A good blog name should be evocative so that potential readers may understand your blog's topic just by looking at the name. While choosing a domain name, be sure to incorporate that subject in some manner if you want to blog about that subject. But try not to get too focused on a single word. For instance, a blog on cooking need not explicitly contain the term "cooking." They would also realize that your site is about cooking if you used the phrases "food," "recipes," and "meals." If you're looking to make a personal blog that focuses on many different areas of interest, I highly suggest using your name or some derivative. This way, viewers immediately understand it is centered around you and your interests.
Even if you’re not planning to start up your self-hosted website right away, you might as well find an available domain name and snap it up now. And don’t worry, most available domain names aren’t super expensive, with some .com names going for as little as $11 per year at sites such as namecheap.com. Other services will give you a domain name free if you host your site with them. Go ahead, stake your claim! But wait a second. This is going to be your place on the Internet from now on, so choose carefully. Your goal is to make it memorable and topical. The best blogs have their domain names. ObviIt’t be a picnic finding a good domain name; millions are already taken and almost every word you can think of already exists as some sort of site, be it a legitimate source of news or information or a spam blog (splog) spewing out the garbage.
The best domain names are memorable and to the point.
It’s harder to gain traction with a site that has a made-up word for a title, and we’ve seen plenty.
However, this is not a hard and fast rule. After all, sites like Gizmodo and Engadget took off, but if you’ll notice, their missions are embedded in their names. Think clever. Try translating the topic into a different language or try a portmanteau word—a blend of two words into a new one, for example, GadgetCodger.com—or a name that someone might have overlooked—FoodReviewer.com instead of FoodReviews.com. Feel free to be creative but remember that clarity is key here. Pick a name that makes sense to you and your readers. Remember you can add words like “review,” “daily,” and “digest” to implement keywords in your niche to work around the plethora of domain names already sold and in use. For example, if you like running shoes you can try to grab “runningshoereview.com” or “runnersdaily.com.” Ceramicists
can grab “kilndigest.com” or “ceramicartdaily.com.” Need help to figure out a name?
Try this:
1. Create a list of nouns and synonyms associated with your topic.
2. Create a list of adjectives that can describe your topic.
3. Create a list of verbs that your topic is associated with.
4. Find a list of foreign words that may be familiar to fans of your topic. For example:
Nouns; Needles: Knitting; Yarn; Adjectives; Jolly; Contented; Happy; Quick; Verbs; Purl; Knit; Crochet.
5. Put these terms together. For example:
Jollypurler.com; ContentedKnitter.com; KnittingNeedleLover.com
Also, try to have fun: Yarnbirds.com, Purldivers.com
Be careful when putting together two words for a domain name.
For instance, if you want your “Pen Island” site to be called PenIsland.net, you might want to pick a different domain name. It won’t always be seen with those nifty drop-caps. Look at it this way: penisland.net. Oops. Also, avoid dashes in names. Popular-Birdwatching.com may be available but I assure you someone already owns PopularBirdwatching.com, and you’d just be sending traffic their way. Could you also use .tv, .net, or .org names? Check for the .com first. It may be owned by a similar type of site or blog, and you don’t want to risk the ire of KittenPhoto graphy.com if you register KittenPhotography.net. After all that ruminating, did you find the one domain name that’s perfect for your plan, but it’s already taken? Is there no variant that will possibly do? Get out your checkbook, because you’ll have to buy your domain name from whoever owns it, and depending on the name, that can get expensive. For example, the domain name Insure. com sold for $16 million in 2009. Once you’ve decided on a domain, now all you must do is register it. You’ll be asked to pay for that registration by the year, and there’s a discount for signing up for multiple years.
Even though it’s received negative publicity for the odd behavior of its CEO, we’ve had good luck with using the service called NameCheap.com to register our domain names, as well as hosting our sites. If you still haven’t figured out the perfect domain name for your budding site, NameCheap offers a handy tool that lets you check to see if your chosen domain name is available. If not, it’ll offer you alternatives using the same terms, as well as .net, .us, and others.
Note that domain names expire when you stop paying for them and can be recycled or co-opted by another organization if you’re not careful.
Many sites have suffered after not paying attention to the expiration date on their domain. We like NameCheap because it sends emails when your domain is up for renewal.
Having a great domain name is a dream for many online marketers and site owners, but since there is only one unique domain name for every word, getting a high-end generic domain name is usually extremely expensive or not even attainable. For this reason alone, it is very important to make sure you take some time to think about a great domain name for your blog before you get started. When it comes time for you to select your domain name there are a lot of options you will have to consider. This can be anything from the name and length of your domain, the extension (or TLD) that is right for you, and whether to use your name as the domain name.
Choosing the Right Domain Extension.
The most popular and sought-after domain name extensions are-.COM, .NET
and-.ORG. These extensions are also referred to as TLDs, which stand for “top-level domains.” The difference between the domain TLDs is of little significance now, but just for reference, I have listed what they were originally created for, as
referenced by Wikipedia.
