How to Name a Blog

Choosing the perfect name for your blog is a key step in its success. The perfect name will attract and retain readers, and promote your online brand. Your blog's name should be short, compelling, easy to remember, suggestive of the blog's content, equal to the domain name, and available.

The first step in choosing a blog name is to define your blog. What will be its focus? What topics will it cover?

Most successful blogs focus on a particular niche. Blogs that stray too far from their niche lose followers who are uninterested in unrelated topics. On the other hand, the niche shouldn't be so restrictive that you'll quickly run out of things to say.

Look at the titles of other blogs with a similar focus. How do these titles relate to the content of their respective blogs? Which titles are compelling, and which are not? How will the focus of your blog differ from these blogs? Think about choosing a blog name that highlights this difference.

Jot down a long list of possible blog names. Review the definition of your blog for inspiration. Think about names that would help distinguish your blog's content from that of your competitors. Try to find names that are short, compelling, easy to remember, and suggestive of your blog's content.

Use a blog name generator to create more possibilities. Generators use keyword(s) to generate lists of possible names incorporating that keyword or variations of it. Popular generators include NameStation, NameBoy, PanaBee and DomainFellow.

Use search engine optimization (SEO) tools to suggest additional blog names. SEO tools allow you to analyze the amount of web traffic being seen by keywords or phrases, and suggest related keywords. A powerful SEO tool is Google Adwords.

Don't be critical while brainstorming. Let your mind run free, and capture the results so you can sort and rate them later. Invite friends, family or colleagues to help.

Winnow down your list of blog names to create a short list of five or ten names. Give preference to names that are short, compelling and easy to remember, since such names will make it easier for readers to find your blog, and remember it for return visits.

Review the definition of your blog again, and give preference to blog names that are descriptive or suggestive of its focus. These names will be easier for readers to find. Run promising names through an SEO tool to analyze the amount of web traffic they are seeing. While clever phrases may seem appealing at first glance, they often generate poor SEO results.

Input from your friends, family or colleagues will again be helpful.

Vet the short list by checking if each blog name is unique and available. Are any of these names already being used? A quick Google search will answer that question.

Ideally, you want to choose a blog name equal to your domain name. So, check if you can register the same domain name as each name on your short list. Your domain name should end with .com or .net if you will self-host your blog. Checking on domain name availability is easy to do using sites like Go Daddy. Or, if you will use Blogger or WordPress to host your blog, use those sites to see if your domain name is available.

It's now time to make the final selection of your blog's name by choosing the best blog name from your short list which is unique and available. Try to find the name that has the best combination of being short, compelling, easy to remember, and suggestive of your blog's focus. Ask for input from your friends, family or colleagues. Even better, ask for input from anyone in your target audience who'd be interested in your blog.

As soon as you select your blog's name, purchase the corresponding domain name or reserve it through a free blog-hosting site. The longer you wait, the bigger the risk of someone else taking it.