Choosing a good name for your blog is important for several reasons. For starters, the name of your blog will determine its success. You wouldn’t want your blog name to sound awkward as it would only scare off potential readers.
But sometimes, you may be simply lost when it comes to blog titles. Here are some ideas to guide you and help you choose the name of a successful blog.
1. Your Wishes
Now, if you are thinking of a blog name, you probably already know what you will be writing about. At least, you think you know. But if you just ask yourself right now, “What do I want to write about?” will you have a coherent answer to that?
In order to really understand what your blog name should be, sit down and think about all the topics you want to write about. If you are only going to write about your outfits, then a title that is related to fashion will fit perfectly. If you are planning to fill your blog with recipes, then something connected to food will suit it best. But if you want to write about both of those topics and maybe even incorporate makeup tutorials, then you would need a blog name much broader than that.
2. Uniqueness
A good blog name must always be unique. If you want to stand out of the crowd, there is no other way for you than being as original as possible. After all, a catchy name or a witty phrase would be remembered easily even by those who heard about your blog for the first time.
But, of course, there is no need to be overly extravagant. Using long, complicated words that are hard to write and pronounce will look incomprehensible rather than quirky. You can and should be outgoing but to a certain limit. The best blog names are often not the obvious choices, so you might need to spend some time before you find something truly incredible.
3. Availability
One of the worst feelings in the world is when you finally found the perfect name for your blog and then you discover that it has already been taken. Feels terrible, really. And this is exactly why you always have to check the availability of the domain you chose.
A great way to do this is to use free online tools for checking domains (such as Instant Domain Search). They will instantly show you whether the domain has been taken or you can still purchase and register it. Some of such tools can even show you if all the versions of the domain are taken. So, for example, you want your blog name to be “Flower Queen”, so your domain will be flowerqueen.[insert ending]. This ending can be anything from .com to .org to .net, and if one of these is taken, you may be able to opt for the other one. Check your domain name here.
4. Multilingualism
The problem with blog names and names in general is that they sometimes take a figure of speech present only in a particular language. This is why, when the name is translated, it either loses its meaning or is translated improperly. In fact, sometimes translators opt to simply transcribe the name without translating it at all!
When you are choosing the name of your blog, think a little bit into the future and ask yourself whether you are planning to translate your blog to other languages in order to reach international audiences. After all, with the help of such online translation services as The Word Point, it has become a much easier and less expensive process. You must choose an appropriate name that could be translated without losing its meaning (but that only applies if you want to translate your blog name; you can simply translate only your content instead).
5. Asking Around
People love giving advice, so if you ask someone about their opinion, they will most likely be happy to tell you all about it! A good idea is to ask around and see what everyone suggests for your blog name. Approach your trusted friends and family telling them you are contemplating what you can title your blog as and they will definitely bombard you with ideas.
If you feel uncomfortable asking people close to you about suggestions, you can join some blogging Facebook groups and ask for opinions there. Alternatively, prepare several variants you have been playing around with and ask for brutally honest opinions about them. Then, choose what suits you best.
6. Research
Another great way to find the perfect name for your blog is to look in unusual places for inspiration. First, check out the Google Keyword Tool. Once you type in a few keywords, the tool will give you related word combinations. This is great for finding unique phrases that will be both great for search engines and awesome as a blog name.
Alternatively, use Thesaurus, the internet’s biggest free online dictionary. You can search for synonyms to your keywords and browse through them until you find something you like. The important thing to keep in mind is the advice from tip 2. Even though you must find something unique and original, you should not make it too extravagant. Being creative doesn’t necessarily mean that nobody needs to understand you.
7. Competition
A strategy which can prove to be both effective and not so much is to analyze what your competitors are doing. The problem with this method is that you can either get suddenly discouraged while comparing your name to theirs or end up finding something that looks or sounds very similar to their names and might seem like you are copying them (even if you are doing this unintentionally).
But if you are not afraid of such possible challenges on your way, feel free to check out what others are up to. For now, they may even be your inspiration and something that motivated you to start a blog in the first place, but once you start blogging, they become your competitors and you will have to be doing everything to be better than they are.
8. Your Name
Last but not least, consider simply using your own name. This is perfect for those who are planning to have a personal or a lifestyle blog, but those who are going to take up other niches can also experiment with using their own name for the name of their blogs.
It doesn’t necessarily have to be only your name. Instead, combine it with something from the topic you will be writing about. For example, you want to write about gardens, growing plants, and landscape design. You could name your blog with something along the lines of “Katherine’s Garden” (if your name is Katherine) or “Tom Grows Plants” (if your name is Tom). Combine different words and phrases until you find something you like. At the end of the day, the perfect name for your blog is something you like.
Conclusion
To sum up, choosing a blog name is definitely not that difficult when you know what you are looking for. Experiment with different titles and find something that is practical and sounds right at the same time. You will find so many good ideas out there!
