You bought the domain name. So why are you using Gmail?

Really, the whole point of owning a domain name is for professionalism.  So you own the domain myname.com or myname.net and yet when you email people you are using myname@gmail.com.

Think about how you feel when you see that email address from someone else.  Are you impressed?  Or do you immediately think that its a “one man band” outfit that you shouldnt take seriously.

Maybe I’m an internet snob, but I go with the latter.

There isnt much of an excuse, most of the domains come with free email, so you can have at least onename@myname.com if not more.  And setting up?  Usually a peice of cake and if cake causes you problems, the help line will talk you through it.

The last argument for it comes back to SEO.

Ah that old chestnut!  You should be using Outlook or Outlook Express, you should have a signature attached to it and that signature should include your domain name and you correct email for that domain.   Why?  Cos when you email people your brand or your name should follow you.  The more you get your name and message out there in the same format, the more will remember.

When you email a response to a list or a group from your email, it should include the above signature, so that your domain name gets on as many reputable sites as possible, these all count as backlinks.

So, why are you using Gmail?