Choosing a blog name can feel like the most stressful decision you will ever make besides getting married! It doesn’t have to be stressful! I am going to help you choose a blog name that is catchy, personal, unique and most importantly you! I will discuss logistics such as does a .com actually matter and my take on unique spellings. Read on and when you have finished, let us know in the comments the name of your new blog! I can’t wait to check it out!
Affiliate Disclaimer: This post most likely contains affiliate links. I earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
1. Choose a blog name that has to do with your topic or niche
While it might feel boring to pick a name like SimpleDIYBabyFood.com for your blog name this can actually be a really good thing!
First off, anyone who sees your blog post pop up somewhere with that domain name attached will know exactly what type of blog you have. They will automatically assume that you must have some type of expertise if your blog is ALL about DIY baby food.
This gives you some credibility right off the bat!
Also, having your topic or niche addressed in your blog name will also help you with SEO. Your blog name is one more clue Google takes into account when deciding if your blog post is relevant, timely, and accurate. You always want to give Google as much information as possible in order to get them to rank you as high in search as possible!
2. Avoid Misspellings
Sure, I get the humor in many of the purposeful misspellings of businesses around. But let’s face it, having a misspelled blog name can easily make you look unprofessional and to be honest, unintelligent.
More importantly, having a purposeful misspelling will also make it hard for repeat users to find you again. They won’t remember how you misspelled your name.
So in short, skip the misspellings.
Productivity Resource Bundle
Do you want the tools I used to grow my mommy blog side hustle to over $1000 a month?
I'm giving them out for free! Why? Because I was a new blogger once too and I wish someone would have helped me this way too!
Grab this bundle of 4 productivity resources!
Includes:
- Writing Checklist
- Keyword and Topic Planner
- Blog Post Outline
- At a Glance Blog Post Organizer
3. Choose a blog name that is short and catchy as possible!
You want a blog name that is memorable and easy to search. I made the mistake with my first blog, bringingbackthehousewife.com of making it way too long. Sure I have been able to make it a successful blog anyways but it’s a pain every time I type it out, and to be honest… I have close friends who can’t remember the name of my blog.
So learn from my mistake and make your blog name as short and catchy as possible!
4. Don’t use your own name
This is contested by some people. Yes, there are many successful bloggers that use their own name. But your name doesn’t tell anyone what your blog is about. You want readers to see your blog name and have a pretty good idea about what you write about everyday. Don’t leave your potential readers guessing by just using your name.
But if you really want to use your own name, then go for it!
5. Use a thesaurus or other online tool to help you!
There are tons of tools and apps that can help you come up with a name for your blog. My personal favorite is a good old fashioned thesaurus. Thesaurus.com is great place to start!
You could also try NameMesh– This website lets you type in a word and it gives you lots of different variations of available names. It’s a great free tool!
6. Make sure to pick a .com whenever possible
A .com is a type of Top Level Domain (TLD). The .com TLD is the most recognizable TLD right now and is followed by .org and .net.
Why do you want a good TLD?
First, you want a TLD that has some authority and looks professional. Always try to go with .com whenever possible.
Second, most people will assume your website is a .com and if it’s not they might have a hard time finding you when they go to search for you!
With the above tips in mind, follow these steps to pick an amazing domain name!
When setting up a blog you want to pick a domain name that is catchy, not too long, and easy to spell!
Follow these steps to brainstorm a domain name and check its availability.
For the purpose of this chapter I am going to use a cat blog as an example. For the record I do not own a cat #teamdog.
- Brainstorm some nouns related to your niche. I might list out:
- Cat-lover
- Cat-mom
- Pet-lover
- Lady
- Etc.
- Next think of some adjective that could go along with your nouns, bonus points for using alliteration. I came up with
- Cool
- Crazy
- Fun
- Love
You could also use https://www.thesaurus.com/ to help you come up with some descriptive words. I typed in crazy and got
4. From here I came up with the potential blog name crazycatlady and madaboutcats. Now I need to check to see if those domain names are available! For the purpose of checking domain name availability head on over to domains.google.com. To check if a domain name is available, type it into the search bar
NOTE: DO NOT PURCHASE THE DOMAIN NAME off of this site if you are planning to host with BlueHost. Bluehost gives you a free domain for a year.
As you can see crazycatlady.com is unavailable. Basically, this means that someone else already owns that website.
I recommend sticking with a domain name that ends in .com. This website suffix is the most recognizable and will ensure that your website looks and sounds professional. If you must you could get away with .net or .co as both are becoming more and more popular in the internet world.
Since my ideal domain name was already taken I went back to the drawing board and brainstormed some other ideas.
My next idea was crazycoolcatlady. I typed that into the search bar and BINGO! All of the domain names were available!
Repeat the steps 1-4 until you find the domain name that works for you and your niche. REMEMBER DO NOT PURCHASE YOUR DOMAIN NAME YET! Bluehost gives you a free domain name for an entire year when you sign up for hosting! Sign up here.
Why Spark Your Blog?
We have been where you are! We got married, overspent, had a baby, and felt like we were drowning in student loan debt, bills, and every day expenses. Starting our first blog changed everything! With my little mommy blog, I was bringing in over 1k a month in less than a year with pretty minimal effort and maintenance (after I got the blog off the ground that is!)
That could be you too! If you have a few extra hours to spare each week think about what that extra income can do for you! And if you work really hard you can turn blogging from a side hustle into a full-time gig! It's possible!
So stop dreaming and start doing!
