What's in a name? 10 quick tips for naming your blog

How do you name a blog? Here are 10 quick tips to help you on your way.

1. New or existing.

Are you renaming an existing blog, or creating a new one? A big problem with renaming is that the URL won't make sense anymore. In a few cases it may be more relevant than it was before, but that's not often the case. If you can make an existing site better, go for it. Otherwise, it's probably better to start a new site than try to force a new idea into a site that won't fit your plans particularly well.

2. Topic.

What are you going to write about? If you can establish a niche, either in terms of subject matter, post type or style, it may become easier to think of a name for your blog.

3. Keywords.

Can you include keywords in your domain name without making it overly long? Most of my newer blogs include one or two relevant keywords in the name without being a completely generic name.

4. Top-level domain.

If you can, try to buy your own domain name. It's so much better to have something like toptenblogtips.com than toptenblogtips.wordpress.com or toptenblogtips.blogger.com... and so on. Why? It's one less thing to type! And you'll never get as much control as you do on your own domain.

5. Concise.

How many words do you really need in the name of your blog? The fewer you have, the more likely you are to find a name that can be quickly and easily included in promotional material, or posted on Twitter...

6. Original.

Do you want your blog to be found? Do you want people to get excited about it? You have to be original. Not just in the content, but in the name. If it's just another variant of a blog that we've all seen before - such as "make money online" - you're probably wasting your time.
And if you're wondering about Top Ten Blog Tips - I tell it like it is, with original content, no filler posts, and I always publish list posts. It may not be particularly original for a one-off post, but not many blogging tips blogs are like this one.

7. Memorable.

Did you think up a name that nobody will ever remember? Well, it's not going to stick in people's minds, now is it? Give people a reason to remember your blog from the outset - choose a decent name.

8. Competition.

It's worth looking around to see if any blogs that focus on a similar topic are using names that might clash with yours. Can you risk a similar blog being mistaken for your own? Do you even view similar blogs as "competitors"?

9. Symbols.

Symbols in the name of your blog are a really bad idea. I've seen blogs that try to be clever by displaying symbols at the top of their blog to look like a silly picture or to spell something weird. This might seem like a fun idea, but it will confuse people who try to find your blog in future.
If possible, try to avoid hyphens in your URL. For instance, if you can't get blogtips.com, don't just go for blog-tips.com. Be a bit more creative and find a name that isn't almost identical to an existing blog.

10. Things to avoid.

Double letters (such as my own "bbarden.com") can look like a mistake, and should be avoided. Mis-spellings are bad, too - don't try to make the best of a bad situation by keeping the mis-spelt domain! Hidden words - there are some quite comical examples of family-friendly websites with rude words hidden somewhere in the name - usually if you take the last few letters of one word and the first few letters of the next. Keep an eye out for this - don't be caught out!

Bonus tip

Does the name of your blog match the URL? If not - people may get confused and type in the name of your blog instead of its actual URL. Try to keep the two the same.
How did you choose your blog's name?