Do you really need to buy a domain for the business

12 replies
Hi, I have just opened a cafe in our local town, ive created a FB page which is updated daily. The FB page is the cafe name and town.

When ive done a google search for the cafe i come up on the first page for the name with my fb page, so I dont see the point in buying a domain,

So what i have done is bought 2 related domains to the town the cafe is in with the highest searches i can find and (when i find out how) am, going to redirect to my fb page, is this the best way to with this strategy or am i missing something,

Regards, Mick.
#business #buy #domain
  • Profile picture of the author Action Junkie
    You don't have control over the FB page. Facebook could move in with a policy shift and destroy your hard work. If you buy a domain and get it ranked it's yours until you stop paying the bill.
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  • Profile picture of the author Arzak
    Personally I find it annoying when a business redirects their domain to their Facebook page. Some people couldn't care less about your Facebook and really just want to see your website. People will be searching for it.
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    • Profile picture of the author Rus Sells
      Yeah, that's actually pretty damn stupid and thoughtless too. Not every one has a facebook account and might not want to create one to see some crappy fan page. lol

      Originally Posted by Arzak View Post

      Personally I find it annoying when a business redirects their domain to their Facebook page. Some people couldn't care less about your Facebook and really just want to see your website. People will be searching for it.
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      • Profile picture of the author umc
        I always think it looks unprofessional to use FB as your main site. Not everyone has access, and it always said to me that you don't care enough about your business enough to pug in the time or money to have a real online presence open to anyone. I always hated the free sites and domains too. If I think a business is going too cheap on this, their service might reflect such a mindset and it may devalue that business in my eyes. I'm sure not everyone feels that way, nor am I alone. Some business owners spend a bunch on their storefront and equipment or whatever and then go so cheap on the marketing that it makes a bad first impression. I've never really understood that, other than to say that many owners just don't get marketing or don't place proper value on it.
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        • Profile picture of the author Robert Domino
          You can do without a website. Many successful companies don't bother with one.

          But really, why wouldn't you want to? I personally search for companies' websites all the time to find information about it. If anything, make it very simple and have your menu on it or something.

          You can't afford $10 a year for a domain and a few bucks per month for hosting?
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        • Profile picture of the author Khemosabi
          Originally Posted by umc View Post

          I always think it looks unprofessional to use FB as your main site. Not everyone has access, and it always said to me that you don't care enough about your business enough to pug in the time or money to have a real online presence open to anyone. I always hated the free sites and domains too. If I think a business is going too cheap on this, their service might reflect such a mindset and it may devalue that business in my eyes. I'm sure not everyone feels that way, nor am I alone. Some business owners spend a bunch on their storefront and equipment or whatever and then go so cheap on the marketing that it makes a bad first impression. I've never really understood that, other than to say that many owners just don't get marketing or don't place proper value on it.
          Just to add to that... word of mouth, works both ways! With all of the ways that people can give you a bad rep these days, wouldn't it be best to protect your investment?

          I have a talented cake decorator here where I lve. She too thinks that all she needs is her FB page. She has a ton of photos uploaded.. etc. You know what's wrong with that? (@ OP).. there is no information about her product! Nothing! Just pictures! How much time do you think the owner is wasting answering questions about her product when all of that information could be on a website? How many more orders do you think she would get with the right description of her products?

          Just some food (lol!) for thought...

          ~ Theresa
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        • Profile picture of the author midasman09
          Banned
          Make a 60sec Video of your Café by taking digital shots of;
          Exterior with Name, Address, Phone, Hours, Specialty Foods
          Interior (4 shots)
          Food Plates (4 shots)
          Employees (wait people and cooks) (3 or 4 shots)
          Owner (1 shot) (Name, Address, Phone, Hours, Specialties)

          I use PhotoStory3 (free from Micrsoft) because with the Scan & Zoom feature I can make it seem like a live video.

          Add in Instrumental background music according to the type of atmosphere. And, you could even do a Voice-Over to really enhance it.

          Here's a WSO by "Epark732" that shows HOW to make videos and get them ranked (not a Lead-Gen thing).....exactly what you can use!

          http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-...e-reviews.html

          Don Alm
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  • Profile picture of the author Khemosabi
    FB pages are meant to enhance a website, not replace it.

    Online presence consists of many things, not just social media. FB is a social media site. Your best bet is branding yourself, using the existing domains, a domain for your company, and your FB page and linking them all together.

    I see many businesses going this route. They are trying to save money and think that it's enough.. it's not.

    Simply put: How much information can you put on a website about your business? Can you have a webisite that is a one stop "all you can eat" type of thing? Yep!

    Now how much information can you put on a FB page?

    Use them together!!! And best of luck!

    ~ Theresa
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  • Profile picture of the author website design
    Imagine a few years ago you decided to base your online company info only on MySpace... What would that look like today?

    You would have to start over. Same thing could happen with Facebook.

    Never trust any outside network because you never know what they will do or turn into.

    Always buy and build your own domain/website and use the extra free websites to supplement your marketing efforts.
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    no sig needed.
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  • Profile picture of the author AndrewCavanagh
    Think of Facebook as a traffic generation method.

    New prospects can find you and you can interact
    with some of your diners.

    But don't look at it as your primary online real estate.

    As has already been said Facebook can delete your page
    in an instant or change the rules, there are limitations on
    what you can do with a facebook account and ultimately
    you just don't have any control over it.

    Get those people coming to your facebook page onto your
    own website and your own email list.

    Then you have an asset you can control.

    Kindest regards,
    Andrew Cavanagh
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  • Profile picture of the author Writerdave
    You need a site and back that site up with the FB page. In FB you do not have as much control as you would desire to have, although it is an easy way to rank. Also, with every post you make on FB, the previous ones are pushed down. This means that for a person to learn about your business, They need to spend some time on FB. With a site, you decide what goes where.
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    • Profile picture of the author safe as houses
      Great advice, thanks for all your help, I will by the domain. Money was never an issue for the domain or hosting, was just wondering if I was doing it right with the fb page being the main site with a couple of related domains redirected to my fb page, but obviously not, so i will rectify things, thanks once again to all, Mick.
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