Domain Name

[psuphoto09]

Hi All-
I am in the process of getting my domain name. I wanted to use L2Photography as my first and last name share the initals however L2photography.com is already taken.

Should I come up with a different name? (I am not really established so that is not a problem). Or should I keep it and use something like .org or .biz?

Any suggestions would be appreciated. THanks!!

[jgoodstein]

stay away from .biz, technically you don't qualify for org. Use a .com its reliable its trusted, and it is how people brand themselves. try things like L2-photography.com, l2photo.com, l2-photo.com, etc. From an SEO standpoint its a better bet for more hits.

[dreamcatcher23]

what about 2LPhotography.com ?

[eigga]

YES...pick a different name

IMO a business name that exactly matches your website is important...

[p360]

What about L2Photo.com...??

[jcw122]

Pick a completely different name so people don't mess up and go to that site that is already taken.

[loscocco]

i am selling Photo-Graphy.com if you are interested

[HuskyKMA]

You want a completely different name. People automatically associate websites with .com, so stick with that. And do not go with something like L2-Photography.com or L2Photograph.com. People will mess it up and go to L2Photography.com instead.

[S2K.OGRAPHY]

photosbylaura.com

[ER Images]

In my experience it is better not to use your name/initials. When people do searches etc on google they wont be searching for joe bloggs photos or jb photos, they will be searching for the kind of photographer they want e.g. anytown wedding photographer, etc

[BscPhoto]

In my experience it is better not to use your name/initials. When people do searches etc on google they wont be searching for joe bloggs photos or jb photos, they will be searching for the kind of photographer they want e.g. anytown wedding photographer, etc

The number one suggestion by some of the most well know freelance photographers and I even read this in two separate photo magazines is to use your name as the domain. johnsmithphotography.com

If you are just planning on being a freelance photographer then that is the way to go. If you plan on doing some real investing, hiring talent and creating a long lasting fully functional photography business then it is a good idea to create a non distinguishing company name and domain name.

[ER Images]

The number one suggestion by some of the most well know freelance photographers and I even read this in two separate photo magazines is to use your name as the domain. johnsmithphotography.com



All well and good when your a well known photographer, well established, published etc
If on the other hand your not all of the above how many people will actually search for your name?

[BscPhoto]

The name of your website isn't how people will find you by doing google searches. You will have to do some SEO to make sure when people search they find you.

[dreamcatcher23]

To be honest, how much does it really matter? Pick something easy to spell, easy to remember and that isn't too long. Wal-Mart was from the guy's name, we have JC Penny, Morgan Stanly, Goldman Saachs, Gucci... all people's names - it's silly to say that using a personal name limits the growth of the company. It doesn't.

Just using your name (as long as it's easy to spell) with no hyphenation etc. is what i'd recommend, if only simply because it will allow you to move on to worrying about more important aspects of setting up your company.

FYI URLs have some, (but not much compared to other factors) effect on search ranking, so don't worry about it too much. eg. search for car insurance and i betcha carinsurance.com doesn't even come close to the top of the list.

[psuphoto09]

do you guys think either lauralitteriophotography.com or litteriophotography.com is too long? I feel like they are which is why I was hoping to stay away from them.

[jbrown7815]

do you guys think either lauralitteriophotography.com or litteriophotography.com is too long? I feel like they are which is why I was hoping to stay away from them.
yeah those are a bit too long IMO

[psuphoto09]

any sugggestions for something shorter?

names already taken:
l2photography
photographybylaura
l2photo
l2-photo
photosbylaura

[amoergosum]

This thread is a couple of months old but I have a similar question (I'm about to purchase a BluDomain website).
If you use your name as the domain name, would you use _www.yournamephotography.com_ or just _www.yourname.com_ ?
I'm torn between _www.benscheurerphotography.com_ and _www.benscheurer.com_ .
Maybe it's good to keep it as simple as possible?

[tracknut]

I would absolutely use www.benscheurer.com between those two options. Buy it even if you end up with another domain for your photos... you're one of the lucky ones who can get the domain of your own name.

Dave

[amoergosum]

I would absolutely use www.benscheurer.com between those two options. Buy it even if you end up with another domain for your photos... you're one of the lucky ones who can get the domain of your own name.

Dave

Thanks for your suggestion Dave!