Why Digital Property & Ownership Rights Should Matter to You
| September 5, 2018 | Posted in Marketing
Who has control over your brand’s online image and performance? It may not be you. If you don’t own your digital properties, you are leaving yourself vulnerable. Find out who owns domain names and other vital online property associated with your company.
What do we mean when we say digital property?
Your digital property is any online page that formally represents your business. Here are a few popular examples:
- Website Domain
- Website Content Management System
- Website Host
- Google Analytics
- Business Directory Listings
- Social Media Pages
Why is it so important to own your digital properties?
Your website’s domain name is the main component of your website address. For example, our domain name is QuantumDynamix.net. Your website host stores your website on their servers so visitors can access your site at any time. If you lost ownership of your website domain or hosting, you’d suffer dire consequences. You would have to purchase a new domain name, redesign your site, and/or switch hosting services. The loss of the previous domain name would mean starting from scratch on website design and SEO. Even once you are up and running again, potential leads may still mistakenly navigate to the previous website.
You may be thinking that you’d never relinquish ownership of your domain, but it’s not always simple. You may acquire a new business but never asked for their domain rights. If you had your website developer or other 3rd party purchase the domain for you, they may not have made you the owner. Or maybe your CEO put their name as the owner and then decided to leave the company. They would have to transfer ownership to someone else.
Look up the current registrant of your domain name here.
These same issues are relevant to every other type of digital property. To effectively manage your brand online, you must have direct control over these assets! Starting right now, conduct an audit of all of your digital properties. Make sure your business is listed as the owner and that you know the username and password information to access your accounts.
Tips for Popular Digital Properties
Domain Names
First, make sure an outside company doesn’t own your domain name. Then register your domain name under your business entity – not an individual. Individuals can leave your organization; the business entity can be controlled by any employee. Protect your domain registrar password at all costs. No one but you will need direct access to this!
Content Management System
This is the back-end of your website. Check who has access to this section of your website, and make sure they don’t have unrestricted access to the site. On WordPress, user profiles can be categorized in 6 different ways, from Super Admin to just a Subscriber.
Site Hosting
If you don’t have the capacity to host your websites in-house, you’ll likely need to use an outside hosting service. Make sure you know who is hosting your website, and keep a backup copy of your website’s files just in case.
Google Analytics
This is a free tool to analyze your website’s performance and traffic numbers. If you don’t already have a Google Analytics account for your website, sign up for free here. If you have an account but are unable to sign in, follow Google’s troubleshooting guide here. Always make sure your business has administrative control over your analytics account.
Business Directory Listings
This category encompasses everything from your Google local business listing to your business listing on Yelp and Yellow Pages. Use the Moz Local tool to see how your business is faring among popular online business directories. If you need to make improvements, visit each directory individually to set up an account or transfer the ownership.
Social Media Pages
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, etc. Make sure there are multiple administrators on these accounts in case one person leaves the organization. Also, report any duplicate profiles you find. And make sure you know your passwords!
Have Any Questions About Digital Ownership?
Let us know in the comments! We’ll answer any questions you have about these types of digital properties and how to regain complete access.
Is Your Current Website Vendor Holding Your Site Hostage?
They may not be holding it hostage yet, but if they own your domain name and control access to your online properties, they have the ability to do so. Don’t work with website vendors who do this!
Discover How to Break Up with These Terrible Website Vendors Here
