website domain name question.

i want to start a website for my photography soon and have a dilemma about the site name.

i really want to use my full name (first and last) but the thing is my name is TAM NGUYEN(and if you dont know, it sounds nothing like it looks). From my life experience, i know many people have trouble with spelling, saying, or remembering my last name.

i could find something else easier thats more lucrative, but this is my art and its personable, i mean..most people use their name as their domain as well, but its not as complex as nguyen.

do you guys think i should use my name in the domain or something easier and more lucrative?

stayhumble wrote in post #11610545
i really want to use my full name (first and last) but the thing is my name is TAM NGUYEN(and if you dont know, it sounds nothing like it looks). From my life experience, i know many people have trouble with spelling, saying, or remembering my last name.

i could find something else easier thats more lucrative, but this is my art and its personable, i mean..most people use their name as their domain as well, but its not as complex as nguyen.

do you guys think i should use my name in the domain or something easier and more lucrative?

I agree that there are a lot of folks who can't pronounce Nguyen and who will not be able to make the association from a spoken name or domain to the characters they need to type.

I'd go with something more memorable, easier to type and better for SEO and then use your name on the page.

Good luck!

I have the same issue with my name. It's long at 15 characters, and for my entire life people have had trouble pronouncing and spelling my last name, so it wasn't a good option for a business URL where you may be getting word of mouth referrals or people trying to search for your name in search engines.

I still own my last name as a URL, but if anything I'd just use it as a personal page, portfolio, or something like that. The business gets a catchy and easy to remember/spell name.

This is interesting because I use my name as it is not common. It is not easy for people to pronounce either, but definitely easier than yours. The thing about using your name is you get name branding. When people see it they are more likely to remember an unusual name than John Smith Photography.

There is a part of me that says you should use your name and get it out there and get the name branding, but there is another part of me that thinks it will be easier to get things rolling with a name that is easier to pronounce.

Do you have any other idea for names you would share with us?

the other idea was to use only my first name, Tam. which i believe is very easy...something like photosbytam....to be honest, havent thought much since i wanted to see what you guys think about tamnguyen.com first.


and also, is it bad to use only my name? i.e; tamnguyen.com or should i go with tamnguyenphoto.com or something like that, if i do use my whole name.

stayhumble wrote in post #11610760
the other idea was to use only my first name, Tam. which i believe is very easy...something like photosbytam....to be honest, havent thought much since i wanted to see what you guys think about tamnguyen.com first.


and also, is it bad to use only my name? i.e; tamnguyen.com or should i go with tamnguyenphoto.com or something like that, if i do use my whole name.

The marketing people I spoke with told me that the business name needs my name and/or what I do. You either want to brand your name or make sure someone understand what you do. Photos by Tam does just that. There are a lot of ways to do this and be creative. Depending on what you shoot there are a lot of options.

It must be a regional thing. Out here in CA, pretty much everyone would know how to spell your name. I'd grab TamNguyen.com if it's available, and use that.

Dave

Your business doesn't start and end with your url. It doesn't have to be your business name or your full legal name. Something simple like tamphoto.com would be sufficient.

tracknut wrote in post #11610989
It must be a regional thing. Out here in CA, pretty much everyone would know how to spell your name. I'd grab TamNguyen.com if it's available, and use that.

Dave

But he's not in California. Most rednecks wouldn't have a clue how to spell or pronounce Nguyen.

cdifoto wrote in post #11611185
Your business doesn't start and end with your url. It doesn't have to be your business name or your full legal name. Something simple like tamphoto.com would be sufficient.

+1 for tamphoto.com

It is simple and easy to remember.

What about tamwin photography...then you can tell them " that's how you pronounce my last name ! "

thanks for all the advice guys, ill start thinking of something that incorporates only my first name, guess ill have to set my pride away on this one.

and boikman "win" actually sounds nothing like the correct pronunciation. but the english language doesnt have a tongue for Nguyen so someone had to make something up, lol...

i use to live in SoCal, dead center with all the vietnamese, and although many knew, most didnt. Now, i live in a small all american town with less than 1% asians. Its funny how many surprised looks i get from people.

cdifoto wrote in post #11611185
Your business doesn't start and end with your url. It doesn't have to be your business name or your full legal name. Something simple like tamphoto.com would be sufficient.

This is true. The tail (domain names) should not wag the dog (business name). Technology marches on--what might seem a problem today will be no problem in the near future.

I'm in the midwest, and despite the fact that there is a dismaying percentage of people who have never lived 50 miles from the small town they were born in, there are still a good number of "Nguyens" floating around. People may not know how to pronounce it properly, but however they end up pronouncing it, they still recognize the name when they see it.

BTW, I really wouldn't expect any speaker of a language that used Latin characters to know how to pronounce "Nguyen" without asking. And at that, when I've asked I've had people named "Nguyen" give me two different pronunciations, one phonetically, close to "When" and the other was I suspect a surrender to inevitability "Nuguyen."

But my point is: Keep your name and let technology be your slave, not your master. I'd be damned if I'd let Internet convention dictate my name.

This is only an issue when you're telling people the domain name verbally. To work around that keep business cards on you.

Tamnphotography.com is available. Photographybytam.com is available. Photosbytn.com is available.

tamnguyen.com is not available anyways. Neither is photosbytam.com.