Around 1994, when the Internet was just coming on the scene, I started a venture named PerformaWeb that marketed web sites and Internet branding along with a community directory page to independent businesses in my hometown. The Internet was new then, and most folks just didn’t get it. Fast forward to the present day. The Internet has proven its potential, has reached (and exceeded) critical mass and businesses both large and small have embraced what it has to offer.

What amazes me though is the number of times I still come across businesses that do not have a legitimate branded Internet domain for their company’s web and email services (the Internet domain is the part that comes after the ‘@’ in an email address such as info@joeswidgets.com). I see this happen all over the place - in articles on businesses in the Boulder Daily Camera, on business cards, and in advertising materials. Using the fictitious company Joe’s Widgets as an example, I see Internet branding that falls into one of the following categories:

1. Omit website and email information indicating no business Internet presence.
2. Use a third-party domain usually from an Internet Service Provider (ISP) such as aol.com, comcast.net, or hotmail.com for their web hosting (joeswidgets.home.comcast.net) and business email (joeswidgets@comcast.net).
3. Use a legitimate domain for their website (www.joeswidgets.com) but either lack a business email address or use a third-party ISP domain as in category two above.
4. Has a legitimate website (www.joeswidgets.com) and a legitimate email: (info@joeswidgets.com).

Now for those businesses that fall into category one, OK - maybe you don’t care. Maybe your business really doesn’t need Internet marketing, maybe you have a solid client base that has never used the Internet. Fine.

But for those of you that fall in category two or three, using a third-party ISPs domain in place of your own legitimate domain is similar to using a party-line for your business telephone or an potential employee submitting a resume full of spelling and grammatical errors. It’s unprofessional and gives a poor first-impression of your company. And those of you in category three, you already have the domain and the website, why did you drop the ball on the business email address?

The problems that can arise from using a third-party domain for your email address include:

1. The email address taken out of context (i.e. a business card or advertising literature) may lack meaning or may not be recognized by a potential client.
2. Depending on the nature of your business, clients may be hesitant to email sensitive information or questions to what looks to be a personal, home, or family email account.
3. It is free advertising for your ISP, not your business.
4. Creates a question of business affiliation and ownership. Are you a subsidiary of Comcast? Do you work for Comcast?

Now I will agree, registering your domain, signing up for the right services, and setting up your website and email hosting can be a confusing and sometimes expensive process (thanks, GoDaddy), but contact your local consultant, computer-savvy business partner, or teenager and have them help you. While you’re at it, consider signing up for Google Apps for Your Domain which is a free hosting service provided by Google that provides Google Mail, Google Calendar, Google Talk, and Google Web Creator specifically for your domain. Stay tuned for an article covering Google Apps for Your Domain in more depth.

UPDATE (1-31-07):
I added an article on Google Apps for Your Domain

This entry was posted on Monday, January 22nd, 2007 at 12:01 am and is filed under Discussion, Domains. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.