Do you own YourName.com?

I am speaking on using social media in your job search in the next couple weeks and I will be posting content regularly on that as I put together my presentation. I will be focusing on social media tools and tactics, managing your online brand and the importance of social media in the workplace in the future.

This information is not just for those hunting for a job - this post especially - EVERYONE should own their name as a domain name.

Even though tools and tactics is first on my list I decided to start with managing your online brand for a couple reasons:

  1. In my experience this is where many people are just lost and desperately need help.
  2. There are some very easy things that anyone can do right away to start managing their online brand and reputation.

Why is having your .com important?

First and foremost....when that domain name is registered it is probably lost to you forever and ever. You could buy it on the open market but you will probably pay at least 10 times if not hundreds of times the original purchase price for it. I have purchased multiple domain names for me, my wife and my kids - get them now while (if) they are available. This is your online real estate - own it!

Not to the heart of the matter....When someone Google's you (and they will) would you like them to find just any old thing about you or would you prefer to have some say in what information is presented to them? If you own yourname.com there is a pretty good chance that you can have some say about what they find.

What if my .com is already registered?

If a domain name I want is already purchased the first thing I do is go to a browser and type it in. If the site is clearly being used and active you know the chances of buying it are pretty slim. If it isn't being used sometimes you will find information right there about inquiring to buy the domain. If there isn't anything like that you will need to do a WHOIS search and contact the registrant directly. In my experience the price of a domain name is highly negotiable. You can usually get them much lower than the original asking price.

You can check out Part II here... "I have my .com - now what do I do with it?"

Tags: domain name, branding, reputation, job search, social media for jobs

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Google by Glenn Boothe