So I’ve written a lot of stupid things over the course of blogging for my site. I think you write enough posts that are mainly filled with commentary and opinion (rather than reporting happenings) and that’s what happens. I am sure some people are so brilliant that they don’t write stupid things. They think long and hard about their thoughts on a matter and they present it in a reasonable fashion. Their words stand tall like the Ten Commandments. I go back to my posts (mainly in 2006) and I think “Why did I even hit publish?” Some comments were brutal. Deservedly so.
Then I got an e-mail a while back about my domain name. Politely, but very clearly, they thought my choice for domain name was terrible and thought I could do with a much better domain name choice (they didn’t give any suggestions because they couldn’t bother to be really helpful). What it screamed to me was the title of this post: your domain name sucks! Ouch…
I have to take a quick detour. This is around the same time as my friend Chris Ferdinandi over at Manager’s Sandbox was tinkering with the idea of changing his domain name to something less … er, sandboxy. He was thinking either one based on his name or something a little more edgy. Here is what the conversation looked like:
Chris: Dan Schawbel recommended I go with RenegadeHR
Me: oo, that could be fun
Chris: I worry about how names like that impact future job hunting prospects but if someone doesn’t like my HR style, do I want to work there?
Me: I think you should really go for broke. Maybe a full on action hero. At least a bandanna!
Chris: Action hero? I’m not having an action hero logo. And no way… I’m not wearing a bandanna! It hides my beautiful forehead.
Needless to say, he went with RenegadeHR. And a pirate logo I might add (that’s nearly a bandanna so I am calling it a slight win).
Unfortunately, it made me feel even more trapped with YourHRGuy.com as I had built basically my entire online identity around being Your HR Guy and didn’t feel like I had the same flexibility as Chris. I laid out some pros and cons about staying with my current domain name:
Pros
- The current domain is descriptive, you don’t have to spend a lot of time figuring out what the site is about
- People know me as HR guy even if they spell my real name correctly
- It allowed me to blog anonymously for a while
- My Google stock is high and there are a ton of backlinks in place to reinforce YHRG as an awesome place
Cons
- It is kind of gimmicky. Like going to “My Office” bar (or worse “The Bar” bar).
- It definitely paints my niche for me. I feel like I have to step out of YHRG to be a Portland Trail Blazer fan. I’d feel bad to torture you with “Why Brandon Roy is so awesome in 800 words or less!” type posts.
- A ton of sites list their links alphabetically. I am almost always at the end of those lists.
- Some mornings, I wake up and I don’t like the name. Other mornings, I think it is great.
The problem is that I never took any of this into consideration before I purchased and built my “brand” around it. In fact, I bought my domain name after a mere 10 minutes of searching for HR related website URL’s.
Maybe it works and I just got lucky. Maybe the guy telling me that my domain name sucks is way off base. And while I encourage people to start a blog, I would recommend they think seriously about a name that they could use for years to come. The deeper you get into blogging, the more difficult and arduous the task will be to pull up stakes and move too. Not to mention the fact that there is a lot more to risk if you want to move.
So while I probably won’t move anytime soon, I am curious to hear how and why other bloggers made the move? Would you do it again? I think many people look to the beginning of the year through spring to really get a blog started so it may be of some help to them.
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I’ve purchased a few domain names, and I’ve struggled with how to “brand” them. Truthfully, the whole “personal branding” concept is a difficult one for me to get around, for similar reasons like you. I mean, I’m a computer geek, I work in the investment field, and I’m a big fan of punk rock and tattoos. Where is the “brand” in that? I’ve actually begun the process of refocusing my current blog and starting a second, since the topics (one is politics & economics, the other is small business technology) have very little overlap. I’ve seen where people like P. Trunk say that two blogs are a bad idea, but I’m not too sure. Maybe a split is in order for you?
