One of the biggest challenges when starting a new blog is coming up with a name. More specifically, we are talking about the domain name for your blog. This will be something like mynewblog.com
This is a big decision, as this is the first thing every new visitor to your blog will see.
You may have heard various suggestions on how to choose blog names, but there is really just one rule you need to follow: Be Descriptive!
Visitors need to instantly know what your blog is about just from your domain name.
This may sound like common-sense, but I have seen a variety of blogging “experts” telling new bloggers to pick something “brandable”. Creative blog names are good, but this often leads to people using some non-descriptive name for their blog.
People say things like, “Look at Amazon or Uber, they have brandable names that aren’t descriptive.” And they are right, but a blog is not the same thing as a company website. If you are starting a blog for your company then I would absolutely suggest using your company name, but everyone else should be using something descriptive.
Let’s take a look at a couple of examples to help you find good blog name ideas:
Example #1: Personal blog
Personal blogs can be a bit tricky to name since they often cover a variety of topics. In this case, one way to go is to use some variation of your name, since that is the main topic of the blog. You can either use just your name (ScottChow.com) or some variation (ScottsMusings.com, ScottsBlog.com, or ScottWrites.com). You can also put your middle initial in there in case your name is already taken (JaneQSmith.com instead of JaneSmith.com).
If you prefer not to use your name, you can use more generic terms such as “my”, “man”, “woman”, etc. Something like OneWomanWriting.com or MyThoughtsAndHopes.com
Example #2: Topical blog
If you are starting a blog focused on just one topic then you should definitely have at least one word related to that topic in your blog name. A travel blog might be called MyCrazyTravels.com or JaneTravelsTheWorld.com
Keep in mind that any word that is related to your topic would work just fine. If you see two blogs named SmithFamilyRecipes.com and JaneBakesPies.com, you immediately know that these are both about cooking, even though neither has the word “cook” in the name.
See if your domain name is available
Once you have a potential name for your blog, the next step is to make sure that no one else has already registered the name. To do that, use this domain availability checker:
See if your domain is available
Note: You cannot use any punctuation other than dashes in a domain name.
Once you’ve got a domain name that you’re happy with, you need to register it and get web hosting for your blog. Click here to see how to register your domain for free and get web hosting.
What to do if your domain name is not available
This is a very common issue, and will only become a bigger problem as more and more people register domain names.
Of course, the first way around this problem is to simply come up with a new name.
Look around at book titles or other domain names for inspiration. But if you have your heart set on a particular name that is not available there are a few things you can try:
- Add prefixes such as “my” or “the” (coolblog.com becomes mycoolblog.com or thecoolblog.com)
- Add dashes between words (mycoolblog.com becomes my-cool-blog.com)
- Use .org or .net instead of .com (my-cool-blog.com becomes my-cool-blog.net)
- Use a blog name generator like NameFresh for more variations
Did you find an available domain name? Click here to see how to register it and get your blog online.