This post discusses branding yourself in your own domain name versus using a keyword rich subject related domain name instead.
A blog should have a primary subject or brand. Some people, like me, opt to use their personal name for their brand. Others will create a separate brand and use that in the domain name. Using your personal name keeps others from laying claim to your brand which is good and bad. It’s good because you get credit for what you do, but it makes selling your blog more difficult should you decide to do something else.
I struggled with this for some time, researching what the pro’s had to say and then ultimately, I ended up sticking with using my name for this blog. The reason is simple. I wanted to have this be about my thoughts and I decided that I wouldn’t be selling this blog down the road. I’m passionate enough that I have no interest in exiting from this blog.
Using my name makes it slightly more difficult in search engines because most people aren’t searching for my name specifically when they are searching for subjects I like to talk about. I have no real keyword value to using my name unless of course, a reader has already heard about me before. This means that I have to get keywords into the article title so that they properly come up in search results.
Recently, Google made changes to their search process reducing the influence that domains have on the subject, but they still are important. It just helps me personally as content in my posts have become more important in search.
When you decide to launch your blog, you should consider weighing in on naming your blog after yourself, or targeting the subject. If you plan a mix of content, using your name would be less critical, but if you have a specific target niche, using keywords in the domain is a better decision. Of course, there is nothing stopping you from having more than one blog. Just pick subjects that you are passionate about so you are consistent with content and effort.