Now that I’m out of the closet I have wondered how branding myself as HR Minion was going to work. Was it going to be detrimental or will it give people a laugh? So far, I’m still happy with it simply because it has become such a big part of what the blog is and why I think people read it. It’s funny and it feels like me.
Lance -
You domain rocks. Too much invested to ever change. More Rip City on your blog, please. Hearing about Steve Blake’s strengths and weaknesses is a great tie in to HR and Talent…
HR Minion – regardless of how high you go in your career, the domain you have will make you approachable and tell all you can laugh at yourself, which is money…
KD
Lance – definitely keep the name – it’s got a lot of goodwill and Google juice built around it. If you’re concerned about the future, buy a couple of other names, and write on them once a month. Post links from there to those sites, and over a period of time, the transition if you ever make it will be easier.
Simply place new blogs on the new sites, and explore the new topics when you feel like it.
Worked for me – we have marketing sites, recruiting sites, political sites, advertising, travel, fashion, and personal. It’s hard sometimes to keep up with them, but I only write on the non-revenue producing sites when I feel like it.
And in the case of SocialMediaHeadhunter and brandstorming, when new opportunities came up, we had platforms to use for them.
They are also potential saleable assets in the future.
So keep YourHRguy, and branch out, but only write when you feel like it.
I DO have a beautiful forehead!
Lance, keep your domain name, it’s great! It makes you more “approachable” and that’s always a good thing when it comes to HR.
Hey Lance,
Unless you have a really compelling reason to change – and none of your Cons fit that bill – keep on trucking with this domain. I second all of Jim’s advice but I’ll add when the time comes to change directions, you’ll know it without a doubt.
I wouldn’t be too hard on yourself, Lance. Ranking in the top 5 for “HR Blog” is not too shabby. As far as I am concerned you are our HR Guy! Ok that may have sounded a bit cheesy but you get my point.
At one time years ago we changed our domain name and it was a disaster. People knew us as Crimcheck and expected us to be there. Once you change then your have to 301 all of your great articles, etc. It is just a pain in the butt. It is not worth the hassle, Google likes you and evidently so do many of your readers.
Shoot, everybody has some great comments here. Let me address a couple:
@Norcross – I don’t think two blogs are a bad idea for people, I just think it would be a bad idea for Penelope Trunk. That’s what makes her blog hot to some, right? There is a variety of interest out there though and some prefer focused blogs.
@HR Minion – I mean, it all goes back to blogging goals. If you’re having fun with it, why change? That is probably why people read your blog. Unless your goals change, I don’t see why you should need to change.
@KD – I was actually thinking of a post along those lines. I try to keep sports analogies to once or twice a month because I could do them all day, every day.
@Jim – Actually, I think this is the most helpful advice I’ve received. I know you have a ton of different blogs out there (just because I know you’ve linked out on occasion from different ones). It might be a good idea to start building elsewhere on occasion and if I feel it is right, I’ll have something in place.
@Chris – I won’t go there.
@HRSteve – Yeah, I decided against HR Intimidator for that reason.
@Jacob – I generally agree which is why I wouldn’t change it anytime soon.
@Crimcheck – Thanks and yeah, I’ve heard of nightmare moves. There are some easier ways to do it too now but it still takes a while to build everything back up.
Hey Lance – From seeing you online so much, like many others, I’ve come to know you as “The HR Guy.” It’s what I think of each time I see your name.
Changing it would take a lot of effort and time… But if you do decide to go that route, have you thought of simply using YourName.com?
The guy who wrote you that email is a chump. He probably has a chumpy mustache, too. You should refer to him as Chumpstache.
Hey HR Guy:
Just wanted to let you know you’re not last on RiseSmart’s Career 100 list! We use some special secret (not really) algorithm involving traffic, rankings, etc. Anyway, we like your site, like the domain name and like that you’re a thinker! As Laurie said, you have all the facts.
@Jenn: Love that! I live next door to a Chumpstache, unfortunately.
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