Google?
by Partner Content • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Partner Content on Small Business
It’s a common question for all website owners: how can my website appear on Google and how can I get to the top of the search pages?
If you’re familiar with SEO, you’ll know that getting your website to number one is no easy feat, especially if you’ve just created a website for your business or gone live with a new site. The first step? Getting your website on Google, then you can start to delve into the world of SEO.
Learn the first steps you need to take to get your website appearing in Google in this video from our #asktheukdomain series, where as part of our mission to help small businesses achieve more online, the team have been answering your digital marketing questions.
You’ll also pick up some hints and tips on how long it takes to get your website on Google, plus some insights into how to remove a cached page from Google Search, Google maps and a brief introduction on how to reach that number one ranking.
Watch the full video here:
If you’re looking to learn more about SEO practices and what you can do to improve your search rankings, have a look
Hot Business News Today
How can you get your website on Google?
by Partner Content • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Partner Content on Small Business
It’s a common question for all website owners: how can my website appear on Google and how can I get to the top of the search pages?
If you’re familiar with SEO, you’ll know that getting your website to number one is no easy feat, especially if you’ve just created a website for your business or gone live with a new site. The first step? Getting your website on Google, then you can start to delve into the world of SEO.
Learn the first steps you need to take to get your website appearing in Google in this video from our #asktheukdomain series, where as part of our mission to help small businesses achieve more online, the team have been answering your digital marketing questions.
You’ll also pick up some hints and tips on how long it takes to get your website on Google, plus some insights into how to remove a cached page from Google Search, Google maps and a brief introduction on how to reach that number one ranking.
Watch the full video here:
If you’re looking to learn more about SEO practices and what you can do to improve your search rankings, have a look
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Top 8 reasons why your business should get online today
by Partner Content • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Partner Content on Small Business
How often have you Googled the nearest coffee shop when you’re out and about and in need of a pit stop? And how many times a day do you quickly search on the internet for opening hours or to research new products?
If you take a moment to really think about, it’s probably quite a lot. In the UK, the average person spends over a day a week online, which is twice as long as ten years ago, so just imagine how things may continue to grow in the next ten years.
If your business doesn’t yet have an online presence, or you’re in the process of starting your own new exciting business venture and building a website isn’t on your to do list, you could be missing out on the many benefits being online offers businesses of all sizes.
As well as reaching your customers, many of whom will be spending many hours online, there are numerous benefits to building an online presence. Here are just eight of the top ones:
1. Gain credibility
Having a website gives your business instant credibility, customers are more likely to trust your business when they land on your professional website.
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Time is running out to register your reserved .uk domain name
by Partner Content • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Partner Content on Small Business
You have just under six weeks to register your reserved .uk domain name before it’s made available to the public.
The deadline to register a reserved .uk domain is 6am BST (UTC+1) on 25th of June 2019. This marks the end of the ‘Right of Registration’ period set aside by Nominet in June 2014 to allow these third-level domain registrants plenty of time to decide if they want the shorter name.
Find out whether the right of registration affects you, how it works and what you need to do.
What can I do now?
Firstly, check if you have a reserved .uk domain name. This may apply to you if you own a domain name with the ending:
.co.uk
.org.uk
.me.uk
.net.uk
.plc.uk
.ltd.uk
You can check here to see if you have reserved .uk rights
Those who do have the rights to register a .uk domain name should contact their registrar to find out how to register it.
After 1st July 2019 any reserved .uk domain names that haven’t been registered will be released into the public domain and can be registered by anyone.
What if I don’t want to register a .uk domain name?
Just because it’s available to you, it doesn’t mean you have to
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Building a business website: what key steps are involved?
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Some entrepreneurs feel excited about launching their business website while others dread it.
This guide answers the top questions you may be asking when it comes to building a website for your business and some things that you might not have even considered yet.
1. Do I need to hire a website designer, or can I use a website building package?
There is value in hiring a skilled designer as they can save you a lot of time – vital when you’re busy running a business and are keen to launch your website.
Be aware that building your site can be broken down into two parts: designing and developing. Graphic designers create images for websites, ads, icons, logos and prints. Some only create graphics but others can design websites too.
Make sure you check this when you contact them.
With the all-rounders, try and get a sense of where their weaknesses are and whether that clashes with something important on your site.
Next, you’ll need a developer to make the website function by coding the designs.
Whoever you’re hiring for your design and development needs, it helps to know exactly what you want from your website before you choose anyone. It’ll
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Different domain endings – do you need to buy them all?
by Partner Content • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Partner Content on Small Business
As part of our mission to help small businesses achieve more online, here at the UK Domain we have been answering your digital marketing questions over the last year in our #asktheukdomain video series.
Among the full collection of videos, is one which explores whether you need to buy all the different ‘endings’ when you register a new domain name.
If you’ve just started thinking about creating a website for your business – or you’re currently using a free domain name and you’re looking to register your very own custom domain (you can learn more about this here) – you might be wondering whether you need to buy all the different domain endings. By domain ‘endings’ we’re referring to domain extensions, the last part of the domain such as .co.uk, .uk, .com, .net, and .org.uk.
In this video, you’ll hear some great tips and advice to help you decide whether you should register all or any of the variations of your new domain name.
Watch the full video here:
If you’re looking to get your business online with your very own website, you can download a free 25-page guide that makes getting set up online a breeze here.
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Getting and setting up a business domain name
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
A lot of your business success sits on your domain name: it’s how your customers find you, it reflects your brand and it can determine how successful your online traffic is.
The domain name is the part of a web address that identifies your business or organisation, such as the smallbusiness.co.uk portion of www.smallbusiness.co.uk.
It’s important to get the name right, so let’s break the process down into smaller steps.
How do I choose a domain name for a website?
The name should be a true representation of yourself and your business, but there are a few things you can do to help it perform well online.
Firstly, keep it as short as you can. Altering existing words or removing vowels can also be helpful. For example, Flowerbx works better than Flowerbox for the florist business. If you were to type ‘Flowerbox’ into Google, you would find articles and photos of flowerboxes and the business itself would be buried, whereas Flowerbx is the first result on the search engine.
Another alternative is to go the way of Google or Häagen-Dazs and make up a completely new word. These companies use their business name as their domain. Once again, it
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How can I promote my small business website?
by Partner Content • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Partner Content on Small Business
How can I drive traffic to my website?
Where to start? First, you need to ensure that your small business website is regularly updated with fresh content, as this keeps Google interested. Remember, your website is a digital mouth to feed.
And what Google especially likes are hyperlinks within content: both to elsewhere within your own small business website and to other people’s websites, which helps you gain what’s called “page authority.”
Create useful content that answers a question – which is how we all use the internet.
Learn about search engine optimisation (SEO), which is how to angle content to generate the highest web traffic possible. Often, it’s just tweaks.
Create content that people in turn want to link to.
Structure your content with subheads, bullet points and tables — just like this article! (It helps Google’s algorithm find your website and promote it up the rankings.)
If you’re selling products, sell via bigger affiliate networks which get a percentage of each sale made.
Should I advertise on social media?
The answer is “of course” — with caveats. What people don’t like is being hit over the head with sales messages. Whether you post an ad for your site on Facebook