Starting a new business can be a long and complicated process. One of the most important first steps (and one that often gets set aside for later) is creating a recognizable brand that suits your business goals. Your brand should reflect your industry but should also set you apart as unique. It should be memorable, easy to say and spell and should appeal specifically to your demographic. Lastly, your brand should be available as a domain name.

Brainstorm: What are You Looking For in a Company Brand?

Because of how hard it is to get a simple domain name these days, your best bet is to attack the problem from the opposite side. Figure out how you want to present your company to the world. Are you fun and web 2.0 like Google or Mozy, or are you more traditional and neutral like Dell Computers or Verizon? Try to think from the perspective of your demographic. If your clients are teenagers, look at the successful businesses in that market. What are their names like? Take your time doing this research. The brand you choose will help shape your company, and once you start marketing, you won’t want to make any changes that could disrupt traffic or confuse consumers. Point is, if your business is successful (which it will be, obviously) you’ll be living with this brand for a long time. The energy you put into naming your company will pay off every single time you see the name in the paper or on your letter head, every time you say it on the phone. This is your business! You need to be proud of its name.

Start Searching for Domain Names

Once you have a solid sense of the scope of your business, start trying out domain names. Sure, many of your early choices will likely be taken, but you might be surprised. There are still many domains out there and if you know what you’re looking for, chances are good you’ll find one pretty fast. Aim for short and simple and remember your goals and demographic. Don’t settle for something too soon. Once you have a list of names you like, show them to friends. Ask people in your target demographic what they think: if the name is memorable and interesting, and if it would attract them to the company.

If you can see the name in lights, up on a billboard or behind home base, you’ve done your job.

In the last post we discussed the new changes in Google’s algorithm to favor older, faster sites. But what does that mean for you?  Well, as is always the case with Google’s changes, there are many ways you can optimize your site to take advantage of the new rules.

In addition to older, faster favoritism, Google is now a faster spider. GoogleBot is more robust, and can spider more information more quickly. This means, of course, that new content is more important than ever before. It also means newer products will likely appear in searches before older ones. This can present some problems but, overall, just remember: New=indexed.

Over the past few days, I have been researching what site changes need to be implemented to get TurnKey Internet to the top. I have learned that there are several changes that can improve rank under the new algorithm, though not all of them are easy or without some technical trickiness.  While reading over these suggestions, remember, the goal here is to maximize speed and take advantage of faster indexing. Of course, you also want to continue to add new content, but you already know that.

Make the most of Google Caffeine

1) Minimize CSS and Javascripts

This is pretty obvious but, by reducing file size, you can significantly increase your site speed.

2) Avoid Duplicate URLs

If you’re pulling the same content, there is no need to be duplicating the same URL. Each time the browser loads that content, it slows download speed.

3) Intelligently Paralyze Resource URLs

Use separate host names for all of your files—for example, CSS.yourdomain.com or images.yourdomain.com. By doing this you allow your browser to make simultaneous connections, increasing site download speed. But watch out for your javascript files. These need to be in the same location as your index file because many browsers won’t start rendering until the javascripts have executed.

4) Enable Compression

Enable mod_gzip or mod_decompress to, once again, speed up your site download.

5) Enable Caching

Make sure you have enabled caching and “last modified” tags to reflect updates. Make them available to search engines with HTTP headers.

6) Use a CDN for Graphic Intensive Sites

Using a CDN (Content Delivery Network) to host large images and other files. This will cache these files geographically. What you spend on CDN (which shouldn’t be much) should pay for itself with increased business from improved page rank.

While PageRank remains shrouded in mystery, each new update reveals new information we can all use to optimize our content. Remember, like with all legitimate hard work, improving rank takes time. But if you make these improvements now, you will be ahead of the curve and, with a little luck and some elbow grease, you can rise to the top of search results.

To your success!

Google has recently designed a new way to stalk, I mean, ‘stay connected,’ with friends, family and acquaintances.  It’s called Google Buzz.  This social networking tool is essentially a Twitter and Facebook status hybrid.  Much like Twitter, you can ‘follow’ your friends and update your Google Buzz update with what you are thinking.  It has also incorporated two Facebook status features – the ability to ‘like’ an update and the ability to comment directly to the person.  The latter point is an especially important feature.  My biggest complaint with Twitter is that it’s not only hard to follow a conversation, but also, if someone does reply, Twitter does not notify you.  Google Buzz takes care of both of these problems.  In addition, Google has integrated YouTube, Twitter, Flickr, Picasa, and Google Reader to make it easier for its users to share interesting links, videos, and pictures.

