$65.70/yr is a lot for a domain you never use.
March 1, 2012 7:47 AM Subscribe
Registering a domain with my name: how many variations on my name should I register?
I have decided to take the plunge and preemptively register my name under some top level domains, e.g. firstnamelastname.com. So if I were John Smith, I would be registering JohnSmith.com, JohnSmith.net, etc. I don't have any plans to do anything with these domains, except maybe set up hosing for a static page that redirects to my LinkedIn page (which is pretty much my only professional online presence). I just want to grab the best domains with my name in them preemptively in case I want to use them later.
I'm planning on registering .com, .net, .org, .info, and .name using nearlyfreespeech.net. Fortunately, myfirstnamemylastname seems to be available in all of these TLDs.
But I'm stuck on how many variations of the domain name I should register. Should I also register John-Smith.com? John_Smith.com? Because if I go down that rabbit hole, every new variation will cost an additional $65.70 from nearlyfreespeech because I'll be registering 5 new domains (.com, .net, etc). $66 isn't much in a year, but since I'll be holding these indefinitely grabbing an extra 2-4 variations will be pretty pricey over the course of a few years. ($66 * 4 variations * 5 years = $1,320)
I'm looking for advice on how far I should go. On one hand, I can't see any use for having john-smith.com if I have johnsmith.com. But if I only have johnsmith.com, and someone registers john-smith.com, I would be slightly bothered - but I have no idea if I would be $66/year bothered. And if I register JohnSmith.com today, am I making John-Smith.com a target for squatters?
So if you have registered domains with your name before or if you deal with this kind of thing, I'd appreciate your advice. I know it's up to me and what I'm willing to pay, but I'd like to get some perspectives whether it's worthwhile to register many variations so no one else can start registering very-similar domains, or if it's not worth the cost.
I have decided to take the plunge and preemptively register my name under some top level domains, e.g. firstnamelastname.com. So if I were John Smith, I would be registering JohnSmith.com, JohnSmith.net, etc. I don't have any plans to do anything with these domains, except maybe set up hosing for a static page that redirects to my LinkedIn page (which is pretty much my only professional online presence). I just want to grab the best domains with my name in them preemptively in case I want to use them later.
I'm planning on registering .com, .net, .org, .info, and .name using nearlyfreespeech.net. Fortunately, myfirstnamemylastname seems to be available in all of these TLDs.
But I'm stuck on how many variations of the domain name I should register. Should I also register John-Smith.com? John_Smith.com? Because if I go down that rabbit hole, every new variation will cost an additional $65.70 from nearlyfreespeech because I'll be registering 5 new domains (.com, .net, etc). $66 isn't much in a year, but since I'll be holding these indefinitely grabbing an extra 2-4 variations will be pretty pricey over the course of a few years. ($66 * 4 variations * 5 years = $1,320)
I'm looking for advice on how far I should go. On one hand, I can't see any use for having john-smith.com if I have johnsmith.com. But if I only have johnsmith.com, and someone registers john-smith.com, I would be slightly bothered - but I have no idea if I would be $66/year bothered. And if I register JohnSmith.com today, am I making John-Smith.com a target for squatters?
So if you have registered domains with your name before or if you deal with this kind of thing, I'd appreciate your advice. I know it's up to me and what I'm willing to pay, but I'd like to get some perspectives whether it's worthwhile to register many variations so no one else can start registering very-similar domains, or if it's not worth the cost.
Best answer: But if I only have johnsmith.com, and someone registers john-smith.com, I would be slightly bothered
Why? You're already buying all of the good domains for your name and parking them. If someone else wants your-name-.org then it's probably because that is their name as well and they would like to have a domain for it, which is completely understandable and doesn't harm you at all. Why do you need every possible domain related to your name, especially considering that you're not even going to do anything with them?
posted by burnmp3s at 7:59 AM on March 1, 2012 [5 favorites]
Why? You're already buying all of the good domains for your name and parking them. If someone else wants your-name-.org then it's probably because that is their name as well and they would like to have a domain for it, which is completely understandable and doesn't harm you at all. Why do you need every possible domain related to your name, especially considering that you're not even going to do anything with them?
posted by burnmp3s at 7:59 AM on March 1, 2012 [5 favorites]
Especially since you don't have any firm plans, this seems like major overkill. I've never even hear of .name. Go with .com and maybe .net.
posted by Gordafarin at 8:01 AM on March 1, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Gordafarin at 8:01 AM on March 1, 2012 [2 favorites]
I would get firstnamelastname.com and lastname.com (if available) and leave it at that.
The others are just distractions. Links and search engines will bring the right people to the right site. Hyphens are annoying.
If you had young children I might get their firstnamelastname.com to hold for them.
If you you had a multimillion dollar person brand (e.g. you were a speaker, etc..) I might add the others but this doesn't sound like its the case.
posted by bottlebrushtree at 8:03 AM on March 1, 2012 [3 favorites]
The others are just distractions. Links and search engines will bring the right people to the right site. Hyphens are annoying.
If you had young children I might get their firstnamelastname.com to hold for them.
If you you had a multimillion dollar person brand (e.g. you were a speaker, etc..) I might add the others but this doesn't sound like its the case.
posted by bottlebrushtree at 8:03 AM on March 1, 2012 [3 favorites]
Don't be greedy. Get the one you'll use and leave the rest for others.
posted by Aquaman at 8:06 AM on March 1, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by Aquaman at 8:06 AM on March 1, 2012 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: I hadn't considered the greed aspect of this - now that you all mention it, registering a huge number of variations is pretty selfish. I'll go with .com and maybe .net and call it a day.
posted by Tehhund at 9:01 AM on March 1, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Tehhund at 9:01 AM on March 1, 2012 [2 favorites]
I'm on sabbatical/temporarily retired from the domain industry but I'll throw my .02 in here: If we were talking about a business I might suggest a more aggressive approach but for someone with no firm plans this seems like a bit much.
