Names & website names 'rant'

It took me a while to decide on my web presence and since I have had the domains (both .com and .co.uk) I have found a few instances of others using the name on:-

A wix.com site with the user based in the USA
A FB site for someone in the Birmingham UK (this one seems to have disappeared?)
A FB site & an Instagram site for someone based in Melbourne Australia

This latter one appears to be quite recent having started on FB 27th Feb2014

Now none so far conflict based on type/subjects & market but for the life of me don't folk if looking to the future check if the domains are available???

So not sure what to make of it or indeed whether I should even be concerned..........as its stands now I am unlikely to get into social photography (but you never know?) and it has been suggested that I need to use FB but with the name already being used......??? Following my first ever exhibition and the sales results from that I will be over the coming months working on developing the online and possible art fairs sales.

OK mini rant over and any insights & thoughts would be welcome

TIA

PS on a side note two of my sales were to an Australian resident in Canberra

It in mediums where the name is already taken you'll just have to use something else instead.

memoriesoftomorrow wrote in post #16912485
It in mediums where the name is already taken you'll just have to use something else instead.

Hi Peter

Yes, I take your point because such "medium" name choices are not moderated and why should they be but it show lack of research & foresight on the part of the folks choosing 'that name' as they will not be able to get the domain(s).

FWIW I also got the .photography one when it came on the market and that currently is forwarded to the main URL. I wonder if FB allow for "." in the name???

I'd venture to say those on Facebook, Wix, and other free "sites" have no interest in domain names, only that it's free.

D Thompson wrote in post #16912594
I'd venture to say those on Facebook, Wix, and other free "sites" have no interest in domain names, only that it's free.

You may be right but oh IMO such lack of foresight and thinking if they wish to use the 'name' on their own domain URL in future.

Box Brownie wrote in post #16912609
You may be right but oh IMO such lack of foresight and thinking if they wish to use the 'name' on their own domain URL in future.

There are a lot more domains than just .com and .co.uk.

E.g I use .net primarily. However there are also new domains such as .photography .photos .photo (I own them for my name too). In Australia the most commonly used is .com.au or net.au (I also own them) so they may well not be worried about .com and .co.uk (I own those for my name too)

Besides they may want to use a catchier domain name which is different.

Box Brownie wrote in post #16912494
. . .but it show lack of research & foresight on the part of the folks choosing 'that name' as they will not be able to get the domain(s).

Maybe it shows that they did do research and foresight. For example, if I was wanting to start a Facebook presence, and saw that the name I wanted to use was available on Facebook, but that someone had already claimed that name for .com and .net domains, then maybe I would be very quick to "grab" the name on Facebook, for fear that the person claiming those domains might get the name on Facebook, too. So I would want to get in there and grab that name on Facebook before he could take it.

Many, many, many photographers with a solid Facebook presence have no interest in ever creating their own website. But getting the right name on Facebook is very important to them.

memoriesoftomorrow wrote in post #16912755
There are a lot more domains than just .com and .co.uk.

E.g I use .net primarily. However there are also new domains such as .photography .photos .photo (I own them for my name too). In Australia the most commonly used is .com.au or net.au (I also own them) so they may well not be worried about .com and .co.uk (I own those for my name too)

Besides they may want to use a catchier domain name which is different.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #16935791
Maybe it shows that they did do research and foresight. For example, if I was wanting to start a Facebook presence, and saw that the name I wanted to use was available on Facebook, but that someone had already claimed that name for .com and .net domains, then maybe I would be very quick to "grab" the name on Facebook, for fear that the person claiming those domains might get the name on Facebook, too. So I would want to get in there and grab that name on Facebook before he could take it.

Many, many, many photographers with a solid Facebook presence have no interest in ever creating their own website. But getting the right name on Facebook is very important to them.

Both your posts & points are making sense...............my lack of social media understanding has tripped me up ~ c'est la vie. FWIW I have joined FB using a 'name'photo as the both namephotography and 'name'-photography have as noted been taken. Just need to understand and integrate it into my ongoing web presence???

What I am unsure about is how Google does its listing because if I search for the former (mentioned above) it does not show but the latter does right near the top of page one??? Is it down the number of likes and the very close spellings?

Box Brownie wrote in post #16936569
What I am unsure about is how Google does its listing because if I search for the former (mentioned above) it does not show but the latter does right near the top of page one??? Is it down the number of likes and the very close spellings?

If someone knew exactly how to get listed #1 by Google for good keywords, they'd be rich.

Hah, really though the way google presents the search results have changed quite a bit. Now I'm finding that it tries to "guess" your location and tries to provide you search results as more of a context.

With that said, still the best way for Google to recognize a site as a high pagerank site is via backlinks. This is a simplified generalization but the more sites that link to your site, the higher the value of your site becomes.

Box Brownie wrote in post #16912609
You may be right but oh IMO such lack of foresight and thinking if they wish to use the 'name' on their own domain URL in future.

how about the reverse? You chose to not get those names on those sites when you were setting up and now they are gone. So maybe you had the lack of foresight for the more social sites?

peeaanuut wrote in post #16936928
how about the reverse? You chose to not get those names on those sites when you were setting up and now they are gone. So maybe you had the lack of foresight for the more social sites?

Hi Joe

Yup, as noted in my reply to a couple of other posters in post #8 ^^^ I have learned a lesson in regard to social media and web presence.............p​erhaps its age thing, when I was young 'social media' might have been what global penpals were all about

Having said that the other "age" related changes have indeed been in the way social media has gone from just "social" i.e. inter personal to include businesses in the same 'medium', that is a step change that a few years ago very few would have predicted???

And the one thing that has impacted on photographers because of social media is the diminishing of the monetary value of photography as so many FB users it seems see online imagery as free to see and hence to 'take' for free...............yes we live in changing times.

I would not worry about it if a search for your name shows your website first then you are fine. As long as people are getting to your website then your ok.

I have had a issue recently where I realized someone claimed sarahashleyphoto.com a one letter difference to my domain name but the website does not show up in searches because it has no SEO work done on it. I notice a lot of people from the state that the other Sarah Ashley Photography is in visiting my website.

As for social media I use several username variations and it does not seem to effect anything. Social media is not necessarily used to attract customers (for me anyway) and I re direct people to my website every chance I get in social media posts.