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Personal brand domain name choice

by Happy Steve
21 replies
Hi

I am working in an area of business where my personal name is by brand. My surname is quite unique and this presents me with a choice when hosing my domain name as both [firstname][lastname].com and [lastname].com are available.

Lets say my name is Theodore Roosevelt... I have the choice of:

TheodoreRoosevelt.com

Or

Roosevelt.com

Which would be better for business marketing taking into account search engines and email addresses as well as viral traffic?
#brand #choice #domain #personal
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  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    Easy - I'd register both.
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    • Profile picture of the author Happy Steve
      Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

      Easy - I'd register both.
      Which should I use for marketing and why?
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      • Profile picture of the author DABK
        The one you want to be known as.


        Last name is shorter, so easier to remember. But if you're talking brand, and you're it, I'd use the whole name for the brand and last name for domain (because it's easier to remember, right?)


        Originally Posted by Happy Steve View Post

        Which should I use for marketing and why?
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      • Profile picture of the author IGotMine
        Originally Posted by Happy Steve View Post

        Which should I use for marketing and why?
        First and last, because that's who you are.
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  • Profile picture of the author writeaway
    If you plan to build a value VERTICAL around your name/brand, I'd go with the LAST NAME brand
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  • Profile picture of the author iwantbreakin
    Just a surname can appear way too generic to deal with and hence do opt for a full name.

    Classic examples of this are "neilpatel.com" or "jeffbullas.com"!
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  • Profile picture of the author depotgang
    I used my whole name and I keep that site very high end.

    Best of luck
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  • Profile picture of the author shawnlebrun
    What if someone else has the same last name... and is in marketing?

    That can be the downside of using just your last name only.

    Heck, even both names won't always guarantee you'll become known as THAT person.

    I remember when I started in copywriting in 2002, there were 2 Ray Edwards that
    were copywriters.

    For the life of me I thought they were the same person.

    They weren't... so it became tricky when I read something from Ray Edwards.

    I think one of them started using his middle initial to separate himself.

    So unless you're Beyoncé or Prince... I'd use both your first and last.

    But just be careful if you decide to sell your business... I found out
    back in 2009, selling your own personal brand/domain can be a bit tricky.
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    • Profile picture of the author depotgang
      Originally Posted by shawnlebrun View Post

      What if someone else has the same last name... and is in marketing.
      LOL Funny story. Someone does have the same name as mine even the same last name spelling. The difference was he was a clown. LOL

      At least he was not in marketing! Nice guy we chatted. He has one version of the name I have another. All's cool
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      • Profile picture of the author Dan Riffle
        Originally Posted by depotgang View Post

        LOL Funny story. Someone does have the same name as mine even the same last name spelling. The difference was he was a clown. LOL

        At least he was not in marketing! Nice guy we chatted. He has one version of the name I have another. All's cool
        I share a name with a guy who used to be the main lobbyist for the marijuana industry. I work in a fairly conservative industry and it would come up in meetings all the time.

        I've even had news agencies contact me for quotes about marijuana policy. One reporter emailed me numerous times so I just started answering his questions with idiotic replies (I channeled Claude Whitacre...).
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        • Profile picture of the author shafique121
          I used my whole name and I keep that site very high end.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    I'd register both - use the full name for my main site, etc.


    Down the road the second domain might be a forum or a blog or a product sales sites or ....whatever.



    If I planned to BRAND the full name domain, I'd register the other one to keep someone else from using it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Don Dan
    Register both. Use the surname(if available) to brand your website obviously because shorter domain rank well on google and users won't have problem typing it on their browser. Use the full name domain to redirect to your surname domain.
    If you want to run a blog on your website then install a subdomain on your main website and you can blog too from the same site. Your host will allow your to create subdomain.
    The URL can be like: blog(.)surname(.)com
    Make sure register only com domain. You can also register net, org and info domain as a precautionary measure for brand protection.
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  • Profile picture of the author MikeFriedman
    Originally Posted by Happy Steve View Post

    Which would be better for business marketing taking into account search engines and email addresses as well as viral traffic?
    The only thing your domain name is going to impact out of those is your email addresses. They will be shorter or longer depending on which one you choose. There will be zero impact on search engines or viral traff.
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  • Profile picture of the author talfighel
    It doesn't really matter.

    What will matter is what ever niche you are in, make sure that you have the niche name somewhere in your domain name.

    This is a simple step to what you will really need in the future to be successful.
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  • Profile picture of the author wentzco
    One thing to consider is if you are building a business that you may later want to sell. If this is the case then don't use your own name.

    Otherwise I would register both names but as others mentioned above, it may be best to use your full name.


    Larry
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  • Profile picture of the author luciesmazanska
    I would go with
    Troosevelt.com
    or just
    Roosevelt.com

    Don't go both with.a name and last name tooooooo long!
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  • Profile picture of the author Purna79
    TheodoreRoosevelt.com

    That will be the best decissions you will ever make. It will be your Online Asset.
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  • Profile picture of the author aluminous
    Roosevelt.com this is a good one. A short name is more memorizable ahah
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  • Profile picture of the author amritdubey1
    Hi, I would like to tell you that you must consider your entire name in your domain because it will represent you completely and have better choices to get rank quickly. Let's say if your name is more than 15 characters than you would choose your last and unique name in your domain name. Let me know if you have questions

    Thanks
    Amrit
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  • Profile picture of the author wisecoach
    Shorter domain name is always good but here ...for personal branding go with full name..because people will search for your full name and always confuge with last name only.....

    No suggesting go with full name....if it is too long then may be you can think of making shorter anyway
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