The name of your blog is one of those decisions that feels monumental. It’s like naming a child. It represents you, your passions, your goals and your new life. Additionally, the name of a blog is a powerful marketing tool. Jane’s Store may feel right to the owner however it doesn’t communicate the benefits and uniqueness of the business to potential customers.
How To Choose A Really Good Domain Name
Step One: Give Yourself Time.
You need to take some time to come up with a blog name that feels right and fits your niche or theme. Your domain name will let your visitors know what your blog is all about even before visiting your site. In other words, give away as much information in your domain name as possible, leaving no room for your visitors to guess what your site is about.
For example, if your name happens to be Jane Smith and you own a shoe store then www.janesshoes.com would be much more appropriate and informative than www.janesmith.com. Try to keep your domain name within a range of 13-15 characters, as shorter domain names tend to stick in people’s minds. It also makes it easier for them to type out your web address in their browsers without misspelling or leaving out characters.
Step Two: Use Strategic Keywords
When you are able to place your keywords into your domain name, it helps increase your search engine ranking because your domain name is one of the primary places the search engines like Google and Yahoo look to when indexing websites.
Avoid using any extra characters in your domain name like apostrophes and hyphens because they affect rankings and they’re more difficult to remember.
In addition to choosing a name that fits your business and utilizes strategic keywords, there are a few more considerations.
* Make it easy to remember.
* Make it unique.
* Make it easy to spell
* Make sure it is available
A quick note. You might be wondering if a .com is the best type of site to have. It is the easiest to remember and offers more credibility. Other options are .net .org .tv .us and so on. Because your blog will be internet based, having an extension that is easy to remember will serve your site better.
Once you’ve chosen a domain name, your next step is to register your domain. Be 100% ready to register when you sit down to your computer. Domain names can be snatched up quickly and you will want to capture your ideal domain name as soon as you know it’s available.
Do You Have A Domain For Your Blog Yet?
What is it? Share in the comments below!
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I would like to add, due to recent personal experience, check the USTPO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) to see if the name is trademarked. I just got a cease and desist letter because I was using a .com name that a .org ministry was using and they filed to trademark the name.
Jenny recently posted..Scripture Art
Thanks for the heads up, Jenny – that’s really good to know!
If you’re not in the united states should you not have a dot com or should it be from where you’re from?
I would say that a .com is always the best option – unless your audience is strictly in your own country.
Thanks for such a wonderful article. Most of the domain names you search is either not available or someone is auctioning it at a price that is way beyond our purchasing budget. So I always use domain name generating sites like BustAName. Hope you will find the site helpful too.
Debjyoti Ghosh recently posted..Get Paid to Work as an Apple At-Home Advisor
Appreciate the tip – thanks for sharing!