Branding Yourself Must Include Your Own Domain

by Joshua Waldman on January 17, 2010

Without getting into the specifics of how Google indexes stuff online, lets just say that having your full name as your domain pretty much guarantees that you will appear on a search for your name.

Some examples are:

http://dannycoxdidit.com/

http://pamelaslim.com/

http://chrisguillebeau.com/

Do a Google search on each of these people and their URL will be on the first page.

Let’s set something straight. You ARE going to get Googled. Even the most self-proclaimed Techno-phobe will admit that.

And a large part of your personal brand comes from the results of that pivotal search of your name.

Even if you don’t intend to do anything with that domain, such as a blog, website or portfolio, it doesn’t matter. The domain company will allow you to redirect your personal URL to your LinkedIn profile.

Best of all, your domain will cost you about $8.00 /year.

It’s going to be the cheapest and easiest thing to ensure your online reputation that you can do.

So what are you waiting for. Get your domain right now!

Here are some pointers:

  • If you have a common name, use your middle initial in your domain. Example, www.joshuabwaldman.com
  • If .com is not available, use .net or .org, but don’t use any of the others.
  • If you are still having trouble finding an available url, use one of the key-phrases you want to be associated with. For example, you can be, www.joshuawaldmanmarketinggenious.com
  • Avoid dashes, they are cheesey, you can always capitalize the first letter of each word, for example, www.JoshuaWaldmanMarketingGenious.com

Suggested Domain Resources

Just for full disclosure, the links below are affiliate links. That means that if you decide to use these services, and you got there using these links, I’ll get a buck. However, I would NOT recommend something that I wouldn’t use myself. And I use all of these:

  • Get Your Domain Name from Name Cheap (they have monthly 10% discount coupons that you can find with a simple search. I hate GoDaddy and suggest you avoid them too.)
  • Host your domain with: Site 5 (they have cheap and reliable hosting for simple sites, like blogs or portfolios)
  • Learn how to set up your blog: from Laura Roeder’s Zero to Blogging videos

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  • Joshua Waldman
    Gary,

    Of course you are right. Every decision needs to be held up against the light of one's own personal brand. In these things there are no easy answers.

    So Yes. A Canadian might choose .ca if that re-reinforces their brand.

    Mainly, however, I don't like .biz, .tv or .us and the other very cheap options. They look trashy no matter what you do.

    As far as Google, their URLs are not dedicated. You would have to work out a redirection to actually get a just your name. Their tools are OK for beginners. But are quickly limiting if you are looking to do more than very basic portfolio or online resume.

    The best advice is to find platforms that has the fewest amount of psychological barriers to actually using them. Why stop at Google? Why not have Google, Lookuppages.com and wordpress? The more content you generate, the better off you'll be at getting found and ranking on Google's first page.
  • Joshua;

    Your readers may need to be wary of your advice to use only .com, .net & .org. The latter two might "brand" an owner as something they are not.

    This could damage your brand's trustworthiness before you get a chance.

    Canadians who may feel there's an advantage in identifying themselves as a citizen of the northern part of "America" also could use .ca in lieu of the ubiquitous .com.

    Google Apps will not only give you an inexpensive URL and hosting, folks, but also a complete Suite of tools in which to run your brand, for FREE .

    Regards,
    @GaryFPatton in Toronto
    The People Development Guy
    .-= Gary Patton´s last undefined ..If you register your site for free at =-.
  • Jenn, you can redirect a personal domain to your blogger site. I helped somebody do it once before, but I don't recall the details now. I do recall that it wasn't that difficult. If you need help figuring it out let me know.
  • Great article! I have a question, though: does it matter if you're using free hosting for your site, and it's reflected in your URL? For instance, right now the majority of my online presence is on Blogger, so my website's URL looks like this: http://jennboyer.blogspot.com. Does the ".blogspot.com" detract from the fact that I have a personal website? What would a potential employer think about that?
    .-= Jenn´s last blog ..I'm Not Usually One For Speeches... But... =-.
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