When Google Buzz was introduced, it faced a lot of harsh criticism.  Many complained that it was adding ‘more noise into an already buzzing area of my life.’  A Harvard Law School student filed a class action suit against Google, claiming Buzz violated many privacy laws.  Since then, Google has taken many measures to further protect the privacy of its clients.  The negative ‘buzz’ surrounding Google Buzz has simmered down also.

Along with our Twitter and Facebook profiles, Turnkey Internet has created a Google Buzz account.  Please follow us at ‘TurnkeyInternetinc’ on Buzz to stay on top of breaking news, updates, and specials for our company.

With SEO, there are innumerable factors that contribute to your page rank, and keeping on top of them is the only way to make sure you’re doing all you can to optimize your website. One critical and often overlooked angle to investigate when it comes to SEO, is your web host.

Server Reliability

It may seem obvious, but uptime is one of the fundamental aspects of your hosting experience that will effect your site rank. Search engine spiders are unpredictable and could be crawling your website at any time. If your site is down when they stop by, you’re not getting indexed. All of your hard work means nothing if your site is m.i.a when it matters most. As a quick aside, I would like to mention that TurnKey Internet offers 100% uptime

Robot Text

Robot text is another important factor for SEO that is often overlooked. Robot text is a document that tells your server how to deal with search engine crawlers. Make sure your host has the document set to allow crawlers, otherwise you won’t be indexed.

IP Address Reputability

Another SEO factor you should consider when researching a new web host is your IP address. With some hosting plans you have your own address, while with others you share an IP. Sharing an IP address brings with it a substantial risk. Search engines penalize IP addresses that are linked to non-reputable sites, and, if you happen to be sharing one of these penalized IP’s, it can dramatically affect your SEO. If SEO really matters to you (and if you have any kind of online business, it should) the safest bet is to talk to your hosting provider about purchasing your own dedicated IP.

Recently the company Canon announced that it will be buying its own top-level domain, which means its web pages will end with .canon.  If Canon can successful buy it, the .canon top-level domain (TLD) will open as soon as late 2011.  With this TLD, Internet users will be able to navigate to “http://canon” to reach its website and Canon employees could create e-mail addresses like “Abbey@canon.”  Recently, in a press release, the company has said, “Canon hopes to globally integrate open communication policies that are intuitive and easier to remember compared with existing domain names such as ‘canon.com.’

The Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has loosened restrictions this year, making it possible to create new TLDs.  The rules regarding TLD ownership will not be finalized until the middle of 2011.  Currently, ICANN has the TLD application fee set at $185,000.  However, fees can increase if there are disputes and multiple organizations apply for the same name.  In these cases, the name would go to the highest bidder. 

Rob Beckstrom, the CEO of ICANN, has stated, “One of the least innovative spaces in the Internet is the global top-level domains.  It’s an anomaly.  When the Internet opens up, then there is innovation.”  The new CEO plans to make the approval process for new domains quicker.  Along with Canon, Beckstrom predicts that one hundred of the most popular websites would eventually apply for their own TLD.  In addition to these TLDs, Beckstrom plans on reinstating the approval of the “.XXX” domain for pornographic websites.  He is also proposing that cities receive their own TLD and other languages get their own domains in their own language using language-specific characters.  He believes it will preserve local cultures and promote global interconnection.

Many people are criticizing Beckstrom that his new plans for the Internet are inspired by greedy motives.  Opponents claim that with all these new domain name possibilities, ICANN will make even more money from domain registration fees, and in turn, Beckstrom will be a richer man.  Beckstrom reinforces this is not the case and stands behind his statement that “adding more TLDS will add innovation.”

In this, the first of our new series, Ask the Experts, our President and CEO, Adam Wills, tackles our first question:

How can I choose a dedicated service web hosting company?

Take it away, Adam…

1) Work with a reputable, real company.

It may sound obvious that you should  be looking for a reputable, real company, but the reality is that  many of the web hosting companies that claim to be, aren’t.  There are thousands upon thousands of web hosting companies in existence today, many of which claim to offer dedicated servers.  However, the shocking truth is that many of them are 1-man operations that lack infrastructure, support and a positive track-record. So, the first step in choosing a dedicated server host, it to research the company that offers it. Visit the Better Business Bureau website. Look for an independently verified reputation. Make sure there is an organization in place to back up promises like service-level guarantees.

2) Purchase directly from the company that owns the hardware (i.e. do business directly with the datacenter and carefully review any businesses that are middlemen or resellers).

Many clients come to us on the heels of devastating experiences with other hosting providers. Often their websites just disappeared along with the supposed company they were doing business with. Here at TurnKey Internet, we support resellers. There are a great many excellent reseller companies with pristine reputations and wonderful customer service who have been in business for years. However, like with any business, there are plenty of not-so-reputable resellers out there too. When a reseller doesn’t pay his hosting bill with his provider, his servers get shut down. If your website happens to be on one of those servers, your website gets shut down too. The best way to avoid this is by researching your reseller or, better yet, by going directly to the source– the web hosting company that owns their own infrastructure and datacenter. You will not only get the piece of mind an established, brick-and-mortar business provides, you will also get a better price by cutting out the middleman.

