Top 10 Reasons to Own Your Personal Domain Name

Have you ever checked to see if your name (first & last) is still available as a domain name?  I feel that it is important to take ownership of your domain name, even if you don't immediately have the need to develop a website at the current moment.  Think of the domain name as real estate and once someone owns a domain name, it is up to them to do as they please with it and it might be impossible for you to obtain your own name unless you beat everyone else to it. 

I registered my name about 5 years ago and didn't start using it until this year (2010).  Owning your name.com is an important element in developing your personal brand in today's and tomorrow's internet based world.  There are many reasons why you should register your name and i have listed the top 10 reasons why I feel you should go ahead and spend the $10-$20 (per year) to secure your name.  You could always develop your site later, but make sure you grab you name.  I suggest grabbing it especially if your name is very common and if you can get it with the Tld .com as a first option, .net as a second, and the new .co if possible.  I like the .co TLD because it has one less letter required to type in and since it is fairly new, many domain names are still available for you to grab. 

1. Provides you with a memorable URL:  Imagine giving your email address that has youname@yourname.com as the address, quite impressive don't you think?  If you ever decide to go into business for yourself, you can brand yourself by giving your name as the email address for others to contact you.  Also, friends will always know how to reach you by just typing in your .com name. 
2. Competitive Advantage:  You will have an online presence.  Professionally, you can set yourself apart from the others by having your own name or even living resume that is updated with interactivity and pictures for prospective employers.  You can also develop your online portfolio of your career or creative achievements and show examples of your work.  Employers now do searches for candidates to learn more about them, and by owning your own domain and search results on the search engines, you can control what your prospective employers see about you.
3. Search Engine:  Registering your name will get you listed on search engines and when someone does a search for you online, your site/blog etc.  will be shown.  In the future, if you do not show up on search results, you do not exist.  Article 1 - Article 2
4. Name Prominence:  If you ever decide to write about a topic you have a passion for or expertise in, by having your personal domain name and website, you may gain  some authority and build upon your personal brand to link the two together, making you an authority figure for the topic.
5. Ownership:  Once you own it, you OWN your name over thousands of others.  Unless you don't renew, once you take a hold of your name dot com, you decide on how your name will be presented on the world wide web.
6. Take control of your online reputation:  The internet truly connects us with people from around the world and you can control your online reputation by having your name dot com's content be controlled by you.
7. There are about 7 billion people in the world, so don't think your name is the only combination out there:  Be the one to take ownership out of the thousands.
8. Personalize yourself on the internet:  Meet new people from around the world, learn how to develop a blog or website and use the site with your name to not only develop your personal brand but also your internet development skills.
9. Develop a Business: Many self emplyed and business owners have registered their name and have sold products, and also established and built a business based on their own personal name domain.
10. If you don't, the other person with the same name as you has already done so or will soon.  If it is available, do yourself a favor and own your name on the internet.  It is also a perfect gift idea for family and friends.

Check to see if your name is available:

Please take a quick survey about this topic.  Thank you for your participation!

Related posts:

1. The Value of Developing Your Personal Brand We live in a branded world where we selectively choose...
2. Build Your Personal Brand by Writing Building authority within your chosen area of focus or topic...
3. Promote Your Personal Brand with Mini Business Cards Do you effectively promote your personal brand offline?  The best...
4. What is Personal Innovation? Personal Innovation picks up where personal development left off.  Personal...
5. August Picks: Richest Man in Babylon & Secrets of Great Rainmakers For this month, I have selected, "The Richest Man In...