Blogging is a great way to build your audience, make money or gain influence online. One thing bloggers often overlook is the importance of choosing the right blog name. In addition to getting new readers, a good name also helps to boost your ranking in search engines.
You might ask yourself…” wait, I thought we already chose our blog name”. The truth is, you may have chosen your blog name, but did you choose the right blog name for your website, service, or product?
The importance of a blog name should never be overlooked, as it is likely to become the cornerstone of your reputation online. There are many things you should consider when deciding on the right blog name. Hence, I decided to make a guide on how to choose the right blog name.
1. Look at competitors’ blog names
The first thing to do when you are thinking about what to name your blog is to take a look at other popular blogs in your industry. One way to find competitors’ blogs you could use Google search and type keywords of your niche with the word “blog” (without quotes).
For example, I search for “men’s fashion blog” and I got a lot of results with blogs about men’s fashion. The next step is to click each one to see if it has something similar to your idea.
After all, you are going to be competing with the other blogs in your niche. So, before coming up with a perfect name, you should know how your competitors have named their blog and why they chose that name.
2. Use a blog name generator
A lot of bloggers have found success with catchy blog names. You might have come up with a clever blog name, or you might have a few good blog name ideas that you’ve been kicking around.
Yet, sometimes you want a little outside help to come up with the right blog name for your blog. While you can always play around with word combinations yourself, blog name generators can save you some time and help you get going quickly with a new blog name.
3. Use your name
When you choose a blog name by yourself, start with your name. You can’t go wrong by using your name as this is the easiest way to decide on a blog name.
If you use your name, you can create an authority site where people can trust you and they are more likely to buy your product or service. In fact, I used my name when I created one of my blogs (Tosinajy).
Besides, you can use any words that you want to make it flow, something that your visitors will remember.
4. Use abbreviations or acronym
You have 10 seconds to hook users with your title. And the next tool at your disposal is to create acronyms or abbreviations that will create curiosity and intrigue among users.
In a world where smartphones, tablets, laptops & social media are ruling our lives, it is not a bad option to make your blog name an acronym so that it is short, easy for people to remember and type in.
5. Make it a catchy one-word blog name
One of the most important things to consider while choosing a blog name is to choose one-word names or at most two words that can be easily pronounced.
Besides, each blog name needs to be memorable or catchy. A blog with a catchy name is easier to be shared online, thus more readers can know about your blog and visit it. Think of the biggest companies today, the likes of Apple, Coca-cola, Nike, they all have one-word names.
A catchy name can also help in the ranking factor of your blog’s search engine result page as the search engine recognizes a good title.
6. Avoid numbers and special characters
Numbers and special characters like dots, hyphens, dashes, slashes, and underscores make your site address hard to remember and easy to mistype. This means that people will have trouble finding your website on the search engine results pages (SERPs) if they mistype the address for your site.
7. Make it descriptive
The blog name is the first thing your potential audience reads. It’s a vital piece of your online presence, so pay attention to it! Creative and catchy names are often used but they have one downfall: they are not descriptive!
Think about it – if you go for a blog name like “City Girl Fashion”, what you’re saying is that the website is about fashion tips. Your blog name should convey to people what they can expect from your content.
It’s also important that it is not confusing, misleading, or boring. You want your audience to be able to understand what your blog is all about from the first time they look at your site.
Considerations for choosing the right blog name
What is your blog going to talk about?
Your topic is the most important thing for choosing your blog name. If you know this already, great! If you’re still trying to decide what your blog’s going to be about, don’t worry.
Out of all the decisions you’ll make as a blogger, deciding on a topic is probably the most important.
It is easier to get your blog found in search engines if the title of your blog and the topics you write about are related to each other.
What type of audience are you targeting?
Your target audience is going to choose whether they like your content or not based on how closely related it is to the topic you’re blogging about. If you do a lot of work with WordPress, your audience will probably want to visit a WordPress blog vs. a Blogger site.
If you write about cosmetic procedures and skin care, it wouldn’t be ideal for you to have a blog name that included information about skydiving and scuba diving.
Before deciding on a name, think about who would find it valuable if they saw it online; also, think about what keywords you might be able to get ranked for (and which ones would hurt you).
Think about the tone and style of your blog
Although you may have already managed to come up with a name that you like, there are still specific factors you should be concerned about as far as your blog’s name is concerned.
Once again, with all these factors at hand, it would be far easier for you to understand why it is so important to choose a blog name that both expresses the essence of your content and represents your personality while being distinct and memorable.
Are the social media names available as well?
The social media name is just as important because you’ll want to have the same name across all networks. If your Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. names aren’t available you’ll have to get creative and think of other names that would be relevant for the same topic.
Thus, before you get too caught up in the blog name you have in mind, take a second to ensure that social media names are available for the handle that best represents your brand.
Conclusion
In conclusion, a blog is a pivotal tool for marketing your small business, so you want to make sure you choose the right blog name.
Choosing the right blog name can be a challenge, especially if you don’t have much experience. Or, sometimes you’re just in such a hurry that you rush into picking a name you don’t really like after all.
Although it may be frustrating, you do not need to be stuck trying to come up with a name forever. You can use these tips to assist you in choosing the right name for your blog.
Finally, my main goal of this post was to try and put everything together so that hopefully in one place there would be a detailed guide for people who want to choose the right blog name.