Decide on Your Online Identity

Just as you present your business using a single name in the physical world, you want to present it using the same name online.

But if others have already claimed your business name as a domain name or on social networks, or if your name is too long to work as a social network name (for example, Twitter limits names to 15 characters), you need a strategy for claiming an online alias that’s tightly linked to your business name. That way, a search for either name leads to results for both names — and maximum exposure for your business. (Chapter 10 includes advice for claiming your online identity.)

If you can’t use the same name everywhere, take these steps:

1. Decide on no more than two names under which you’ll present your business.

These likely include the name under which your business was established and has long been marketed and a second name you can use when your long-standing name isn’t available or appropriate, because it’s either too long or too difficult to spell. (I’ll use my own name as an example. It’s Barbara Findlay Schenck on book covers and Bizstrong in my domain name and on social networks. As another example, this book’s technical editor’s business name is Roundpeg, and in the few places where that name isn’t available, it presents itself as RoundpegIndy.)

2. Claim one name or the other as your domain name and across all social media channels you may ever want to use.

3. Develop a strategy that links your names together.

Use ...

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