.COM: Originally intended for use by for-profit business entities, for several reasons it became the “main” TLD for domain names and is currently used by all types of entities including nonprofits, schools, and private individuals.
.NET: Originally intended for use by domains pointing to a distributed network of computers, or “umbrella” sites that act as the portal to a set of smaller websites.
.ORG: Originally intended for use by nonprofit organizations, and still primarily used by some.
These were the original intentions for the domain extensions listed above, but today it comes down to getting the domain name that is available or closest to what you want. Nearly all generic .com domain names are already closest to what you want. Nearly all generic .com domain names are already taken, but there is a slight chance you can still register it in .net or .org form. In the end, all you need to know is which one you will be using for your site. Generally, the most sought-after domain names are -.COM names, then- .NET and .ORG. There are other domain name extensions out there like -.PRO, -.INFO, -.WEB and many more, but I would recommend staying away from these domain names and only focusing on the big three. It is rare to find any legitimate and established business running off these domain extensions, and most of them were created just to generate more sales for domain name companies. Most people in the world are familiar with .com, .net, and .org domain names, so it’s best to stick with what people know.
When it comes time to search for and register your domain name.
you may find this to be a very time-consuming and frustrating process. There are currently over 140 million different domains registered and thousands of new domains are being registered every day. This means there is a very good chance that someone owns the domain name you were thinking of using, so you will need to get creative in your decision process or will need to spend some money.
Before creating your blog, you are going to want to have a domain name that instantly tells people what your site is about. The best domain names in the world are generic ones that tell you right away what they are about. Even having a longer domain name like “FreeCreditReport.com” still works well. Right when you see the domain name; you know what to expect from their site. Then, on the other hand, there are the websites and companies that got creative with their domain names and thought up something original, such as “Travelocity.com” and “Expedia.com.”
They are both travel websites but have been able to make their names and brands household names. The same holds true for companies like “eBay.com” and “Amazon.com.”
Their names don’t tell you what they are or what they do, but they have done an excellent job at branding their names and services around the world.
Since so many domains are already owned, there is a good chance that you will have to get creative with your domain name or add additional work to your generic keyword or niche, such as “blog,” “now” or “my”.
Another important issue to consider when choosing your domain name is that it doesn’t get confused with other names or brands already out there. Before registering your domain name, say the site name out loud and think about how you would say it to other people as if you were on the radio. Make sure not to use numbers in your domain name instead of actual words, such as “2” for “to,” or “4” for “for.” This can be confusing for potential site visitors. It’s easy to get discouraged during the initial domain name-choosing process, but you will eventually come up with something that works. There are also plenty of other options for registering unique domain names, such as using your name and buying domain names that are already owned and up for sale.
Choosing a good domain as well as a good host can make or break a blog.
A good domain name can help in driving more traffic to a blog. In addition to this, domains that are easy to remember have a better track record for encouraging visitors to keep coming back. On the other hand, a host serves as the virtual home of a blog. All the data contained in a blog are stored in a host’s servers. In addition to this, having a good host also means having good tools that can be used to efficiently manage a blog. Having a reliable host can also mean less downtime for a blog. These are just a few of the factors that should be considered when choosing a good domain as well as a good host. Statistics have consistently shown that people favor blogs with shorter and catchier domains compared to blogs with long and hard-to-remember names. After all, remembering a site named yourblog.com is a lot easier than trying to remember a site named yourfirsteverblog.com. you should also take note that people often prefer domains that end in .com as opposed to sites that end in .mobi, .info, etc.
You should also steer clear of using hyphens and numbers in your domain name since this can make things very confusing for potential visitors. After all, powerdrillHQ.com is a lot easier to remember compared to a domain name like powerdrill101.com or power-drillHQ.com. Lastly, it may also pay to avoid using words that can be associated with current fads and trends. This is because trends and fads come and go and in time, your domain may seem dated to some visitors.
Factors to Consider When Choosing a Domain Name.
Just as you have many factors to consider in choosing the name of your child, business, or pet, there can be many implications of choosing names for a website. What follows is a list of factors to keep in mind as you make the decision. Remember that there are many theories about what is right and wrong in this area and that, despite all the rules that people have, some very successful sites ignore them all!
Also worth remembering is that personal taste comes into decisions like this; what seems a good name to you will often mean different things to different people. With those disclaimers in mind, look at a few areas to consider:
What are your goals and objectives? We often come back to this point because where you are headed is such an important part of thinking about the long-term vision that you have for your blog. Might you want to eventually sell it?
What is the topic of the blog? An obvious starting point, perhaps, but worth considering. Names can reflect the blog’s topic or niche.
Why are you blogging? For you, is blogging about having a hobby? Is it about building your profile/expertise? Is it about earning an income via ads? Is it to support an existing business?
What style will it be? Will you be blogging alone, or will there be many authors? What length of posts will it have?
What tone and voice will it be written in? Will it be conversational, newsy, rants, professional, or humorous?
Who is the intended audience? Do you want to appeal to businesses, young people, cool people, moms, locals, and geeks?
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