Apparently a lot of people are interested in starting a new blog because “blog titles” and “blog names” are two of the most popular search queries that lead to Performancing. I previously wrote about creating [link to article] great blog post headlines, but you should have a good name to fall back on. However, you must realize that the name can only take you so far.
Qualities of a Great Blog Title/Name
Simple
The first thing that every new blog should have is a simple name. You don’t want something too complex that might turn off a reader. Try to avoid numeral combinations and random letters that contribute little to the name. In my opinion, they look very unprofessional, and that means that I have a bad taste in my mouth before I even look at the content. I don’t judge a book by its cover, but I can’t help but have lowered expectations, which—for what ever reason—might be something that the owner/author is going for. In most cases, use the KISS (keep it simple stupid) methodology.
Memorable
The most important aspect of any business logo or name is that it is easily memorized by people. Toys R Us (with the reversed ‘R’) was an instant hit because it was one of the first companies create a name like that. You don’t need something that complex, you just need it to easy enough to say and type. After all, if you are at some blogger conference, then Darren Rowse wants to check out your blog later, he shouldn’t need to write it down to remember it. If you must sacrifice length for simplicity, by all means do it.
Short
The rule of thumb here is that shorter is better. A short domain can more easily achieve the two qualities listed above. As long as it is simple enough for the reader to remember, it shouldn’t really matter what your domain name is. Combine all of the qualities listed so far, and you are in good shape.
Unique
I place a lot of emphasis of being unique within the blogosphere. Why create PoshPosh.com when we already have DoshDosh.com; TechLunch.com when we have TechCrunch.com; and NewChicken.com when we have Newegg.com. You get the idea. Be unique and creative. Give people something new and unexpected. On the Internet, everything seems to be continuously recycled—even domain names—but I love seeing something truly unique that gets me wondering why I didn’t think of that name.
Top-level Domains
Only recently have we had domain names that are spelled weird or utilize the extension to be part of the company name. Some think that this is silly while others just eat it up. If you can get a .com domain, that would be preferred, but if you can find a domain that achieves all of the above ideas, feel free to get a little creative; not too creative though. The .me and .us has a lot of potential!
The Content
While the importance of your brand is unquestionable, the content is even more important. I’ve previously stated that I have seen domain names that are just absolutely ridiculous, but they generate a ton of traffic. This just goes to show that the domain name won’t make you popular. It might help, but the content is what blogging is really about.
Keep these things in mind, and you should be fine when choosing the name of your newest blog.
If you’ve recently created a new blog, be sure to post a link in the comments section so we can check it out!
14 thoughts on “Picking A Good Title For Your Great New Blog”
A while ago my friend David and I started a blog/news site. He came up with what I think is the most creative name ever: The Association for Reason and Societal Outreach Now, or ARSON. This not only fits perfectly with the message of the Blog, but it’s actually an inside joke – the name of our school news paper is “the Blaze”.
@Paul Singh
Changing the domain is simple. But you will lose all your pagerank that had accumulated for your old domain. And all the permalinks would also be lost.
It is best to choose a good name at the first time itself. If you had to change the name later due to unavoidable reasons, be sure to setup 301 redirects atleast.
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Blogial Network – http://blogial.com
And this is my blog: (sorry, I thought it would appear!)
http://travelwriter.today.com
This is my blog that was created back in June. I cover a lot of travel news and am just starting a ‘destination of the week’ feature.
ANY feedback would be greatly appreciated, good or bad!
thanks
This is great info – though I wish it had been posted a few weeks ago since I just setup my new blog! I chose http://www.BorrowFromNone.com for my personal finance blog. It’s part of a verse from the Bible. I think it meets some of the criteria listed above but maybe not all. I’m working hard on the content part of it – but I guess others will have to be the judge of whether I hit that mark or not.
>If you’ve recently created a new blog, be sure to post a link in the comments section so we can check it out!
Well, if you ask for it. http://www.Rarst.net
I simply used my nickname. Was bit afraid to overthink it and end up with something stupid so simple solution.
Even got praised by internet acquaintance who is into SEO so I guess it’s decent.
I went with CapitalistCredo for my social experiment. The Bill of Rights is on the
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Great post! This is something for all people that are just going to start their first blog and do not know what to name their blog. The name of your blog to decide whether you are going to be a little person or a big person.
As some added reading – Here is an older Performancing post on the subject, blog brand naming and a more recent one from me on catchy blog names
With the upcoming season, my brothers wanted to start a football blog where they could write about their fantasy and game picks. I advised them to do what you said, and keep it simple and relevant. I think they were going to go with something that utilized “two-guys”, but I showed them the search traffic from a blog where I made a similar mistake, and they took my advice. 😉
If I were to do it all over again, I’d force myself to not worry about the name so much. I spent nearly a week brainstorming names and ultimately ended up kickstarting my blog by just putting it on an old domain that I had. Then, I forced myself to *just start writing* at least twice week.
Nearly a month later, it became clear that my blog was going down a certain direction and the name Results Junkies just seemed fitting. I quickly bought the domain and changed the blog over — it was that simple.
So, to all you new (or soon-to-be) bloggers out there: Just Get Started. Don’t let the name of the blog be your excuse for delaying!
It came from a chicken and egg discussion with a friend one day, and seemed to suit my new blog http://www.cranefactory.com because its where I blog about all the things I learn along the way to building and launching other ideas on the internet.
Great list of things to remember while choosing a name – very simple. I always take too much time in choosing a name.
But recently we started a small blog network called Blogial Network – http://blogial.com and I had no problem in picking the name.
We wanted this blog network as a way for everyone to contribute in any blog that they want to. We wanted to make it as social as possible. Blog + Social = Blogial
We have a few blogs in it
– Some are related to programming and free/open source software
* http://www.fslog.com (Free Software Blog) (started long time back)
* http://codelog.blogial.com (programming and coding)
– Some are regional – about a country
* http://in.blogial.com (About India)
* http://oz.blogial.com (About Australia)
OnlyJames.com—weird? Maybe. Short? Yes. Simple? Definitely. Creative? Eh, good enough. Content? Killer!
I also purchased TechInDemand.com. I have a few more on my list that I want to snatch up.
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