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I recently attended a trade show in Columbus Ohio and I was surprised to see that some business professionals were handing out business cards with no email addresses on them. Some were still distributing cards with AOL addresses on them and other non-branded domains. Each time one was handed to me I was a little sad, and I knew that somewhere an angel just caught a cold.

If you are reading this blog, you are likely one of those people that appreciate having your own domain name. The paradox is that I work in the real estate industry and many agents and brokers are not as fluent in the Internet as their customers are. Well over 80% of all home buyers use the Internet to initiate their research, and I wouldn’t doubt if that number is reaching upwards towards 90%. Thousand of great leads are coming in to real estate offices and agents every day through the web, but if you don’t have your own domain name, you really aren’t even in the game.

Getting your own domain name is the first step in the process to establishing a web presence, and establishing your brand. If you are a real estate agent or working in a position as an independent contractor, YOU are your own brand. Because you are your own brand, you must register your name.com. If your name is still available, register it as soon as possible.  I have seen many examples where someone else has registered my clients name, and this never works to their benefit.  My favorite example is that of a broker I know, her name was registered by an exotic dancer in Toronto. (I doubt that was even the dancer’s real name.)

There are many places you can go to register your name and there are several large companies that are well known and well trustworthy. I have provided a link to a related company that registers domain names at domainpointe.com.  Once you register your name, you should point it at your existing real estate web site.  If you don’t already have a web site, you can start out with an inexpensive real estate web site or even a blog will do to get you started.  Blogs can be set up for free or at a very low cost.

Your domain name serves as the first point of branding on the Internet. Your email is often the first way people contact you so it needs to have the domain name of your company, franchise or your own name on it. It is obvious that SurferDude76@aol.com is not going to work on your business card but names like realtorjane@aol.com aren’t much better. Many customers will see you as ‘less techy’ than you should be for not having your own domain name. If you like catchy phrases you can register a domain name for it. For example JaneSellsToronto.com would be suitable for that style of marketing. Your email address would then be either jane@JaneSellsToronto.com or info@JaneSellsToronto.com. I recommend using your first name in these cases even though the name repeats in the domain name part of the email address.

Depending on which brokerage you are with you may or may not want to emphasize their brand over yours. I work with many Coldwell Banker agents, and it is perfectly acceptable to have an email address @coldwellbanker.com. That is a very established brand and will hold water with potential clients. If this is the case, you still need to have your own web site for your personal marketing. It is important to weave a marketing plan for yourself that capitalizes on the benefits of your brand while still allowing you to make your personal mark.

Domain name registration and pointing the DNS can sound daunting but it’s important that you become educated in these areas. Your survival in the real estate market will be determined in large part by the effectiveness of your real estate web site and web presence.