3) Work with companies that offer a large selection of the latest technology.

A wide variety of the latest server hardware and models is a sign of the health and longevity of a dedicated server provider. For instance, today the hot CPU chips for entry level and mid-range dervers are the Quad Core Intel i5 and i7. The high-end and enterprise-level CPUs are typically the multi-CPU configured, Quad Core Xeon E550x series. Make sure the company you choose has these products available.

4) Make sure the company you choose has a wide range of support and backup options.

Most web hosting companies will claim to have top-notch support. You should always try before you buy. Test phone numbers and live chat and note response times. Also, make sure the company offers a premium managed support and backup service option. If a company is not able to offer options like server hardening or firewall setup, it is a sign that company is not a full-fledged dedicated provider. While you might not need to take advantage of these services at the start, it is always good to know they are available, should you need to upgrade in the future.

Here at TurnKey Internet, we go out of our way to help potential clients feel comfortable. We always offer all the latest technology and we take time to explain who we are and why what we offer is unique.  We display our better business bureau A+ status and independent reviews right in the footer of all our web pages. We provide links to news organizations that have written stories about our company, and in general try to help potential clients understand the all that we offer. Whether you choose TurnKey Internet or another established web host (and we hope you choose us!) doing a little research can save you lots of heartache and ensure that you have a positive  hosting experience.

Adam Wills
President and CEO

Hi, I’m Abbey Connick, the new TurnKey Internet intern. My first project is to create a website, which I have never done before.

Here is the title of my first website: Save John Boyd Thacher State Park.

Living in Upstate New York one of my favorite things to do has always been to visit the state parks.  I remember family picnics, fun hikes, and wildlife excursions at Thacher Park.  Sadly, these may become distant memories. Governor Paterson is proposing to cut the parks budget which would cause Thacher Park to close (among others). This would be a huge loss to the Capital Region, as it serves as a wholesome destination for family and teen outings.

Needless to say, the public is completely outraged.  Thacher Park has been a great outlet for the Capital Region. With the economy in a shambles, it is a smack in the public’s face to close this free destination that so many people utilize. Also, unlike many of the other state parks that will stay open, Thacher was hugely popular with many low-income communities.  Nobody saw this coming as everyone was completely shocked when Paterson delivered the news this past weekend.

To compensate for their lack of input before the decision, the inhabitants of the Capital Region have a lot to say (if not yell) now. Tens of thousands of people are joining Facebook groups for this cause, protests are being organized, and petitions are being signed. Leading the troops, is my supervisor Anneke. She has been an avid Thacher hiker and is enraged that her favorite weekend activity might be canceled for good. She is doing everything she can to spread awareness and organize people to stop it.

It is actually her passion that gave me my website idea. I have no website design experience (really, none!) and I was unsure of what to do at first.  I wanted to make a website that was both useful and interesting.  I finally decided that dedicating my website to the Thacher Park cause fit both of these requirements.  It will be teaching me about web design while helping to organize and promote action to keep Thacher Park open.

After I found my website idea, I needed to actually make the website. I had (and still have) no idea what I’m doing. I know, I know, this should be simple. I went to MIT for two years and I’m friends with about a few dozen start-up guys (and girls), yet I do not know the first thing about making a website. After Googling ‘how to start a website,’ I found a pretty good ‘how to’ guide.  The first thing they instructed me to do was to pick a domain name.  I registered the name, www.savethacherpark.com, with Turnkey Internet.  It was actually easier than I thought it would be. Next step: designing the website. This part might be a little harder than the first one. Consulting with my how-to guide, I found a really good web builder program – What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG). I have been using that so far and again, it is a lot easier than I expected.

I’m still on step two, but stay tuned for my progress.  I’ll keep you updated about my failures and triumphs as a web designer AND how you can keep Thacher Park open!

- Abbey

I tend to do a lot of Facebook and Google stalking.  Type in the name, see what he or she has been up to, and clear history.  It’s pretty harmless and who is going to find out anyway?  What, the FBI?  Really?  Yes, really. The FBI is pushing to have ISPs keep detailed records of what web sites customers have visited for up to two years.

FBI Director, Robert Mueller is asking Congress to make it mandatory that Internet providers store users’ “origin and destination information.”  Along with the FBI, this idea is popular with state computer crime investigators.  Both groups believe that logging user history would help with investigations of child pornography and other serious crimes.

