Strengthen your personal brand with a personal website domain

“Do you have a website?” is a common question that is asked at networking events. It's better to have an answer prepared for it. Whether you have an online business or not, it's nice to have a piece of the Internet dedicated just to us, isn't it? 🙂 It's a great thing to have a website.

Having a web domain can be a great source of information about you. Don't worry if your name is difficult to pronounce. Either way, you can register a personal domain that will serve as a foundation for your personal brand. And whether you create your website or blog or any platform to promote you under this domain is up to you.

A personal domain is your best business card

At this point you're probably thinking to yourself that, after all, you already have a paper business card and, what's more, profiles on social networks such as GoldenLine and LinkedIn, where you describe all your professional experience. What else do you need your own domain for?

Centralized information

Well, that's right... Information about your experience is on different portals at the same time. Didn't it happen at least once that you updated information about a job change or even a career path only on one of the sites and later got job offers completely unrelated to what you are doing now, because the recruiter found your profile not updated? I can see you nodding your head affirmatively... Wouldn't it be better to share and update information about yourself in only one place, such as your own website? All you need to do then is put a link to your website on your social profiles and problem solved.

Personalized message

Throughout your career, you may work for many different companies or start your own. I think it's good to have a place where all your ventures are collected and presented the way you want them. LinkedIn is great, but I think you'll agree that aside from a background photo, you can't really personalize your profile and clearly show what your values are, what drives you in all your ventures, etc. Registering a personal domain and creating a page dedicated to you will allow you to present yourself the way you want and personalize your message accordingly. The site doesn't have to be complicated, of course. Sometimes a simple site where you put your biography, photo gallery or video presentation and links to your social profiles or your ventures is enough.

Do you already understand why you should register your personal domain name? I advise you to check right away if a domain name with your full name is still available and, if so, register it right away. This is because not everyone is so lucky. Those whose name is quite widespread probably have nothing left to hope for... But all is not lost, as we will tell you in a moment.

Everything you need to know when registering an Internet domain name

A name that is easy to remember and timeless - how to build it?

Try to avoid funny names. Remember: you want your personal domain to represent you for years to come... As for how the domain name should be constructed, it will largely depend on whether your name is popular and whether someone has already used it in their domain name. There are several different ways to construct a domain name here:

if you have the option, use your first and last name in the domain name , e.g. paweltkaczyk.com,
you can use your last name alone, but if your last name is popular, such a domain may not be recognizable enough,
you can register your nickname or nickname, with which customers associate you (remember that the name must be recognizable, otherwise customers will have trouble associating it with your person),
another option is to register the name in the scheme of first letter of first name + last name, but this is not the best solution, as such a name will be worse to pronounce and remember.

Show what you do with new domains

When looking for an idea for your personal domain, pay attention to new domains. There are many new domain endings on the market now that can signal your specialty, e.g. photography, actor, lawyer, marketing, accountant, etc. If you can match any of the new domains to your profession, the person who visits your site will immediately know what you do for a living. Your personal domain will then look like this, for example: jannowak.photography.

However, new domains do not necessarily have to refer to your profession. They can simply suggest that the website is your résumé and a place to contact you. If you approach it this way, you can opt for such new domains as .me, .bio or .contact.

Looking for a creative name? Take advantage of national domains

If you work, for example, in the creative industry and want to stand out with your domain name, you can use so-called domain hacks. Recall that a domain hack is an address in which the chosen name and the matched national domain extension (e.g. .to - Tonga's domain) visually form a single entity. We see examples of personal domain registrations in the form of domain hacks at the moment especially in English-speaking countries. Matt Mullenweg, an online entrepreneur, set up his website under the domain ma.tt, where .tt is the national domain of Trinidad and Tobago.

If you're affiliated with the creative industry or have a recognizable nickname to which you'll match the national ending, domain hacks can work for you in the Polish market as well.

Remember that not every national domain can be used in this way. Registrars of some national domains impose restrictions on what entity is entitled to register a given national domain. It is not uncommon to have a business registered in the country and a physical address.
Remember also about SEO: due to the geolocation of national domains, it may be more difficult to position such a domain in Polish search results.

Protect your domain - register it for several years in advance

If your name carries a certain reputation, someone may be tempted to seize your domain. To avoid the risk of not renewing your domain in time, register it for several years in advance. For example, at Domains.tv you can register your domain for as long as 10 years, so you don't have to worry about renewing your domain every year. Plus, often the domain and hosting are cheaper when you register them in advance for a longer period of time.

Get found online

If you play it right, over time, a site under your personal domain can rank first in search results for your name. So take the time to optimize it properly. Include your name in the title of the page, in the first paragraph and in the footer.

Personalized email address

Over the course of your career, you'll be contacting customers through various company email addresses. What if you had one permanent, in addition personalized, email address? Each domain registrar may have different rules for registering email accounts for a particular domain. For example, if you register a domain and buy hosting from Domains.tv, you can then create an unlimited number of email accounts, and thus a personalized email address, such as name@surname.com. This will undoubtedly have a positive effect on your image.

Summary - personal brand vs. web domain

In the past, domains were expensive and reserved only for a select few. Today, however, registering a domain is a small investment and can give you the consistency of your personal brand for years to come (provided you don't forget to renew the domain :P).

In addition, having a full online profile in the form of your own website will allow you to promote yourself more easily, which is a good thing whether you're looking for a new job or want to start your own business. So take a moment to think about registering your personal domain, what goes on it and get to it!