Are you the next Gisele Bundchen, Brad Pitt, Chris Rock or Jennifer Aniston? If you take your craft seriously and hope to make it big as an entertainer, you better own the rights to your domain name.
Depending on the uniqueness of your name it may already be taken, but you might be surprised at how many domains are still available for those with less common names. The main advantage to owning your name is search optimization and branding. You want people to be able to find you easily, as well as make it easy for search engines like Google to index your content properly and deliver it within search results.
Let’s be completely honest about your goals if you are spending hours creating content on your website and posting across different social media platforms. The goal is obviously to brand yourself and establish a consistent identity across the online world. So why is it that so many people in the entertainment industry have inconsistencies in establishing an online presence. How can, for example, a model by the name of “Betty Tactress” have a website domain of www.gorgeousbetty.com, a facebook name of Betty T Model and a twitter handle of @bettytmodel. Isn’t the idea for Betty Tactress to build up a fan base that can find every possible mention of Betty Tactress across the internet?
If you are just starting your career, take a few minutes and think about every screen name choice related to your professional career and try to make them consistent. Use your real name (or professional name) on all accounts. If Betty Tactress is not available on Facebook, be smart and choose a name like Betty Tactress – Model or Betty Tactress Modeling. Just make sure the brand (Betty Tactress) is protected and promoted with every effort you make. Choices like Betty101 or Betty Model will not improve your visibility since search engines will struggle to match these links to a user search inquiry. It may seem cute to use these nicknames, but you are just wasting valuable time and effort branding yourself.
Google has recently made many changes to their algorithm for deciding which information to deliver in search results. The focus is on providing helpful and relevant content. And Google now delivers a great deal of social media activities within search results. Careful strategy and planning are now critical when selecting a domain name, your individual website page titles and your social media handles.
If you are reading this and your name is something like Angelina Molie or Bruce Springbean, make an effort today to see if you can claim www.AngelinaMolie.com or www.BruceSpringbean.com before someone claims your domain and leaves you kicking yourself after you become a star. You do not need to have a web site to claim a domain. You can buy the domain from Godaddy and store it there until you are ready to build your new site. Simply visit Godaddy or another domain registrar to check for availability. For less than $12 per year you can own your domain.
Click on this link for Godaddy and enter the domain you would like to claim in the search box
