Surname as Domain name.

Is using your name a marketing blunder?

[aussie]

G'day folks,
Is there a marketing reason not to use your name as a website name? www.firstlast.com

We remember friends and colleague’s names more readily than gobbledegook type names, but you don't often see personal names as business websites. Is a possible reason for this, the person may think it is vain?

I see quite a few marketers use their name as a Find-It site for all their other websites.

Rod

[mack]

I think it all comes down to the name it's self. If your name is something easy to remember and catchy then I would say go for it. The problem is we all see our own name in an easy to remeber and and to spell way. Other people may see it very different.

In certain industries the firstname secondname seams to be the norm, for example fasion and fragrence, Tommy Hillfiger, Georgio Armani etc

obviously a lot of brand names have been engineered to sound good, and are perhaps not based on a real person.

I guess the key is.. Does it sound good? does it sound trust worthy? and is it easy to remember? Possibly more importaint it is likely to be accepted as a name in your industry.

Mack.

[tedster]

The domain name firstlast.com is also a common practice with book authors. Those who have common names can really struggle sometimes.

[aussie]

Now that I think about it, many photographers with websites use their own name or a version of it. But I can see that the key is, does it sound good and will it be seen as trustworthy. I’ll have to think about it.

Rod Druce

[Lorel]

I would say for a woman it's not a good idea to use your last name unless you intend to keep that name even after a possible divorce in future.

I used my first name (very short) for my business name but have started removing it from the title of my pages as I need that space for main keywords now.

[walkman]

depends on what you want to do. I can think of Martha Stewart, Jerry Baker etc., but I wouldn't recommend it.

[Rosalind]

I would say for a woman it's not a good idea to use your last name unless you intend to keep that name even after a possible divorce in future.

This is why a lot of women choose to keep their maiden name after marriage, so they don't lose their professional identity.

It makes sense to use a name as a domain for professions where your name is your brand, like writers, journalists and actors. It also seems to work well for anyone with a claim to celebrity, such as TV chefs.

Another minor advantage to having your name as a domain is that, unless it's very unusual, you will get type-in traffic from curious namesakes.

[walkman]

"This is why a lot of women choose to keep their maiden name after marriage, so they don't lose their professional identity."
plus it's one less thing to do after the divorce :). No need to change the name back. What's the divorce rate now, up to 60%?

[larryhatch]

My sole domain name is www.firstlast.net
I registered that before anyone counseled me against it,
but I haven't suffered much as a result.
Not being a commercial site, I suppose there's no big harm done.

If I made a business out of the site, I see a big problem.
Suppose I decide to retire and do something else?
Who's gonna buy a site with my name instead of the name
of some biz? - Larry