One of the most important steps before buying a domain and a hosting account to start with WordPress is choosing the domain name or blog, an important factor that has its role in the success or failure you will have on the Internet.
How to choose the domain name?
It will depend a lot on each user and their goals, needs and purposes. There is no trick, technique or advice that applies in all cases. Not even the genius of Aladdin could give you the ideal domain name as an art of magic.
To make a good choice you have to have creativity, imagination and do a good keyword research in the corresponding market niche.
Let’s look at some of the most important rules to choose an excellent domain that matches your objectives and what you want to convey with the content and information you are going to publish.
Don’t take this process lightly. Invest your quality time to find the best possible option, since once you buy your domain and start your blog, there is no way to change it (unless you buy another domain and start a new project from scratch).
- In corporate websites the domain coincides with the name of the brand/company.
- In online sales websites, the domain coincides with the name of the product or with the generic name of the type of product.
- In formative webs the domain name will coincide with the subject matter of study.
- In personal websites (such as blogs) the domain corresponds to the name and first surname of the holder.
Let’s look at 8 rules to choose an excellent blog and domain name:
1. Set your goal
Like many things in life, if you don’t have a vision of what you want to achieve or where you want to go, everything becomes more complicated than it should be. Before thinking about WordPress, your blog or anything else, define your goals well and why you are creating a new blog.
Is it a hobby? Do you want to sell digital products? Do you want to create a membership site like udemy, clickbank or hotmart? Do you want to create an affiliate site for Amazon or Walmart products? Or do you just want to show your passion for some subject like fashion? Do you want to share your adventures around the world?
No matter what it is, write clearly what your goal (or goals) is and the purpose of your new blog. This way you’ll have a much better chance of getting a proper name.
2. Define the type of blog
If you are clear about the type of blog you are going to create, you will be able to better apply all the tips we are going to see in this post.
You can create a blog:
- From an established company
- Staff where you share aspects of your daily life
- Of any hobby, taste or passion that you have in specific
- From a school or research project
- Of a product or course you are developing
- Or many other things!
Each of these rules applies best to certain types of blogs.
3. Brainstorming
To have creativity, clarity and imagination, it is very good to brainstorm where you write down all the terms, words and concepts related to your blog theme and your niche.
Take out a sheet of paper and a pen (I prefer old-school in these things) and write down EVERYTHING that comes to mind. Don’t leave anything out.
When you finish you will have an excellent list of words and phrases that can help you generate more ideas and even some of them could be part of your domain.
4. Make it easy to remember and write
Choosing a domain name that is complicated and hard to remember is like scoring an own goal right at the start of the game.
Don’t get complicated. You’d better start the game by scoring a goal, a goal that involves a domain name that is memorable, easy to remember, clear and can be written down quickly.
Extra Tip: If you can make your blog and domain name sticky and rhyme too, it’ll be much easier for users to remember it and always keep it in mind. An unmatched advantage
5. The shorter, the better
Be very careful about the length of the blog name you are going to choose. A maximum of two words or terms is ideal. If you are not going to create a brand, the best thing to do is to select an EMD type domain.
It is important to consider this, as long names are rarely successful.
6. Take branding into account
If within your objectives is to create a blog of authority, with excellent content and that becomes a reference in your long-term market niche, then it is good to consider branding and choose a domain that can become a brand.
This is where your creativity and imagination take centre stage. Choose concepts that are unique, fun and give your blog name a special twist.
Examples: Google.com, Flickr.com, Yahoo.com, Twitter.com. Not very common names that have become recognized brands.
7. Keywords research
Many users choose domain names with keywords in order to position themselves better in Google and improve SEO. However, little by little the domains with keywords or “exact match domains” have become a less relevant factor for Google when positioning sites.
If you consider this option, take into account that your domain and blog name may lack that original and fun aspect that distinguishes blogs with a unique name and focused on branding (as we saw in the previous point).
Of course there are exceptions and it is possible to succeed with a domain based on keywords. Many users have. Just be aware that this is no longer as important as it once was.
8. Beware of Trademarks
Using important brand names or company names in your domain is best avoided so as not to have legal problems in the medium or long term. Better follow the tips we already saw and choose an original name
Extra Adequate extension
It is recommended that you choose a .COM domain, the most popular and used extension on the net. But if you find a name that you love and you can’t let pass but the .COM is not available, I recommend .NET or .ORG.
The reality is that any extension could work for you, but it is always better to use some of the most recognized ones.
If you are going to create a specific project for a country, then it might be a good option to choose a blog and domain name with a geographical extension. Example: .ES for Spain, .MX for Mexico, .FR France, .US United States, .CO Colombia, etc.
Choose the best domain for your project
The latest recommendations as a review of all of the above:
- Think of a sentence and concentrate it in one or several unified words.
- Shorten that word to the maximum.
- Remove any letters that are repeated.
- Remove numbers, hyphens, and any country-specific characters (accents, ñ, etc.).
- Tell your father to pronounce it.
- Let two hours pass and tell your father to say his name again.
- Tell your mother to write it down for you.
- Ask your family and friends for help.
- Select and check that you like the result.
- Register the main domain and alternative domains.
- Let’s disentangle these recommendations I make to you and look at them in more depth.
Tools to choose domain
Here are some useful tools that will help you to have more ideas and creativity in your choice of blog name. Although they are in English, they can be useful for getting interesting brand names, even combining English words with Spanish terms and creating original names.
Instant Domain Search
Instant Domain Search – you can see immediately if the domain you want to buy is available. If the .COM is not available, you can also check the availability in other extensions.
Link: Instant Domain Search
Dot-o-Mator – Keyword combination
This Web application consists of two columns where in each you can put terms, names or keywords related to your topic. By combining them you will have a good list of possible domains, and interesting combinations for your blog name.
It may be complicated for a combination to end up being exactly your domain, but this tool can help you get more clarity and ideas.
Link: Dot-o-mator
The Perfect Blog Name Is Waiting For You
We can all create excellent names for blogs and domains. If you apply the rules and tips I just shared with you and dedicate a few hours of focus, creativity and imagination, you will surely find something excellent and that fits perfectly with the objectives of your project.
With the tools and tips you’ve just learned I’m sure you’ll have your blog name and domain ready.
What’s next?
I leave you a list of links where you will learn all the necessary steps to perform once you have decided the name for your blog:
- How to buy a domain
- Hire the best WordPress hosting
- How to install WordPress from the cPanel
- 10-Step Tutorial to Get Started with WordPress
- How to create your Newsletter in WordPress
- Marketing strategies for more sales and subscribers
What other useful tips or tools do you use to choose a blog or domain name? Share yours in the comments!