What is in a name?
Tue, June 7, 2005 at 21:00 What is in a name? Is a blog by any other name not as interesting and informative? One of Darren Rowse's guest authors, Jim Krukal, thinks your domain name makes a sizable difference to the appeal of your blog.
I’ve been reading Darren’s blog before it was ProBlogger.net. What
was it? Um, something like blog.livingroom.com.au, I think. Get the
point? That name sucked. Sorry Darren, I think you knew that. That’s no
way to build a brand name. I think Darren can prove that his traffic
and general reputation grew by leaps and bounds when he moved to
ProBlogger.net. The design helped too :) Of course, it can be done, but
it’s much harder.
So as a serious blogger…if you want to be
serious, and taken seriously, you have to stop using those unbrandable
blog domains like supercooldude.blogspot.com. The time has come to drop
$8.95 at GoDaddy and get your own domain name.
What do you think? Should I ship my blog off to www.neuvo.co.za? Should we be talking about branding blogs like we would brand anything else? Kinda takes blogging a little further away from the stereotypical 'online diary'.
Reader Comments (16)
Interesting. I have never been someone who uses Favorites or Bookmarks in my web browser...until I began reading blogs not too long ago. Some blogs have horrible URLs! I've also been reading your blog for about a month, resulting in another bookmark. www.neuvo.co.za? - entirely up to you and your aspirations for the site. I still have my bookmark. :)
Interesting. I have never been someone who uses Favorites or Bookmarks in my web browser...until I began reading blogs not too long ago. Some blogs have horrible URLs! I've also been reading your blog for about a month, resulting in another bookmark. www.neuvo.co.za? - entirely up to you and your aspirations for the site. I still have my bookmark. :)
Interesting. I have never been someone who uses Favorites or Bookmarks in my web browser...until I began reading blogs not too long ago. Some blogs have horrible URLs! I've also been reading your blog for about a month, resulting in another bookmark. www.neuvo.co.za? - entirely up to you and your aspirations for the site. I still have my bookmark. :)
Interesting. I have never been someone who uses Favorites or Bookmarks in my web browser...until I began reading blogs not too long ago. Some blogs have horrible URLs! I've also been reading your blog for about a month, resulting in another bookmark. http://www.neuvo.co.za?">www.neuvo.co.za? - entirely up to you and your aspirations for the site. I still have my bookmark. :)
So what happens when you switch jobs, or a virus deletes your C drive and you have no bookmarks? How do you visit the site then if you don't easily know the address?
Or what about when you're at a party chatting with someone and you say, "Hey, I just read about that at this great blog. What was the name? I know it, I just have it bookmarked. Oh well."
Your blog is your brand.
So what happens when you switch jobs, or a virus deletes your C drive and you have no bookmarks? How do you visit the site then if you don't easily know the address?
Or what about when you're at a party chatting with someone and you say, "Hey, I just read about that at this great blog. What was the name? I know it, I just have it bookmarked. Oh well."
Your blog is your brand.
So what happens when you switch jobs, or a virus deletes your C drive and you have no bookmarks? How do you visit the site then if you don't easily know the address?
Or what about when you're at a party chatting with someone and you say, "Hey, I just read about that at this great blog. What was the name? I know it, I just have it bookmarked. Oh well."
Your blog is your brand.
So what happens when you switch jobs, or a virus deletes your C drive and you have no bookmarks? How do you visit the site then if you don't easily know the address?
Or what about when you're at a party chatting with someone and you say, "Hey, I just read about that at this great blog. What was the name? I know it, I just have it bookmarked. Oh well."
Your blog is your brand.
[So what happens when you switch jobs, or a virus deletes your C drive and you have no bookmarks?] = I backup regularly. Backup. Backup. Backup.
[How do you visit the site then if you don't easily know the address?] = I Don't.
[Or what about when you're at a party chatting with someone and you say, "Hey, I just read about that at this great blog. What was the name? I know it, I just have it bookmarked. Oh well."] = I don't go to parties. :)
[So what happens when you switch jobs, or a virus deletes your C drive and you have no bookmarks?] = I backup regularly. Backup. Backup. Backup.
[How do you visit the site then if you don't easily know the address?] = I Don't.
[Or what about when you're at a party chatting with someone and you say, "Hey, I just read about that at this great blog. What was the name? I know it, I just have it bookmarked. Oh well."] = I don't go to parties. :)
[So what happens when you switch jobs, or a virus deletes your C drive and you have no bookmarks?] = I backup regularly. Backup. Backup. Backup.
[How do you visit the site then if you don't easily know the address?] = I Don't.
[Or what about when you're at a party chatting with someone and you say, "Hey, I just read about that at this great blog. What was the name? I know it, I just have it bookmarked. Oh well."] = I don't go to parties. :)
[So what happens when you switch jobs, or a virus deletes your C drive and you have no bookmarks?] = I backup regularly. Backup. Backup. Backup.
[How do you visit the site then if you don't easily know the address?] = I Don't.
[Or what about when you're at a party chatting with someone and you say, "Hey, I just read about that at this great blog. What was the name? I know it, I just have it bookmarked. Oh well."] = I don't go to parties. :)
Thanks for your comments people. I don't think either way is necessarily better than the other. Both approaches work. I tend to bookmark all the sites I visit and backup those bookmarks now and then. I think most people use their bookmarks (it is why they exist). At the same time there is a lot to be said for created a distinguishable brand for your blog, if that is important to you. I agree with Jim that it is easier to remember a branded site's URI (for example problogger.net or, perhaps, neuvo.vo.za) and that use of a specialised TLD does suggest the blog is a little more professional than not. IMHO
Thanks for your comments people. I don't think either way is necessarily better than the other. Both approaches work. I tend to bookmark all the sites I visit and backup those bookmarks now and then. I think most people use their bookmarks (it is why they exist). At the same time there is a lot to be said for created a distinguishable brand for your blog, if that is important to you. I agree with Jim that it is easier to remember a branded site's URI (for example problogger.net or, perhaps, neuvo.vo.za) and that use of a specialised TLD does suggest the blog is a little more professional than not. IMHO
Thanks for your comments people. I don't think either way is necessarily better than the other. Both approaches work. I tend to bookmark all the sites I visit and backup those bookmarks now and then. I think most people use their bookmarks (it is why they exist). At the same time there is a lot to be said for created a distinguishable brand for your blog, if that is important to you. I agree with Jim that it is easier to remember a branded site's URI (for example problogger.net or, perhaps, neuvo.vo.za) and that use of a specialised TLD does suggest the blog is a little more professional than not. IMHO
Thanks for your comments people. I don't think either way is necessarily better than the other. Both approaches work. I tend to bookmark all the sites I visit and backup those bookmarks now and then. I think most people use their bookmarks (it is why they exist). At the same time there is a lot to be said for created a distinguishable brand for your blog, if that is important to you. I agree with Jim that it is easier to remember a branded site's URI (for example http://problogger.net">problogger.net or, perhaps, neuvo.vo.za) and that use of a specialised TLD does suggest the blog is a little more professional than not. IMHO