Five Reasons Every Small Business Needs a Website

• By • Getting Online

The 2015 holiday shopping season was a good one for businesses online. Thanks to strong sales from Black Friday and Cyber Monday, online retailers reported an increase in sales of 15 percent from the previous year with Cyber Monday proving to be the largest online sales day ever, netting $3.07 billion.

However, only 51 percent of small businesses have websites, despite the fact that 97 percent of consumers search for products and services online, according to figures released earlier from The SCORE Association (SCORE).

The disconnect between small companies and the growing number of consumers who vet brick-and-mortar businesses based on their online presence could be keeping entrepreneurs from millions of customers – and dollars. SCORE Vice President of Marketing Bridget Weston Pollack said, “If a company or a small business doesn’t have an online presence, they are missing a huge percentage of the population that could be shopping at their store.”

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4 Steps to Build Your Personal Brand Online

• By • Getting Online

If you are a recent grad or someone looking to make a career move, make sure to think about your presence on the internet. Last year, 92 percent of recruiters used social media in the recruiting process. If a hiring manager looked you up online, what would he or she find? You can give yourself that extra edge and stand out from the crowd by taking control of your digital footprint. And, the easiest way to do that? Register a domain name and secure your professional space online to show who you are and what you can offer. In fact, 56 percent of all hiring managers are more impressed by a candidate’s personal website than any other personal branding tool.

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Verisign 2015 Online Survey: 97 Percent of SMBs Would Recommend Having a Website to Other SMBs

• By • • Getting Online

Almost three-quarters of Americans go online at least once a day. If you are a small business looking to grow, you need to go where your customers are. That means getting your business online with a domain name – whether it’s with branded email, a web address for your social media page, or a business website.

In September 2015, Verisign conducted a survey of 787 U.S. internet consumers aged 18 to 59 and 456 U.S. small businesses to learn more about their online behaviors and preferences – focusing on how consumers use the internet and the benefits of an online presence for a business.

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Inspiration from the Best in the World

• By • Getting Online

Guest post from Fernando Espejel, VP Director, Digital Platforms at FCB Chicago

In advertising and marketing, regardless of company size, category or demographic, we all have one goal: great campaigns. Campaigns that resonate with our target audience, spark conversation and ultimately lead to conversion.

At a high level, the formula for this is relatively simple: integrate across all channels and focus on relevant and engaging content. It is the execution of this formula that often proves to be extremely difficult. The goal of this post is to provide a bit of guidance along the way, in the form of inspiration from those who’ve done it well.

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Verisign Announces Grand Prize Winner of #InternetOfficial Contest

• By • Getting Online

Drum roll, please! We’re very excited to announce the Grand Prize Winner of our #InternetOfficial contest. It’s KidsCookDinner.com, registered through Network Solutions!

New York-based Kate K. submitted the most descriptive, memorable and original new .com domain name that resonated with our five judges and received the most votes from the public during the Grand Prize Entry Period Voting Phase, earning Kate K. the #InternetOfficial Contest Grand Prize of $30,000! According to KidsCookDinner.com, its goal is to get children thinking about the importance of sharing food with family and friends, appreciating the process and getting children to cook more in the kitchen.

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“Mobilegeddon”: Good For Small Business?

• By • Getting Online

Google updated its algorithms in April to favor websites that look and perform better on mobile devices, making them appear higher on search results. This news has many non-mobile-friendly website owners fearing that their search rankings will plummet. While the change is understandably concerning, Google may actually be doing many small businesses a favor by finally forcing them to implement a mobile website.

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Verisign Announces Third Round of #InternetOfficial Contest First Prize Winners

• By • Getting Online

We’re excited to announce the third – and final – round of our monthly #InternetOfficial contest First Prize Winners!

This round of winners brings the total number of First Prize Winners to 15. Each will receive $5,000, and is eligible to compete to win the #InternetOfficial contest grand prize of $30,000 (the First Prize Winners who submit a video will proceed to the final round for an opportunity to win the grand prize).

Our distinguished panel of top industry experts and celebrity judges has determined the five best .com domain names entered into the #InternetOfficial contest during the third monthly entry period.

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Verisign Announces Second Round of #InternetOfficial Contest First Prize Winners

• By • Getting Online

To help celebrate National Small Business Week, today we’re excited to announce the second round of our #InternetOfficial contest First Prize Winners!

As we previously noted on our blog, up to 15 monthly First Prize Winners will receive $5,000 each, and are eligible to compete to win the #InternetOfficial contest grand prize of $30,000 (the First Prize Winners who submit a video will proceed to the final round for an opportunity to win the grand prize).

Our renowned panel of top industry experts and celebrity judges has determined the five best .com domain names entered into the #InternetOfficial contest during the second monthly entry period.

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Verisign Announces First Round of #InternetOfficial Contest First Prize Winners

• By • Getting Online

The results are in and today we’re excited to announce the first round of monthly First Prize Winners from our #InternetOfficial contest celebrating #30YearsofCOM!

Our First Prize Winners will receive $5,000 each, and are eligible to compete to win the #InternetOfficial contest grand prize of $30,000.

As we previously noted on our blog, the #InternetOfficial contest, which is open to U.S. residents only, will feature up to five monthly First Prize Winners during the contest’s entry period (for a total of up to 15 monthly First Prize Winners) and one Grand Prize Winner. Each First Prize Winner will receive $5,000 and the opportunity to submit a video explaining the beauty of their entry. The First Prize Winners who submit a video will proceed to the final round for an opportunity to win the grand prize.

Our illustrious panel of top industry experts and celebrity judges has determined the five best .com domain names entered into the #InternetOfficial contest during the first monthly entry period.

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Can’t Decide Which .Com Domain Name to Register? Our Internet Official Contest Judges Are Here to Help!

• By • • Getting Online

As you may have seen, the #InternetOfficial contest celebrating #30YearsofCOM, is well underway. Choosing a domain name is an important step when building your business or startup, so we’ve enlisted the help of our #InternetOfficial industry experts— domain investor and blogger Michael Berkens, SMB authority Anita Campbell and naming expert Steve Manning— to offer business branding and domain naming tips.

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