It’s time to decide the name of your site, it’s a big step.
Your domain name is a pretty big deal, because it’s a representation of you and your brand.
It’s what you will be known by.
In this post, I’m going to share with you tips and my go-to method of how to choose a domain name.
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Is Choosing the Right Domain Name Important?
Is your domain name important? Sure, it is.
Why? Because this domain name is a representation of you, your brand, and your business.
Is it going to matter what you choose as a domain name? Definitely.
Why? Because this is you.
What to Name Your Domain?
When you decide to start a blog, first you have to know what you want to blog about, then you can come up with a domain name.
What is your niche?
And what are the topics you’ll be blogging about?
And do you have any ideas about any certain words you want in your domain name?
Because if not, you can avoid all this thinking about what to name it and go the easy route and just use your personal name.
So, let’s go ahead and get that question out of the way?
Can you use your real name for a domain name?
Absolutely!
You can use your real name, a family members name, nickname, first name, last name, middle name, made up name, it’s your site, name it what you want.
There are plenty of successful bloggers out there who have built their brand using their name.
Is It Good to Have Keywords in Your Domain Name?
If you’ve been scouring the net, looking for ideas on how to choose a domain then you’ve probably read that adding keywords to your domain name will help with SEO.
And we all know what a big deal SEO is.
And they don’t.
After all the research I’ve done, I’ve come across blogging SEO experts that say it matters and then other SEO experts that say it doesn’t matter anymore.
But even though I read and do a ton of research about different things, I’m always going to go with the top of the top experts and here would be John Mueller, who works for Google.
John Mueller says himself:
“In short, you don’t need to put keywords in the domain name.”
“Keywords in a domain name will not make that site rank better for that keyword.”
There you go, what better place than to get the facts from other than the expert himself.
The only benefit of putting a keyword into your domain name is that readers will know what your site is about by seeing your name.
Having a keyword in your name does not help with SEO, it will not make Google love your site more than others, and it will not help it to rank better.
So, if you want to add in your keywords, then do it and if not then don’t.
And keep in mind, that if you create a name with your keyword, there won’t be room for you to expand.
And if it makes more sense for you to use a name that you can use around anything and everything then go for it.
How Do You Come Up with a Domain Name?
Good question!
It seems like the simplest of things we’re hitting the web and asking someone else.
Here’s an answer: THINK!!
Plain and simple, right?
I’m sure you have named something: a pet, a car, a stuffed animal, a plant, maybe even a rock!
This is no different.
THINK!!
Why would you name someone or something that? What was so special about that name?
You liked it, is probable the answer.
No one can decide for you what to name your blog, sure, you can get suggestions but, in the end, it’s up to you and you have to be satisfied with it.
Because, it’s your name!
So, then how do you come up with names?
Tips For Choosing A Domain Name
Competitors – whatever niche you’re in, other sites out there in the same niche are your blog’s competition.
Check out their sites for inspiration.
Get a few words from other names and try mixing and matching and putting them together to create a unique name for you.
And check out other blogs, not in your niche, you might surprise yourself and get something from it.
But as always, remember the #1 rule of blogging etiquette.
And don’t worry, your purpose here is not to steal someone’s name or use an exact match, your purpose is to get inspiration to get the wheels turning.
My Method – This is the way I prefer to do it, and It’s worked for me 7 times so far, using good old fashioned pencil and paper.
When I decided I wanted to name my blog idea, I had a sticky note and a pencil and just started writing names.
Before starting I knew:
- what my blog was going to be about – blogging
- my purpose for creating my blog – helping beginner bloggers
- that I was going to use my niche/keyword in the title – blog, blogging
- And that I was going to try to keep it at 5 words or less
I came up with 5 names that I thought were a good fit for me.
Then I pulled up Namecheap and searched the names, 3 of them were taken, one wanted a $199.00 or more offer and the last one was over $4,000.00. I didn’t need that name that bad.
So, I kept entering names into the Namecheap domain search box, and while I was searching I started taking words from other names that were taken and mixing them together, and the more I entered names, the more new names I started to come up with.
I ended up with 16 on my sticky note.
And the more I started to search, the more I started to write down names like I talk (my voice), something I would say, something that would easily come out of my mouth, just how I would say it.
In 22 minutes, I had my name.
Now, get a piece of paper and just start writing!
- Write down what your blog will be about in few words
- Write down the purpose of your blog in few words only
- Try to use your niche in the title, even if you don’t want to actually use your niche in your name, the search may generate more words
- Just start writing, get 5 or more names on your paper
- Pull up any domain name generator and search if the names are available
- Pick some words from other names that you wrote down but were taken and mix them up to make new names
- Keep it 4-5 short words
- Or 2-3 longer words
- Say it to yourself and why it would be a good name
- Say it out loud
- If you feel butterflies, that’s the one!
It’s suggested to have a short easy name, but there is no law that says a domain name has to be a certain length.
If you can’t figure it out in less than 25 minutes, just stop! There is no need to spend hours on it.
Walk away and take a break!
When we start to think too much and everything starts to get jumbled, we can get frustrated and feel like it’s hopeless and have a hard time focusing and start thinking we’ll never figure it out, but we will.
Just relax, that name may hit you tomorrow after you’ve got some ideas rolling around up there.
More Tips
When my friend and I knew we wanted to start a food blog back in 2019, and it was time to think of a name, we knew it was going to be about food and that’s all we had figured out at the moment.
So, we just started naming names, our names, food names, this and that, and why we thought it would be a good name.
Food and Then Some came out and I said, “because if we ever get a dish line, a towel line or any line, Food represents food and the Then Some represents everything else”.
We were already talking about a brand and didn’t even know it and in less than 15 minutes and we had a name.
- Just blurt out names
- mix them up
- think more than just a name
- think what that name can do down the line
Here’s another simple way:
Long story short: we had a large get together and had some guests who were vegans, and there were comments made about the vegan options available, because they weren’t expecting to have a spread of vegan options.
If you listen, you will hear it. Phrases that people say that can be used as domain names.
We had an audience and if I ever start a vegan blog, I’ve got 3 names ready to go.
Related Posts
Blogging in a Niche You Know Nothing About
The Final Domain Name Decision
If you have come up with more names than you thought you would, that’s great, but what if you can’t decide?
- Text one at a time to yourself to get a visual of it
- Take a poll on Facebook
- Ask your family and friends
- Sleep on it
After you’ve decided on your domain name, there are a few more things you need to decide on.
Head on over to site titles and tag lines for the next step to creating your brand.