Updated June 20, 2022
You can’t separate your IRL (in real life) business from your online presence any longer. When someone wants to find out about your organization they first look online. Increasingly, they also look for you first on a mobile device. According to Google 46% of all searches are seeking local information. Your online presence is valuable. Are you protecting it? Who has the keys?
Over the years we have worked with many clients who did not know who owned their domain name, or how to access their website, social media, or claimed listings. Maybe the web developer years ago set something up, or a summer intern created the social media accounts, or in some cases a disgruntled employee left and ignored all requests for the access information. Sometimes lawyers become involved. In all cases, it costs time and money.
Your web presence is a valuable part of your business. Treat it like you would your bank account information. Know where your accounts are, how to access them, and who else has access.
What information do you need? Use this checklist to find out or download a PDF version HERE.
Domain Name Registration
This is the most important key to your online presence. Your domain name is your business identity on the web. It serves as your address, and no two businesses can use the same domain name. Domain registrars provide registration services to the public. Through the registrar, you can reserve an unused name for your use. Your domain name registration is not the same thing as your website. Domain registrars also handle renewal of domain name registrations.
You should know:
- URL Link to Access
- User Name
- Password
- Who Else Has Access?
Domain Name Servers (DNS)
DNS is like the phone book of the internet. Services and locations on the internet have numerical entries called IP addresses associated with them. DNS maps the more-friendly name (like www.yourdomain.com) to the numerical address where your website or mail server can be found. When you register your domain with a domain registrar, you specify name-servers for your domain. The name servers indicate where your DNS entries are maintained. Your domain will typically have DNS entries for your web site (A records), any aliases (CNAME records, for example if you want orders.yourdomain.com to also go to yourdomain.com), and your mail service entries (MX records).
DNS management is determined by the name server listed on your registration. This is usually the same location as the domain registration, although it may instead be maintained with your web host or even a separate DNS service. In terms of ownership, it is probably best to maintain these records with the registration of your name.
You Should Know:
- Name and Contact Information for Who Manages Your DNS
- If separate from your domain registration, what is the URL, username and password
- Who else has access?
Website Hosting
Website hosting refers to the location of your website content. You may have one or more websites associated with your domain. For example yourdomain.com and employees.yourdomain.com could be two different websites hosted in two different locations.
Depending on how your website is setup, you may have several accounts to access administration. These may include a control panel for installing website software, FTP (file transfer protocol) for uploading files to your website, and administrative access for updating the content of your web site pages (for example, WordPress administration).
You Should Know:
- Name, contact information for hosting company
- User Name
- Password
- Who Else Has Access?
Website Content Access
If you are using a content management system (CMS) like WordPress, you will have a separate login to update the content in your website. You may or not have full administrative access for your editing login, but if you don’t have full access you should also have the credentials for an account that does have full rights to the content management system.
You Should Know:
- URL Link to CMS (if applicable)
- User Name
- Password
- Who Else Has Access?
Google Analytics and Search Console
Google Analytics is a free web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic. Google Search Console is a free service that provides further information about your website and the people who visit it, for example, whether people are visiting your site on a mobile device or desktop computer, or which pages are most popular. Google Search Console can be integrated into your Google Analytics so that they work together. You need a Google account to use both Analytics and Search Console. An account can be set up by the owner, and you can grant user access to these tools to others. Make sure that your account is the owner, and that you grant other access to your staff or web developer.
You Should Know:
- URL Link to Google Analytics
- User Name
- Password
- Who Else Has Access?
Google Business Profile
Google Business Profile, formerly known as Google My Business, is a free and easy-to-use tool for businesses to manage their online presence through Google Search and Maps. By verifying and editing your business information, you can help customers find you and tell them the story of your business.
You need a Google account to access your Google Business Profile. An account can be set up by the owner, and you can grant others access to these tools. Make sure that your account is the owner, and that you grant other access to your staff or web developer.
You Should Know:
- URL Link to Google My Business
- User Name
- Password
- Who Else Has Access?
Social Media Accounts
For your social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc. you create profiles, post content, advertise, and engage with customers. It is critical to keep control of these accounts as this is a very public account that you will be consistently using to drive traffic to your website. While you shouldn’t build your entire web presence on this rented space, it is a good idea to claim your listing on various social media and directory sites, even if you aren’t actively posting on them right now.
You Should Know:
- URL Link to Each Account
- User Name
- Password
- Who Else Has Access?
Other Claimed Listings
You can, and should, also claim your business on other search engines like Bing, Yahoo, and Apple Maps, as well as review sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor. By claiming these listings you are controlling the information that is being published about your business. These sites will have a default listing for your business, however, when you claim your listing, you can upload images, and ensure the information on the listing is accurate.
You Should Know:
- URL Link to Each Account
- User Name
- Password
- Who Else Has Access?
By following these tips, you will protect yourself from your web presence being compromised. While your intentions when hiring a web developer, or someone to manage your social media accounts, may be good, anything can go wrong. It is important to protect yourself by keeping control of your accounts and having the authorization to go into your accounts and make changes as they become necessary. Make sure you have the keys.