5 Blog Domain Name Tips

I’m a firm believer that you must create a great brand in order to be a highly successful blogger.  Very few blogs make it to the top of their industry industry without a well thought out marketing plan and strong branding.  At the foundation of a blogs brand should be a well thought out domain name.  I’ve highlighted a short check list of key points to look at when choosing a domain name for your blog and also emphasized the point by reviewing a few of the highest traffic blogs on the net.

5 Keys To Choosing A Domain:

1. Make It Your Own - when is the last time that you recommended website with a non unique domain name?  As an example I see sites all too often that look like this “www.YourLongSiteNameHere.bloghostingcompany.com”.  You might have all the best content in the world and give your readers a great experience, but without a unique domain name it’s very hard to recommend your site.  I highly suggest going to a registrar such as Go Daddy and buying your own domain name.
2. Shorter Is Better -  try to keep your domain name short.  Clearly it’s becoming more and more difficult to find premium domain names that have yet to be registered, however if you can keep your domain short and sweet it’s a huge plus.  People are much more likely to remember and suggest domains that are short and to the point.  Think about how hard it is to remember….”www.this-is-my-site-about-xyz.com”.  I know that might be a little over exaggerated but you see the point.
3. Spelling 101 - try to avoid easily misspelled words or words that are difficult to spell.  Take it from me, if it wasn’t for spell check I’d probably have to give up blogging!  There’s a reason that most major newspapers print their articles on a 6th grade reading level, many people have a tough time spelling.
4. Dot Com King - the king of the domain world is still the extension “.com”.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve read some great blogs that have a “.net or .org” extension, but most people still default to the ever popular “.com”.  I truly believe that most people don’t even know that anything but “.com” exists.  I like to use my family as “test subjects” when looking at branding ideas and for the most part they have no clue what other domain extensions exist.
5. Vote On It - after you’ve brainstormed about the perfect blog domain name, choose the top 10 and put the list to a simple vote.  Ask your friends, family, and colleagues to give their opinion.  You’d be surprised how many people love to give their opinion about selecting a business name.  You’ll also be surprised at the amount of feedback and suggestions you might get for a completely different name.  Hopefully when you put it to a vote you get a clear winner, if not put the top 3 into another simple poll and have everyone vote again.

These are just a few tips that I like to use when selecting a new domain name for one of my blog ventures.  This is by no means the holy grail of domain picking, but it offers a good starting point to blogging newbies who want to built a successful brand.  If you’ve been sitting on a domain idea, I highly suggest going over to Go Daddy and getting it before it’s taken!

If you have any other tips or suggestions on choosing a domain name, we’d love to hear them!  Let us know in the comments below.

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