The Coming of Facebook Vanity URLs

This weekend Facebook will introduce vanity urls for their Facebook members. This means instead of having a facebook url with a million numbers on it, you could now have facebook.com/yourname. Unfortunately, something that sounds so simple, never is. How many people out there already have your name, and how many people are out there already trying to game the system for potential profit.

Protecting Your Trademark/Identity
We’ve already seen plenty of this on Twitter, and how several “fake” celebrities and accounts have been made. We are guaranteed to see the same thing happen all over again with Facebook. However, Facebook already knows this and they aren’t planning on letting this go unnoticed. If you already have a trademarked name that you want to use and protect, head over to this page and fill out this form. It’s best to try and get your name once the registrations go live, rather than have to deal with a legal battle later on.

Using Facebook Vanity URL for Profit
Just like a domain, have a facebook.com/keyword url can be very profitable. Think about how much more convincing your offer or page will look, if you have facebook.com/legal or facebook.com/ringtones. The average user would almost assume that was an offer or product endorse, or from Facebook direct.

When Vanity URLs Go Live & How
The flood gates will open at Saturday, June 13th, at 12:01am. http://www.facebook.com/username/ is the url you will need to access to create a vanity url for your facebook account. Once you’ve chosen a vanity name, there is no changing or going back… choose wisely!

Who will get some of the top paying “search phrases” as their facebook page, how many will lose out on having their own name as their vanity url, and how will people monetize these new urls for profit. Only time will tell…. but that time is less than 48 hours away.

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25 Comments »

Comment by Missy
2009-06-11 20:25:07

I plan to lock up a few, but i suppose i will have to register several accts. Yes? I’ts about time and I think it’s amazing how they’re getting close to Google’s numbers in terms of unique visitors. Whoa!

Missy’s last blog post..SEO For Bloggers

 
Comment by Roseli A. Bakar
2009-06-11 22:57:09

I guess every internet marketer are waiting for tomorrow :)
Roseli A. Bakar’s last blog post..How to Protect the Copyright of Electronic Publications?

 
2009-06-12 03:11:51

Boooo….no name squatting on this one :(

-Mike

 
Comment by Dino
2009-06-12 04:37:51

I guess i would be squatting for a few. Indeed!

Dino’s last blog post..BriefCase Joe - Eminem and Jimmy Kimmel

 
Comment by gas card
2009-06-12 05:12:44

Wow that’s seriously huge! I can’t imagine the number of entrepreneurs that will be jumping on this go get a few good keywords. Start making your list early and prioritizing!!!

-Randy

 
Comment by Crazy Oldie
2009-06-12 15:31:26

got a few new accounts which I’m using to lock up some of the bigger vanity names…campers unite! …wonder what Zac Johnson will be worth…hehe…kidding….or am I ;) lol

Crazy Oldie’s last blog post..Something Everyone Will Enjoy…

 
Comment by Free Nintendo DSi
2009-06-12 18:33:38

I saw this when I logged in today…I was actually quite please getting to see my name as a URL, however, I need to be quick to save my name as it shared by a couple of people!

Free Nintendo DSi’s last blog post..How to get a Free Nintendo Wii

 
Comment by used tires
2009-06-13 15:49:54

I just checked, and I can’t even get my own personal name as a url, someone has already registered my name, lol. I guess that just goes to show you, that if you wait too long on an opportunity, someone else is going to jump on it.

Till then,

Jean

 
2009-06-15 11:49:47

I’m contented with what I have. No vanity URL for me! It’s ok if you have a unique name, if not I think someone has already registered as many names as they can. Some people… :(
Internet Marketing Tips’s last blog post..SaleHoo – A Wholesale Directory Review

 
Comment by Virtual Family
2009-06-15 16:21:40

Does anyone know how to set up a vanity URL on facebook for a page. I had no trouble with my personal profile, however I can’t figure out how to do it for the page I have set up for my business.

 
Comment by Ben Pei
2009-06-16 12:33:25

Read that ShoeMoney got a cool name internetmarketer for his facebook.

Ben Pei’s last blog post..4 Tips On How To Pull Your Reader In

 
Comment by Jesse
2009-06-16 20:18:04

I hope everyone got what they wanted.. Funny seeing all the comments from those who wanted to reg multiple accounts and squat on some names.. Bet it was a sad moment when they realized the accounts had to be made before June 9th lol..

Jesse’s last blog post..Prioritize Your SEO Tasks To Save Time

 
Comment by Minnesota Attorney
2009-06-16 20:56:15

I hadn’t even considered the value of getting a keyword URL rather than a name. Great tip!

Minnesota Attorney’s last blog post..Minnesota Trademark Attorney - MN Trademark Lawyer

 
Comment by Dean Saliba
2009-06-18 16:19:46

Sadly I have to wait as I did not sign up in time. :(
Dean Saliba’s last blog post..May 2009 Blog Income Report

 
2009-06-19 12:21:40

Many top bloggers started to cry as well … as there are other people who took their name. One of them is Ed Dale as well.

Let me see what is the status of his name now.

SW @ Quality Squidoo Lens Service’s last blog post..Social Bookmarking Service

 
Comment by Loan Relief
2009-06-20 11:13:28

I’ve read that much like tld domain squatters, Facebook url squatters have been subject to threatening letters if the names contain trademarks or names of well known celebs (a la Twitter).I’m not sure what the outcome will be.

 
2009-06-20 21:42:32

You hit it right on the nose with this one good job on the this post, I hope to read more from you.

 
Comment by cam
2009-06-22 19:24:26

I chose my name but now I wish I hadnt. Its not like im a celebrity so I wont be too bothered if someone took my name first.
I should have secured my main keyword for my blog instead. I cant change it now, :(

 
Comment by Make Money Online
2009-06-23 22:44:25

My name “Kenneth” was unfortunately taken. Ended up using my online nick instead. -_-

Make Money Online’s last blog post..I Know What You Did in UTAR Kampar

 
2009-06-28 05:54:58

This news from the Google also created so much hype in the internet world. I am sure when they have started to give away URLs they had got huge traffic.

ZK @ Web Marketing Blog’s last blog post..How to Become A Blogger – A Roadmap

 
Comment by Alex
2009-07-02 13:39:33

We reserved our username “BillShrink” for our fan page, but now we have no way of actually claiming it. Can anyone give me any actual contact information for Facebook so that we can claim our trademark?

 
Comment by Aditya
2009-07-08 03:14:46

Atlast! we don’t have to remember millions of numbers to remember the url.

 
Comment by Aditya
2009-07-08 03:17:53

I wonder why facebook was unable to see it before.

 
Comment by Irene
2009-07-14 10:35:26

This is a long waited feature that should have been integrated a long time ago. That’s the big drawback of Facebook: tiny things that should work. I also hope they will improve some of their features like the chat or the photo upload.

 
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