One of the most common questions I get asked by my readers is how I came to name this site Kyle’s Cove.  Actually, now that I think about it, it would probably make sense for me to add this information to my About page.   Anyway, I digress.  When I started this blog, I wasn’t sure what I was going to write about, so I wanted a general name that would fit a technology blog, a personal blog, or a sports blog.   The natural choice was Kyle’s Korner, or Kyle’s Corner as an alternative, as they seemed to be the perfect fit for my soon to be determined blog.   Unfortunately, both domains were registered, so I went with Kyle’s Cove, which cove means the same thing as corner.

The reason I bring this up is because I’m trying to demonstrate just how important I felt it was to have a dot com domain name.   There are all sorts of  great dot net and dot org domain names available, but it just isn’t worth the hassle of dealing with.   When someone enters a domain name into their web browser, that person’s instinct is to use dot com.

Not to long ago, Darren Rowse of ProBlogger.net was having this problem because he chose dot net.   His content is very good, so the blog was extremely successful.   The problem is he had to work harder to build his name, and he probably sent hundreds if not thousands of hits each day to ProBlogger.com.   This can frustrate readers trying to find his site, as well as cause him to miss out on some traffic.  He has since purchased the ProBlogger.com domain name to try to remedy this problem, then redirecting those readers to the ProBlogger.net domain that he has built up.   The purchase of the dot net domain name seems to have worked out for Darren in the long run, but it cost him close to $5,000 to purchase the rights to the dot com version of his domain.   And I also believe he is one of a few exceptions to the rule.

If you have already purchased and built up a dot net or dot org domain name, there are a few things you can do to promote your website.  Daily Blog Tips recommends adding the full address to your blog’s banner.  This is a good thing to do, as it will help to remind readers that you aren’t a dot com blog.  I would also recommend placing a back order on the dot com version of your domain in the hopes of eventually acquiring the rights to it.

I personally will never purchase a domain name that isn’t a dot com and I always recommend new bloggers keep searching until they find an available dot com name that will suit their website.   Would you ever consider purchasing a dot net or dot org domain name?