Why should I pay for a domain name?

You are paying for the privilege of claiming your corner of the internet’s public space and forms part of your business brand identity. Remember to renew your domain name annually or risk losing your identity. 

What is the Internet?

“The Internet is at once a world-wide broadcasting capability, a mechanism for information dissemination, and a medium for collaboration and interaction between individuals and their computers without regard for geographic location.”

Move with the times!  Plug yourself into the world’s largest network, “the Internet” 

Choosing the PERFECT domain name!

A bad domain name can kill off your business and tarnish your brand image.

First to consider is your business name and your brand names or brand identity. Try to see if your current names give a good fit. Also consider the appropriate domain extension.

We give you some top tips of choosing your domain name to ensure that it is a search-friendly and memorable domain.

Choose a name that is simple, short, and stands out. Your name should not sound different from the way it is spelt. Your customers will not be able to find you online and you are also always going to have to spell your name for people. This turns to devalue your brand.

If it’s too complex and puzzling, it will remain a mystery to your customers. It should have a natural, intuitive sound and a special meaning.

It must not look and sound awful, and most definitely it should stand out a way to differentiate your business. DO NOT COPY!

Avoid names that have no intrinsic or linguistic meaning, these can be so costly in the long run as they tend to rely heavily on advertising to convey their meaning–and that gets expensive.  This may also give rise to the need to rebrand your business in the future. CHOOSE YOUR DOMAIN NAME WISELY!

Choosing the appropriate domain extension!

Available .bw domains.

.co.bw

Is the country code for Botswana. The .co portion of the extension indicates the domain name is for commercial purposes (similar to a standard .com extension). It is unrestricted and may be registered by anyone, from any country.

.net.bw

net represents the word “network,” and is most commonly used by Internet service providers, Web-hosting companies or other businesses that are directly involved in the infrastructure of the Internet. Additionally, some businesses choose domain names with a .net extension for their intranet Websites.

.org.bw

org represents the word “organization,” and is primarily used by non-profits groups or trade associations.

.ac.bw

The .ac portion of the extension indicates the domain name is for academic institutions.

 I already use my .com domain name!

There is a common misconception that if your domain does not end with .com it is in some way inferior.  NO WAY! Sure enough at the boom of the Internet Age in the early 90’s, the .com was the most popular domain and mostly used by US based entities. Things have changed a lot since then. If you are a Botswana based company you are better off with a .bw domain.

The .bw name space has the advantage of providing not only a globally recognized Internet Identity, but also gives a national identity as a Motswana and associates your business with Botswana.

The .bw is an example of a Country Code Top-Level Domains (ccTLD, while .com is categorized under Generic TLDs (gTLD), and does not give specific geographical location targeting information about your website and domain name. In general, ccTLD will rank higher in Google and other search engines results in that specific country and tends to be more recognized and trusted by visitors. So if your business is located in Botswana and your main target market is Botswana, it would be a good idea to get yourself a .bw domain.

Did you know that the .com is a generic TLD that is sponsored directly regulated a private company-VeriSign Global Registry Services, while the .bw is a country code TLD that is sponsored and regulated by our very own local BOCRA (Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority).

You may still continue to use your current .com domain but if you would like a local presence then also get a .bw domain, then we will simply redirect your traffic to your existing website.

Besides it is incredibly difficult to secure your appropriate domain name under the .com and often business end up choosing awkward names like; mycompanybw.com. It is not the same as mycompany.co.bw; one thing comes to your customers’ mind, UNPROFESSIONAL!

STOP DEVALUING YOUR BRAND!