Picking out a blog name can be one of the most exciting steps to starting a blog. Think about it, it’s like naming your baby so it’s no wonder you want it to be perfect. Plus, once you purchase a domain name, and get your blog up and running, it’s difficult to switch names – unless you want to start over.
Trust me, I get it.
Your blog name is going to define your business. It’s what people will come to know you as. Therefore, it’s only natural to spend time thinking about it.
However, I don’t think it needs to paralyze you. Here’s why. At the end of the day it’s the content you publish that makes the biggest impact on your blog success. Quality content is what brings visitors to your blog. More importantly, the valuable content you share, your unique voice, and the relationship you build with readers, are the 3 things that turn visitors into loyal readers.
So you can have the most clever name in the entire blogosphere but if your content doesn’t meet the needs of your reader then it won’t matter.
My advice.
Take time to think about a blog name but don’t let it stop you from getting your blog started. In fact, I wouldn’t spend more than a weekend coming up with a blog name.
Here are 7 tips I recommend as you sit down to think of a blog name.
#1. Brainstorm topics and choose a blog name that everything will fall under.
Ideally, though not necessary, you want your blog name to reflect your blog topics. You want it to represent the brand you’re creating.
My advice is to brainstorm the different topics you’ll write about. From there write out words that those topics fall under. For example, my blog Organize Yourself Skinny talks about topics like meal prep, meal planning, habits, and other organizing topics that help busy people lose weight. Once it dawned on me that organizing was essentially what I was teaching people I came up with Organize Yourself Skinny and bought the domain name.
Think about the words that describe your brand. Another example is Big Boss Moves. I came up with this blog name when I was quitting my full-time state job to become a full-time blogger. One of my close friends said “Tammy, you are making some Big Boss Moves!”. From there, that name stuck with me and I knew someday I would create this blog to share all my experiences. And, here we are 🙂
#2. Keep your blog name short and sweet.
Your blog name should be easy to spell and remember. Long complicated names with too many words can get confusing and you don’t want readers to get confused. When people get confused they move onto the next blog. Readers need to type in your domain name without thinking to much about it – and get it right the first time.
#3. If possible, use a .com
With so many blogs out there it’s likely you might not get your first choice of blog names. However, you might see options for a .net or .co or something like that but I recommend finding another blog name where you can get a .com.
People are familiar with .com’s. Therefore, when they type in your blog name it’s likely they will type in .com without even thinking about it. If your blog name is something other than a .com it’s likely your potential reader will go to a site that’s not yours or a site that’s not available. Either way you don’t want that.
Also, you don’t want to get a .net or .co of an already established website. This can pose a lot of problems.
My advice find a .com. Again, in the end your content is going matter more than a name so don’t sweat it if you had your heart set on a name that wasn’t available.
#3. Don’t use dashes or other symbols.
This is such a pet peeve of mine, I don’t know why some bloggers do it. Remember, people want easy to spell and remember – throwing dashes or symbols into your blog name defeats that whole purpose.
I understand that maybe it makes sense to have a dash, or it’s the only way to get the blog name you want, but I guarantee you’ll regret throwing any symbol into your domain name. My advice – don’t do it.
#4. If possible, use a keyword in your blog name.
Personally, I don’t think this is a huge deal. Most (if not all) of your SEO (search engine optimization) is going to be done within your blog posts. If you can fit a keyword into your domain name then you score points for SEO but don’t worry if you can’t.
Neither of my domain names www.organizeyourselfskinny.com and www.bigbossmoves.com have keywords. However, 40% of my traffic comes from google searches and the rest comes from Pinterest. All those searches surround the blog posts I write NOT my blog name.
#5. Make your blog name evergreen – don’t use mom or mommy.
I know A LOT of veteran bloggers and newbie bloggers have “mommy” blogs and the word “mom” or “mommy” in their blog domain name. I’m not saying you shouldn’t write about mommy topics but I think you should really think about your topics, audience, and future audience when deciding on a blog name you’ll have FOREVER.
When I first started Organize Yourself Skinny it was named Skinny Mom’s Kitchen. Well, because I was a newbie blogger I didn’t realize my blog name was very similar to an already established blogger. Without going into details I had to change my name. Thankfully, this happened prior to my blog gaining any real traffic or followers. It was still painful, but it could’ve been much worse.
Anyway, at that time I was in the middle of writing my ebook Organize Yourself Skinny. Fortunately, I was smart enough to purchase the domain name www.organizeyourselfskinny.com once I named my ebook. So I decided to change my blog name to Organize Yourself Skinny and honestly that was one of the best decisions I made for my blog.
It reflects the topics I talk about on my blog, is catchy, and opens my blog up to a wider audience. My blog grew significantly after changing my blog name. I don’t think this was just because my name change. I think it was because I was better able to focus in on the needs of my reader. I had better clarity with a blog name that truly reflected the topics I talked about.
Yes I’m a mom, and I talked about the issues I face as a mother trying to live a healthy lifestyle. But my identity goes beyond motherhood – and now my blog reflects that.
If you don’t plan to write about motherhood (or whatever topic) forever then I would pick a blog name that can carry you through all the different seasons of life. Having an evergreen blog name leaves room for expansion of topics and changes you’d like to make in the future.
This is important if you decide later on to switch gears on topics or completely rebrand. As you grow and learn as a blogger it’s very possible you’ll want to blog about different things. Something to think about when choosing your blog name.
Of course, it’s your blog and you can choose any blog name you wish. However, this is my advice based on my experiences.
#6. Consider your name.
If you can’t think of a name for your blog then consider using your name. Many successful bloggers use their name. Again, it’s about the content. The only issue with using your name is if you get married or divorced. This might not be a huge issue but something to think about.
Or use your first name in conjunction with a word that describes your blog. For example, I talk a lot about meal prep on Organize Yourself Skinny. So another blog name could be www.tammymealpreps.com or something like that.
#7. Research your potential blog name.
Before purchasing a domain name take some time to research it’s availability on social media channels. Trust me, it’ll be so frustrating to score an awesome domain name only to find that you can’t use it anywhere else.
Also do a quick google search to see if any other blogger or website is using your beloved name. Again, it’s easier to pick a new name now then to change it later on. I experienced that first hand and it wasn’t fun. Fortunately it worked out, but it was very stressful and could’ve been avoided.
As you go through the brainstorming process, and put together name possibilities, research their availability. You can easily do this using Bluehost or any domain provider. Simply type in the domain name and click search. You’ll find out immediately whether or not it’s available. Keep in mind when you check for a new domain on Bluehost you’ll have to choose a hosting package first. You won’t have to pay for it but that is the first step before you can check domain names. Just an FYI.
Once you purchase your domain name it’s time to start a blog. I have a step by step blog tutorial here.
Before I send you off to pick a fabulous blog name remember this – you being the fabulous blogger that I know you can be will matter so much more than a name. The goal is to get started so you can start working towards becoming a professional blogger!
Let me know if you have any more blog name questions. Or if you have other tips you’d like to share.
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