At one point in time I maintained a portfolio of domains for myself around my full name and it included com, net, org and .us. I managed to get my first name in a .tv at one point too but have since let that lapse. To test something out I would sometimes register a .biz, etc. Now I have just the .com.
.name? not even close to worth it.
posted by FlamingBore at 9:02 AM on March 1, 2012 [1 favorite]
At one point in time I maintained a portfolio of domains for myself around my full name and it included com, net, org and .us. I managed to get my first name in a .tv at one point too but have since let that lapse. To test something out I would sometimes register a .biz, etc. Now I have just the .com.
.name? not even close to worth it.
posted by FlamingBore at 9:02 AM on March 1, 2012 [1 favorite]
I have the @firstnamelastname.com and that is all. After so many years of the other domains being affordable, the .org, .net, .whatevers are still open and ready to be grabbed up.
If you can get your @firstnamelastname.com and just @lastname.com, that is something to shoot for though. I do wish I had grabbed up the lastnameonly.com domain when I had the chance.
posted by lampshade at 9:13 AM on March 1, 2012
If you can get your @firstnamelastname.com and just @lastname.com, that is something to shoot for though. I do wish I had grabbed up the lastnameonly.com domain when I had the chance.
posted by lampshade at 9:13 AM on March 1, 2012
One additional data point: Is your name hard to spell or often misspelled? If so, spend money on the frequent misspellings rather than on the different TLDs. This is especially important if a) you have some kind of public face (journalist, author, musician, politician, etc.) and b) if your first name ends with the same letter that starts your last name (JaneEisen, MarkKnopfler, etc.) because people will often leave out one of the letters when they're mashing the two names together.
For one of my projects, we own 40 variations on the domain name, which is (unfortunately) easy to misspell. We received genuine non-spam email from the public at 24 of those domain variations last year.
If you DO end up buying non-.com TLD domains, I recommend .org first rather than .net.
posted by Mo Nickels at 9:51 AM on March 1, 2012 [1 favorite]
For one of my projects, we own 40 variations on the domain name, which is (unfortunately) easy to misspell. We received genuine non-spam email from the public at 24 of those domain variations last year.
If you DO end up buying non-.com TLD domains, I recommend .org first rather than .net.
posted by Mo Nickels at 9:51 AM on March 1, 2012 [1 favorite]
(As for domain greediness: it's an Internet sin right up there with hot-linking images from someone else's server, but if you're getting domain misspellings you're not likely to be cheating anyone out of the just-right domain.)
posted by Mo Nickels at 9:52 AM on March 1, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Mo Nickels at 9:52 AM on March 1, 2012 [1 favorite]
The purpose of snatching up all related domains is to prevent attack sites from springing up. This is of absolute importance if you work in any political field, or have any sort of controversial work. It's basic due diligence, not an "Internet sin".
Do not underestimate the ease with which one can set up an attack site on a related domain name. Having seen quite a few projects of the sort, I spend quite a bit of money on "domain insurance" of my name.
posted by Hollywood Upstairs Medical College at 10:06 AM on March 1, 2012 [1 favorite]
Do not underestimate the ease with which one can set up an attack site on a related domain name. Having seen quite a few projects of the sort, I spend quite a bit of money on "domain insurance" of my name.
posted by Hollywood Upstairs Medical College at 10:06 AM on March 1, 2012 [1 favorite]
The purpose of snatching up all related domains is to prevent attack sites from springing up. This is of absolute importance if you work in any political field, or have any sort of controversial work.
Sort of a side note, but a demonstration of the point, there was a recent MeTa thread where people were talking about old MeFi threads. I visited one referenced thread on the blue that contained a link to a political site for Republicans. As over time, the domain was probably left to lapse, it now posts a slightly "different" set of candidates.
I won't make the link active, but here is the domain - sacramentorepublicans.org
Suffice to say, it is NSFW
posted by lampshade at 10:22 AM on March 1, 2012
Sort of a side note, but a demonstration of the point, there was a recent MeTa thread where people were talking about old MeFi threads. I visited one referenced thread on the blue that contained a link to a political site for Republicans. As over time, the domain was probably left to lapse, it now posts a slightly "different" set of candidates.
I won't make the link active, but here is the domain - sacramentorepublicans.org
Suffice to say, it is NSFW
posted by lampshade at 10:22 AM on March 1, 2012
The purpose of snatching up all related domains is to prevent attack sites from springing up. This is of absolute importance if you work in any political field, or have any sort of controversial work. It's basic due diligence, not an "Internet sin".
But why would it be worse for them to have joe-smith.com than joesmithsucks.com or some other random domain? I doubt that anyone's going to see that some weird version of a some non-famous person's name domain is already registered and give up on their plan to make an attack site against them. Rick Santorum for example has had tons of damage done to his Google results, but he doesn't seem to own rick-santorum.com and that doesn't seem to be a big deal.
posted by burnmp3s at 11:39 AM on March 1, 2012
But why would it be worse for them to have joe-smith.com than joesmithsucks.com or some other random domain? I doubt that anyone's going to see that some weird version of a some non-famous person's name domain is already registered and give up on their plan to make an attack site against them. Rick Santorum for example has had tons of damage done to his Google results, but he doesn't seem to own rick-santorum.com and that doesn't seem to be a big deal.
posted by burnmp3s at 11:39 AM on March 1, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Blake at 7:54 AM on March 1, 2012 [2 favorites]