Should you use your name as your domain?

Someone asked me the other day what made me choose to use my name as the name for my blog, since I have a difficult last name to spell.

I found this to be an interesting question. I don’t want to say that I didn’t give my domain name any thought at all, but my name seemed like a logical choice, and I hadn’t ever taken the time to understand exactly why.

When I realized that I was interested in internet marketing and blogging, I came to the conclusion that I didn’t want to be known by any name other than my own. Sure, I could have chosen a business-oriented domain name, but I unconsciously knew that I one day wanted to be recognized for my credibility and expertise in the field, and I felt that Chris Bloczynski dot Com would be a proper way to represent myself. It did occur to me that my name was difficult to spell if it was typed into a browser or search engine… but I feel that there are so many other ways that people will come across my brand on the internet without having to spell it correctly. Here’s a list of some of the ways I can think of for people to encounter me on the web:

• Links from articles that have been written about me by other bloggers
• Links from forums that I participate in
• My RSS feed
• Direct bookmarks to my homepage
• Social bookmarks from readers who like and want to share my content
• Links from my various social communities, like MyBlogLog, StumbleUpon, and Technorati
• Links from comments I leave on other blogs

Now, believe it or not, I see from my stats that apparently there are people who Google or Yahoo search for my name and spell it correctly! I can only assume that these people are either ex-girlfriends or people who recognize me as a name in the industry, something like how people recognize names like John Chow, Courtney Tuttle, or Nate Whitehill.

Reasons to use your name as a domain

• You want to be recognized as an expert in your field, and you feel that your name is the best way to represent yourself.
• You’re already an expert in your field and you aren’t already associated with a stronger, more recognizable brand.
• You have a unique, recognizable name that would produce favorable search engine results.

Reasons not to use your name as a domain

• Selling your blog in the future may be difficult if the website depends on your name for the strength of the brand.
• You don’t care to share your identity with anyone on the web.
• You’re already associated with a stronger, more recognizable brand that makes more sense to use to represent yourself.

Of course, just like any decision about your website, the choice lies with you. It is important, however, for you to recognize that there are two schools of thought about whether you should or shouldn’t use your name as a domain, and to be very clear with yourself about what you intend to base the brand of your website on.