Expensive? Don’t tell me how expensive that’ll be, because it’ll surely end up being a lot cheaper than options B, C, etc. — where option B is the thousands of dollars you’ll need to spend if someone else gets your domains first and is willing to sell them back to you and option C is when, instead of selling your domain name back to you, they create an attack site where mis-info is the special of the day.

One domain is good enough, right?

I have been in the online reputation management game for 10 years, sharing everything I know about it for five, and folks are still walking around like it’s 1993. Maybe my megaphone isn’t big or loud enough, but folks are still wandering around with maybe one domain name. Sometimes this domain name is their name; other times, it’s something cute or branded. Domains are so cheap that, generally speaking, you should own at least 25 — just you. Seriously. You should reserve as many as you can actually reserve, meaning you probably cannot cross too many country codes off your list as most countries require residency or citizenship. But do whatever you can, whatever you can afford, it’s not too late. (You can always put together a pretty good collection of domains made up of entirely of second- and third-tier domains.)

Waaah! All the good domains are already taken!

Are all the good domains taken? No they’re not. Not only are they not all taken, but you can get some pretty darned great ones if you’re less obsessed with Le Domain Juste — the perfect domain name — and think more about your online reputation. We’re not obsessing here about what you’re going to name your new LLC or what tattoo you’re going to get on your neck or even what that manuscript hidden in your side drawer is going to be named when it’s ultimately published, turning into the great American novel — it’s not such a big deal.

Why do you need all of these domain names? As you may well know, both online reputation management (ORM) and search engine optimization (SEO) eat keywords for breakfast. Usually, we think only of the keywords embedded in the copy, titles, headlines, URLs, and hyperlinked keyword phrases. You might even know that your search and reputation biosphere is a balance between the number and quality of links linking to your site, the textural links within your site, and the links you share with others.

However, you might not know that upward of a third of all your Google juice comes from the combination of your top-level-domain and the keywords in your domain name, though it’s generally closer to one-fifth, unless you posses a .gov domain, or have owned the domain name for years — age does count when it comes to domain names, so you should have done this years and years ago.

Would you want someone else to grab these?

So, this is what I would choose for myself — most of which, I think, I might own. Or maybe not. Anyway, here’s my list, both theoretical and practical — and I am only dealing with the dot-com domains:

• chrisabraham.com
• chris-abraham.com
• christopherabraham.com
• christopherjabraham.com
• chris-james-abraham.com
• cjabraham.com
• cabraham.com
• abrahamchris.com
• abraham-chris.com
• christopherjamesabraham.com
• chrissypooabraham.com
• chris–abraham.com

There are a whole host of other top-level domain names to choose from. For example, chrisabraham.info, chrisabraham.biz, chrisabraham.tv, chrisabraham.cc, chrisabraham.ws, chrisabraham.co, chrisabraham.la, in addition to your .net, .org, and .us. And there are even more than that, including .nu and many others, many of which are only $10-$20 or so if you use a registrar with competitive prices.

You’re also allowed to register certain other country domain names, if that makes any sense to you — .co.uk, for example.

And while your at it, why don’t you consider doing some or all of this for the members of your team, your principals, your board members, and key members of your staff — either secure them yourself, for safe keeping, or reach out to the members of your team, your principals, your board members, and key members of your staff to encourage them to register and reserve one or more of their own key domain names themselves — and tell them why.

What do I do with all of these blasted domain names?

What have I done with these names? For now, nothing. Just gloat about all the money you’re saving by not availing your name, your brand, or yourself to the whims of others, some of whom don’t have your best interests in mind. So, be happy that you’re one of the few people who is actually squatting your own domain names. Unless you know how to forward and redirect your domain names to all of your blogs, sites, social networks, platforms, and services, just sit on your laurels.

That said, if you’re willing to put some time in, there are some sites that already allow you to map your domain names onto them: Blogger, Tumblr, Posterous, Typepad, WordPress.com — and any and all of your hosted websites. So, go check that out.

The better idea is to just have those domains in your front pocket, ready to use when you need them — like Halloween candy-corn all sticky and stuck together but handy in your pocket. Either way, it doesn’t matter. Domain names are a long-term investment — maybe if you’re lucky, you’ll be able to make a little extra money down the road when your namesake reaches out to you when he or she realizes that you’re in possession of all of the domain names in every form imaginable of the name you share.

Related articles

• Why haven’t you secured a ton of domain names? (biznology.com)
• What Domain Names Are You Selling? (elliotsblog.com)
• Poll: Favorite Type of Keyword Domain Name (elliotsblog.com)
• Sedo changes domain listing process and adds “Big Data Pricer” (domainnamewire.com)

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