When you’re just starting off your blog, the first thing you need to do is to come up with a blog name. What you choose will represent you, as well as what your website is all about. However, not everyone is a wordsmith, and coming up with a blog name may be difficult. Have no worries, because in this article, it’s all about finding blog name ideas!
What Questions Should You Ask Yourself Before Choosing a Blog Name?
Before you settle on the blog name you want to use, you should think about the answers to the following questions:
- Will it be memorable?
- Is it something you can brand and stand behind?
- Is it unique enough?
- Will it look good as a domain name and URL?
- Will it be easy to say or write out?
- Will any social media handles related to your blog name be available?
Will it be memorable?
There are over 600 million blogs out there on the Internet, so it’s super important to try to pick a blog name that people can remember. It could prove in your favor versus other blogs in your niche, as people will prefer to visit your website.
Is it something you can brand and stand behind?
When you pick your blog name, you need to be confident and proud of what you pick. Once you commit to a blog name, you will need to buy a domain name, web hosting, and spend time designing a logo or polished website. If you’re not certain, it could cost you a lot of money if you keep changing your mind on your blog name, after already branding your site.
Is it unique enough?
Google Search Essentials, formerly known as Google Webmaster Guidelines of Google Quality Guidelines, strongly encourages you to be unique with your website’s content, but it also pertains to your blog name. Your blog name is usually also your domain name, so this also falls back to being more memorable.
Will it look good as a domain name and URL?
Your blog name should look good as a domain. You should make sure that you aren’t creating any strange-looking URLs, as those could be misunderstood. For example, having “as” and “safe” together. That isn’t an attractive combination when you have those two words next to each other in your domain URL, and it reads as something else more vulgar.
Will it be easy to say or write out?
Make sure your blog name is easy to write out or say. If your blog becomes influential later down the line, you might get invited to speak at conferences, and if your blog name isn’t easy to say, it might even make you stumble over saying it in front of an audience of people.
Will any social media handles related to your blog name be available?
When you’re planning your blog, your site name should also have social media handles with a similar name. This makes it easier for people to find you. Also, when you’re adding your social channels to other social media sites, it makes your brand look more polished.
11 Blog Name Brainstorming Tips
- What’s your blog’s focus?
- What’s your intended site audience?
- Use your name
- Use a thesaurus
- Use wordplay
- Use another language
- Research your blog competition’s blog names
- Use abbreviations
- Blend words
- Use a common saying
- Use a blog name generator
1. What’s your blog’s focus?
While you could probably have a blog that is a hodgepodge of topics, you really should have a core blog focus. This is what you will use to help people know who you are and what your website is all about. This doesn’t mean that you can’t post things that aren’t part of the blog focus, but you should keep in mind to post more toward that, as this is what will keep some of your visitors coming back to see.
2. What’s your intended site audience?
Deciding that everyone is your intended audience is not a smart move. For example, if your website is for academics in a certain field, your target audience will be those academics or those interested in it. More than likely they will have a specific age range. To get an idea of who your target audience is, look at the other websites in your niche and get a feel of what their content is geared toward.
Your blog name should also convey what your site is so that your target audience has an inkling about what to expect when visiting. A great example of this is SucceedAsYourOwnBoss.com. The site’s blog name and URL use a clear statement as “succeed as your own boss”, so anyone who comes across it in Google Search would know it was a website about being a business owner.
3. Use your name
Got a unique name, or want your name to become well known? Use your name!
4. Use a thesaurus
Because there’s so many website’s out there, you might find it difficult to get the blog name down in the first few tries. Sometimes a thesaurus can help you play with the words and get a similar meaning to what you want.
5. Use wordplay
Wordplay can be fun to use when finding a blog name. Using wordplay like alliteration can make your blog name look clever to your visitors.
6. Use another language
If your target audience is geared toward people who mostly speak another language or if you like to blog about a specific culture, then you might consider this possibility when you’re finding the right blog name.
7. Research your blog competition’s blog names
If you know what niche you want to blog in, more than likely, there are leaders in that community that have their own websites. Check their name and website out. Take notes, and brainstorm possible blog name ideas.
8. Use abbreviations
If you’re using words that have a common abbreviation, you might want to consider that. For example, a lot of blogs in the WordPress niche often have WP in the name, like GiveWP, which is about a WordPress plugin focused on allowing you to receive donations.
9. Blend words
Blending words for your blog name is a fun and quirky idea, much like people do when they had blended Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s couple name as Brangelia when they were together.
10. Use a common saying
Does your niche have any common sayings that are used? That might be something to consider while deciding the perfect blog name.
11. Use a blog name generator
Did you know there are some online blog name generators? If you’re having a rough time picking a blog name, then one of the following may give you a leg up on deciding one:
To use a blog name generator, you just put a keyword or two in the search box, and it will produce a list of possible blog name ideas for you. Please note that they may offer to sell a domain, so you can decide to either buy with them, or with your preferred web host.
In Summary
Hopefully, this guide will help you in finding blog name ideas. Don’t be discouraged if you have to search until you find a blog name that hasn’t been used yet, and has a correlating domain name available. Planning your blog’s name takes some careful planning. Good luck!
Frequently Asked Questions
Is blogging dead?
The answer is definitely NO! Some of the most shared content online are blog posts, so you can be sure you can still make money from it.
Do DIY blogs make money?
Yes, DIY blogging can bring you are steady income. There are several effective and proven methods to monetize your DIY blog and earn some real money.
Is a WordPress blog free?
Anyone can download, use, customize, and edit the WordPress code as long as they release it under the GNU General Public License (GPL). Even though the software is free, you can end up paying for things like premium support and hosting.
Can you make WordPress blog private?
To hide your blog from the public, you need to select Settings and then Privacy. From the three options displayed in front of you that include Public, Hidden, and Private, you need to select Hidden. This means that those who have the address of your blog will be able to see it, but it will no longer be reachable through search engines.
Nile Flores is a long time professional blogger, as well as WordPress website designer and developer from the St. Louis Metro East. Nile blogs at NileFlores.com, where she’s passionate about helping website owners, whether they’re small business owners or bloggers. She teaches about Blogging, Social Media, Search Engine Optimization, Website Design, and WordPress. Additionally, Nile loves to speak at WordCamps (WordPress conferences) across the United States. When Nile isn’t knee-deep in coding, she’s a proud mom of a college student, and enjoys oil painting, cigar smoking, nail art design, and practicing traditional Okinawan kempo karate.
View all posts by Nile Flores