Since 1986, phone companies have been required to keep a record of “the name, address, and telephone number of the caller, telephone number called, date, time and length of the call” for a period of 18 months.  Greg Motta, chief of the FBI’s digital evidence section, is arguing that this new act is merely an extension of call logs and is necessary for the FBI to adapt to the newer technology.

The details of the proposal are still very vague.  It has not been decided whether Internet providers would need to log IP addresses, domains, host names, or actual URLs of the sites visited.  If the FBI insists on the fourth possibility, there could be serious legal implications.  Recording URLs visited would most likely be considered deep packet inspection, a violation of the Wiretap Act.

Another problem is practicability.  Eighteen million website page hits occur every hour.  Multiply this by 24 hours by 700 days and you have a ton of data.  Sorting through this would be very time consuming and might not be worth the possible advantages.

The Justice Department is currently weighing the positives and negatives of such a law and, as of the writing of this article, does not have an official position on data retention.

Abbey Connick
Intern

After running my own online business for a few years, I started working as TurnKey’s Marketing Director last summer. My background is in online marketing and content production, so I felt reasonably knowledgeable coming in on my first day. Ha! As it turns out, knowing something about social networks, SEO and writing copy doesn’t really help one understand the ins and outs of the web hosting business. Weird, I know. Point is: I had a ton to learn. Luckily for me, I had Mr. Dave Klotz, our systems engineer and all around hilarity machine. Dave really made the transition easy on me. He’s a super smart one with some hardcore patience and a real ability to explain things in understandable ways—not a trait common to most systems engineers, or so I’ve heard.

Anyhow, it occurred to me that you guys might like to get to know Dave a little better too. So here you have it, the first in a new series I like to call, “TurnKey Staff Interviews.” Enjoy!

What first attracted you to the hosting business?
I like the Internet, it’s a fun place. To be able to be a part of the IT industry is great too. I feel as a web host we are at the vanguard of seeing emerging technologies on the Internet. When I am able to help a customer and see their business take off, I can’t help but be excited for them and feel like I somehow was able to bring them closer to their goal.

How did you find TurnKey?
Craigslist, the place from which all blessings flow (besides TurnKey, of course).

What aspect of your job brings out the best in you?
I think I’m pretty good at figuring out technologies, and how to implement them to increase automation to expedite our ability to deliver a consistent and reliable product, as well as come up with new avenues to expand our current product selection. I think of it as coming up with life hacks for the company.

Do you have any hobbies?
I enjoy taking drives. A good road-trip always clears my thoughts, and if not, then it wasn’t a long enough trip. I also enjoy collecting records, as well as political punditry.

Tell me something interesting about yourself.
I am made mostly of water.

What hardware/software do you use on your home computer?
Windows 7, Ubuntu Desktop, Windows XP, Fedora Core 11 on my 2 PCs. Commodore Basic V2 on a Commodore 64.

Thanks Dave! Stay tuned for more TurnKey Staff Interviews, coming soon.

As the Marketing Director here at TurnKey, it’s my job to keep up with all the social networking stuff the kids are doing these days. In all seriousness, social networking has had a real impact on how we do business. Since the very beginning of the company, TurnKey has been focused on the customer first. Adam Wills, our president, firmly believes that customer satisfaction is the single most important part of a successful business. I couldn’t agree more! So, when I came on last summer, my job was to facilitate our customer communication and to present TurnKey to the world as a company that cares about nothing more than keeping our customers happy.

Of course, these times being what they are, the logical first step was to set up accounts on all the social networks. I built our profiles and started posting company news and coupons, but quickly realized I wasn’t getting the kind of customer interaction I had hoped for. There are so many commercial enterprises out there vying for eyeballs nowadays and people are wary of befriending companies that might just end up spamming them.

I realized social networking works best for our business as an extension of our ticketing/contact system. By using Twitter and Facebook to respond to questions about our services, I engage our customers, help them out and encourage them to stay connected. When I do post the occasional coupon or special, the customers who have connected with us through the network in the past appreciate the notification because it comes on the heels of actual real human interaction. Nowhere does it say that being part of a company means you can’t make small talk or be friendly but so often in this virtual space, companies are all business. Of course it goes without saying that professionalism is important, but we are selling services to people, not machines. They are called social networks, after all. If you’re going to use them (and doesn’t everyone?) I think you should make an effort to really connect.

Anyhow, I’d like to give a shout to Facebook, Twitter and Myspace for facilitating our communication with our clients. You’ve given us great tools for understanding how we can be a better company!

If you would like to connect with TurnKey on the social networks, you can!

TurnKey on Facebook
TurnKey onTwitter
TurnKey on Myspace

Come tell us what you think, what you need and how we can better serve you! We’re all ears.